Foto copyright Yoichi Yabe/Gitana SA
Foto copyright Gitana SA
Lionel Lemonchois y su diez tripulantes baten el record anterior del Pacífico Norte entre San Francisco a Yokohama, por 3 días 22 horas 27 minutos y 46 segundos. Una distancia de 4.482 millas (en rumbo directo) fueron las que tuvieron que recorrer para lograrlo.
Lo dicho por Lionel Lemochois en un reportaje al llegar:
11 days 12 minutes 55 seconds, what do you think of your new time?
“It’s a great time and we’re really happy. Given the weather conditions before we set out, I told myself that if we did it in 12 days it would be a good performance already. And, to look at our average speed over the actual distance covered is very honourable.”
This crossing wasn’t at all restful, could you outline the conditions you’ve been encountering during these 11 days at sea?
“We’re certainly very tired at the end, as the past eleven days at sea have been intense. The Pacific offers some rapid and numerous weather sequences. In total we encountered two lows, including a very strong one at the approach to the Japanese coast, then three high pressure zones to round and as many transition zones to negotiate. Prior to our departure, the second part of our course was still very uncertain but everything fell nicely into place in the end. The storm over the past few days gave us a good boost on our journey to Japan. This period, though stressful, will remain a highlight of our time at sea. We had strong winds gusting to over 60 knots but it was the waves above all else which were impressive, rising to over 10 metres in cross seas. It was quite a spectacle!”
How did Gitana 13 handle in these feisty sea and wind conditions?
“Gitana 13 is a very sound boat. It only buried its bows once or twice in the storm, other than that it was never lacking. The modifications made by Gitana Team when she was taken over in 2006, particularly the raising of the forward beam, clearly improve the boat’s behaviour and the safety of the crew. Despite the sea state we encountered – and yesterday morning's conditions weren’t insignificant – the boat’s perfect. We didn’t break a thing."
You worked with Sylvain Mondon on shore for the weather part of this record attempt, the pair of you still appear to work as well together as ever?
“Sylvain was perfect as usual! He is always there, full of finesse in his analysis and concise… it suits me down to the ground. We don’t necessarily have a great deal of vocal exchanges, other than in the storm over the past few days, but he always sends us very precise information. You can tell that he loves what he does and it’s always a pleasure to work with him.”
What is your programme and that of the maxi-catamaran over the coming weeks?
“Gitana 13 will remain in Yokohama until early May, since we’re continuing our series of records in the China Sea. The next destination for the crew is Dalian, in China, after a 1,500 mile record crossing attempt between the two towns. We will then follow that by trying to set new record times between Qingdao, Taipei, Hong Kong and Macao, prior to returning to Hong Kong to set off on the Tea Route.”
