Gitana 13
Article of the Month May 2008A new record on La Route de l’Or
This winter, on February 28, Gitana 13, with champion skipper Lionel Lemonchois and his crew of nine set a new world’s record crossing the finish line of La Route de l’Or. Named after the 19th century voyages to the California Gold Rush, the New York to San Francisco sailing record of 89 days, 8 hours was held for 135 years by the clipper Flying Cloud. Since then it has been challenged more than a dozen times. The fastest previous run, in 1998 by Yves Parlier on the 60-foot monohull Aquitaine Innovations, was a full 14 days longer. Gitana 13, the 108-foot maxi-catamaran, owned and expertly equipped by Baron Benjamin de Rothschild, was the largest multihull to attempt the route. Creeping past Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay, Gitana 13 sailed into history with a finishing time of 43 days and 38 minutes, averaging 15.88 knots over 14,000 miles. In an interview at the finish, Lemonchois expressed gratitude to their sponsor for the incredible feat. “Thank you to Baron Benjamin de Rothschild for trusting in us and giving us the opportunity to attack this record.”
Gitana 13 began this challenge on January 16, passing Amborse Lighthouse on a clear frigid afternoon and jibing out of New York Harbor. The forecasted 25-to-30-knot wind pushed them along at over 25 knots. Spirits were high with the excitement of the start, but the stress and exhaustion of preparation showed in the crew. After the first few days, Nicolas Raybaun, principal author of Comments Onboard on Gitana’s website (www.gitana-team.com), wrote “In this tense atmosphere, each of us is settling in: throwing on an oilskin, opening freeze-dried food and, most importantly, waking up every three hours for six-hour shifts on deck...” With weather from the north quadrant, the going was rough: bumps, steep drops and sharp rises. Amid constant sail and weather changes, steady on a port tack through the northern trades, wet and lively, they averaged 25 knots toward their goal.
LITTLE BY LITTLE
As the weather and water warmed, thoughts and strategies turned to the doldrums and the ITCZ. With the help of Meteo France meteorologists and Dominic Vittet, navigator, the crew found “a mousehole” between squalls and calms. Crossing the equator on January 23, six days from the start, they met their first milestone ahead of schedule. Lemonchois’s words rang in their minds “Fast but safe...San Francisco is far away, and the only way to get there is by going forward.” Little by little… And so they entered the southern trades. As Raybaun recalls, “Generally, sailing in the trade winds is a beautiful thing. There are those exceptional moments, like when the wind comes to life. A simple acceleration transforms the boat from a state of gravity to one of weightlessness. Such a wondrous impression of lightness, of seemingly unstoppable power, is born when the speedometer rises above 25 knots.”
On Day 13, they were back in the wind and clocked 616 miles toward the Cape. Offshore of the Rio de la Plata, the crew took showers. They shared the southern Atlantic with a pod of whales and “a moment of pure pleasure, the boat flying softly like a bird.” Then, in a flash, the temperature dropped, the seas rose and the wind increased. “Life inside the boat is punishing,” says Raybaun. Below and above deck every move must be done with precision timing and control, as the boat’s movements—like the weather—are erratic and constant.
ALL THINGS COME TO THOSE WHO WAIT
Arriving at Cape Horn to a sustained blow of 60 knots and 35-foot seas from the west, Gitana 13 hove-to for five days behind Tierra del Fuego, waiting for the “door” to open. Lemonchois sent word to the on-land crew: “We were ready and waiting at the mouth of Lemaire Channel, but we again had to be patient. Finally, at 10:30 Thursday morning we made our move into the narrow strait, where swells of 5 to 6 meters prevented us from going faster than 8 or 9 knots. It was way too rough.” Finally, sailing round the Horn three weeks out and almost exactly half way through their quest, emotions ran high through the crew.
Raybaun explains: “For us, whether ocean racers or simple sailors, this is the Holy Grail: it’s one of those things you have to do at least once. ?Cape Horn: we want to go there! And when we’re there: we want to leave as fast as possible! Appearing out of the mist, through eyes reddened by the sea spray, we saw a dark mass emerge: there it was, proud and impressive, watching over this passage for millennia.”
ONBOARD, ONE THING IS CLEAR: THERE IS A BEFORE AND AN AFTER
After rounding the Horn, Gitana 13 was clearly heading for the barn. The race filled with wind, current and performance strategies, and now the crew faced the challenges of the Pacific, 24 hours a day. They began jibing toward stronger winds, which paid off where the trades were allusive. It took the crew 12 days to make the equator going northbound, taking advantage of weather forecasts and the winds. Crossing their second doldrums, they found shifty winds and lots of rain, but no violent weather. And no obvious “mousehole.”
Nearing 7 degrees north, they began their upwind climb toward San Francisco, with wind and current against them. Beating to weather “doesn’t sit too well with the 33-meter catamaran” and was difficult for boat and crew. During the last week, the boat dodged between high and low pressure systems off the coasts of Mexico and California, forcing long westerly tacks. On the very last hours of the epic voyage, just off the Golden Gate, the wind died, and the boat had to buck a 3-knot current flowing out the gate, Mother Nature’s final coup.
In final assessment of this leg of their world tour, Lemonchois concluded: “Everybody aboard Gitana 13 during this record was chosen for their maritime competence as well as their human qualities. To live together in a small space for 43 days is a real challenge in itself... Everyone fulfilled their role perfectly with tremendous conviviality and the very greatest respect for each other. And even in the most difficult times... no one complained and all of them are proud to be aboard Gitana 13.” The crew has returned to France for a welcome and deserved break. They return to San Francisco and Gitana 13 in late March to begin their next challenge: the North Pacific. Lemonchois and crew will attempt to break the San Francisco to Yokohama record of 14 days, 22 hours, 40 minutes held by the 110-foot trimaran Geronimo and fellow Frenchman Olivier de Kersauson. We’ll be watching!
(For up-to-date coverage of Gitana 13 record attempts, visit www.cruisingcompass.com)
