Gitana's Team is everywhere!

On arrival in Sutton Harbour Marina, Loïck Peyron set off for Switzerland, where he contested and won the Grand Prix Chopard in the D35 last weekend. A packed programme incorporating numerous and diverse sailing is something the sailor, from La Baule on France’s Atlantic coast, considers to be essential for his preparation.

72 hours from kick-off in The Transat 2008, this year christened The Artemis Transat, the thirteen Imoca monohulls registered are wisely sitting it out in Sutton Harbour Marina, nestled in the Barbican area of Plymouth. Aboard Gitana Eighty, the shore crew are busying themselves with the final details. Yesterday evening, Loïck Peyron and his men went for a final test sail in Plymouth's harbour so as to make the final checks prior to the departure for Boston. The next few days will be dedicated to embarking the supplies as well as the study of grib files and ice charts. “The receipt of files and their analysis is intensifying with three days to go till the start. For the time being, forecasts are indicating a downwind exit into the English Channel in a medium wind. However, some radical options should take shape from that point. This transatlantic race promises to be fairly open…”

Double winner of the event (1992, 1996 in the multihull category), Loïck Peyron will set off on Sunday 11th May at 1400 hours (local time), at the helm of the most recent of the Gitana fleet, in a bid for a historic triple.

Radio silence…During the transatlantic, the sailors taking part in this 13th edition will experience a 36 hour position black-out. Indeed, in line with the weather situation and the tactical intrigue, race management will select a day during which competitors won't have access to the positions of the rest of the fleet. This initiative, thought-up in order to revive past conditions in the early days of this legendary race, greatly appeals to the skipper of Gitana Eighty.

Gitana 13 bound for China
Having already racked up two fine records – La Route de l’Or, between New York and San Francisco via Cape Horn, and the North Pacific Crossing, between San Francisco and Yokohama – the crew of Gitana Team are today beginning a five leg tour of Asia: on the programme are over 2,500 miles between Yokohama (Japan), Dalian, Qingdao (China), Taipei (Taiwan), Hong Kong and Macao, with a few days sailing on zone in each city.

Virtually a month to the day after its arrival in Yokohama in Japan, the maxi-catamaran in the colours of the LCF Rothschild Group has set sail for Dalian, the first of two Chinese stopovers for Lionel Lemonchois’ crew.

Gitana 13 crossed the start line, situated in Tokyo Bay, this Thursday at 05h55’45’’UT and, according to the latest weather forecasts from Sylvain Mondon (Météo France), is set to make Dalian in around four days: “Gitana 13’s departure is set to take place in rather light upwind conditions. However, Lionel Lemonchois and his crew will hit some steady downwind conditions (20-25 knot NE’ly), level with Osaka Bay. They will remain in this system after rounding Cape Sata, to the extreme SW of Japan, in order to make the climb towards Korea. Forced to tackle the Kuro-Shivo (the second greatest marine current in the world, which runs along the Japanese coast), they will be subject to short seas which will build progressively. A zone of high pressure positioned at the entrance to the Yellow Sea, may cause Gitana 13’s progress to slow.”

As ever, just hours before the departure, Lionel Lemonchois was unable to conceal his impatience at regaining the open ocean and discovering new horizons: “We have been in Japan for nearly a month and we are all very happy to take to the sea again… You can’t change the way you are (laughs)! This is my first voyage to China and to discover such a country by arriving via the sea is all the more appealing given the kind of sailor I am. In terms of weather, the 1,300 miles that lie ahead promise to be very interesting as we’ve already born witness - the systems evolve very quickly in this area of the world. This naturally requires a great deal of responsiveness, but it also makes the game a lot more exciting.”

In 2006, the English navigator, Ellen MacArthur, and her crew sailed this same course aboard their trimaran B&Q (23 metres) in a little over 7 days.

The crew of Gitana 13 between Yokohama and Dalian
Lionel Lemonchois (Skipper / helmsman / watch leader)
Ludovic Aglaor (helmsman/ watch leader)
Jean-Baptiste Levaillant (helmsman/ watch leader)
Olivier Wroczynski (trimmer /computer manager)
Nicolas Raynaud (trimmer / video manager)
Antoine Mermod (trimmer)
David Boileau (N0.2 / trimmer/ head of deck fittings)
Léopold Lucet (N0.1 /head of supplies and medical needs)

Gitana 13’s records
North Pacific Crossing (San Francisco – Yokohama): in 11 days 12 minutes 55 seconds (April 2008)
Route de l’Or (New York – San Francisco, via Cape Horn): in 43 days 3 minutes 18 seconds (February 2008)