31
03
2008
|
|
Gitana 13 Attacks The North Pacific Crossing The stopwatch is back in action aboard Gitana 13. On standby in San Francisco since 28th February - the completion date of La Route de l’Or-, the maxi-catamaran equipped by Baron Benjamin de Rothschild set off this Saturday 29th March at 22h45′45″ UT, for a record attempt between San Francisco and Yokohama. The new holders of La Route de l’Or (New York - San Francisco), Lionel Lemonchois and his ten crew are today tackling the North Pacific crossing. They’ll need to make Yokohama, Japan, in less than 14 days 22 hours 40 minutes and 41 seconds. The latter is the current reference time set by Olivier de Kersauson and his team aboard Geronimo since 27th April 2006. “The crew has been slightly modified in relation to that of La Route de l’Or, since Jacques Vincent, Jean-Baptiste Epron, Cyril Dardashti Stefan Fodor and Kojiro Shiraishi are joining us. There were ten of us onboard Gitana 13 between New York and San Francisco, but there will be eleven of us for the North Pacific crossing. Personally, I shall have a greater involvement in the weather since the crew no longer has an appointed navigator aboard”. The presence of the Japanese sailor Kojiro Shiraishi, who was 2nd in the Velux 5 Oceans 2006-2007, will be a considerable asset for the crew of the 33 metre maxi-catamaran; especially at the approach to the Japanese coast, renowned for its complexity. The weather is always a tricky element and the Gitana Team are keeping to their usual routine and will once again be able to count on the talent of Sylvain Mondon (Meteo France). The current record holder, the crew of Geronimo set off on this same attempt on 12th April 2006. Olivier de Kersauson and his men snatched the previous record set by Steve Fossett back on 23rd May 1996. The American adventurer set a reference time of 19 days 15 hours 18 minutes 9 seconds on the 60 foot trimaran Lakota. Ten years later, when Olivier de Kersauson and his ten men set off, the conditions reigning over the Pacific forced them to choose a very southerly route over the first few days at sea, distancing them from the direct course. Though Geronimo made the most of it to pass between the Hawaiian islands and rounded the mark of “Diamond Head” after 4 days and 19 hours. In so doing it established a new reference time between San Francisco and Honolulu (Hawaii). This passage off Honolulu, also proved to be an opportunity for Olivier de Kersauson and his crew to glean the record between Honolulu and Yokohama, previously owned by Steve Fossett, in 13 days and 20 hours. The crew of Gitana 13 North Pacific Crossing (San Francisco - Yokohama):
Popularity: 9% [?] 
Listen to this podcast
 Print This Post
Related Posts
Leave a Reply
|
Best Viewed with:
PagesCategories
TagsAberdeen Dragon European Championship Acura Miami Grand Prix Agility: Ultimate D0-It-All Design America's Cup Assistant Commercial Manager Bacardi Cup Be Part Of The Best Both Sail And Power Classic Yacht Projects Available Clipper Events Is Hiring Commercial Manager Danish Open Goetz and Rogers Team Up for New Project Google Alert - yachting Google Blogs Alert for: sailing Google Blogs Alert for: yachting High Performance Clothing IMX-45 Charter Available for the 2008 Newport Bermuda R Inside Track ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship ISAF World Match Race Rankings Jimmy Cornell - World Cruising Routes (Hardcover) JPMorgan Asset Management Round The Island Race Late Availability for Antigua Sailing Week Launchings Life Raft & Survival Equipment - Serious About Safe Naval Architect Required For South Coast Yacht Design O Oyster Marine Oyster Marine - Assistant Commercial Manager Performance Laminates From Bainbridge International Qingdao Olympics Re: Help Rigging a Nacra 6.0 (na?) Ready To Wear Ready To Win Skandia Cowes Week Technical Officer Test Transat AG2R Trophee Clairefontaine de Valencia Tune Your Career Vendee Globe Volvo Ocean Race Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship Yachting-Live Launch Yachtworld MagazineMeta
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Entries (RSS)