Good Maxi-Cat read, Gitana

http://www.sailinganarchy.com/fringe/2008/gitana%20-%20photoboy.htm

 

GITANA 13 OFF TO A FLYING START
(March 31, 2008) - The weather which reigned off California this weekend, won't have given Lionel Lemonchois and his crew much of an opportunity to size-up their performance. Setting out on Saturday 29th March at 22h4545 UT (or mid afternoon in San Francisco) in a bid to break the record for the east to west crossing of the North Pacific, the eleven crew on the 110-foot maxi-catamaran Gitana 13 were caught off guard. Initially surprised by the icy temperatures, which weren't dissimilar to when they cast off from New York in January during La Route de lOr, then by a NW'ly air flow, blowing up to 25 knots, causing big seas the minute they escaped San Francisco Bay.

"We were expecting the Pacific swell but we were really shaken about for the first ten hours at sea: under 2 reef ORC, soaked through despite our drysuits. There's certainly nicer introductions! That didn't last long though and things have calmed down gradually. The sea state over the first few hours forced us to drop a little further south than the start forecasts indicated, but nothing dramatic," explained Lemonchois.

This start, which could be described as 'feisty', has not prevented the team from racking up good speeds for this second record attempt, as the 480 miles covered during the first day bear witness: at the 0830 position report, the maxi-catamaran equipped by Baron Benjamin de Rothschild had clocked up an 185 mile lead over Olivier de Kersauson's reference time. This fairly substantial gain is not that significant after just 30 hours of racing, but it's still a good morale boost for the crew

 

Here's a line I shall remember, always!!

"Doing 17 to 18 knots to weather in 8 foot seas is not something I, or most of the guests were used to. As the 1st hoots started to be sounded, the crew's knowing grins began to emerge."

Perry