Thursday 18th September – 1430 hrs UT
Tea Route (Hong Kong / London)
A relentless North Atlantic for Gitana 13
Aboard the maxi-catamaran in the colours of the LCF Rothschild Group, the
climb up the North Atlantic is revealing all its subtleties… and its
difficulty. Slowed considerably by a long passage across the Doldrums late
last week, Lionel Lemonchois and his men are now faced with a meteorological
brain-teaser off the Canaries. This will be a tricky section, as will the
Bay of Biscay and the last few miles along the English Channel. In plain
language, positioned 1,700 miles from London this Thursday afternoon, the
crew of Gitana 13 will have to hang on patiently before they can reach their
goal.
Sailors have a great capacity to constantly adapt to the changes in weather.
However, when they’re down to the final miles and home is not too far away –
at least compared with the 13,000 miles they’ve covered since leaving Hong
Kong – the desire to complete their mission is becoming increasingly
pressing!: “This morning, whilst the forecast grib files didn’t bode well
and we were making slow headway at 10 knots in a capricious wind, I have to
say that the troop’s morale wasn’t great… However, we’ve had some new, more
optimistic grib files since then and the good humour has returned. In the
last days of a long voyage like the Tea Route, the atmosphere is always
split between the desire to get there and the nostalgia of returning home”
confided Lionel Lemonchois.
As regards the weather, the ten sailors of Gitana Team know that they can
count on the talent and the receptiveness of Sylvain Mondon to try to evade
the pitfalls dotted across their course. In fact the telephone and email
exchanges between the onboard navigator and the onshore router have been
numerous recently: “Gitana 13 is sailing upwind on the approach to a stormy
low with N’ly winds fluctuating at the mercy of the associated cold air.
This is why the crew are making headway at a moderate speed of between 10
and 15 knots. This is set to be the way of things for some time and in fact
the situation may become more exaggerated tonight and tomorrow morning.
Indeed, in around twenty hours time, the maxi-catamaran will begin the most
tricky phase to the south of the low in fairly light winds. This transition
zone located immediately to the NW of the Canaries will nevertheless be an
important passage as the winds will then fill in slowly to start with,
before increasing as they shift round to the west and then the south-west
during Friday” explained Sylvain Mondon before concluding: “From then on,
Gitana 13 will be able to slip along downwind at speeds in excess of 20
knots, which will enable it to close rapidly on Cape Finisterre over the
course of Friday night”. This change in pace is something the ten sailors
have been looking forward to, but for the time being they’re paying a high
price for it.
Setting out from Hong Kong on 14th August 2008, Lionel Lemonchois and his
nine crew attacked their sixth week at sea this morning, and sincerely hope
it will be their last. Indeed, though an exact ETA is very difficult to
provide today, everyone is agreed on an arrival at the entrance to the River
Thames between 23rd and 25th September. In the meantime, the Bay of Biscay
and the English Channel await, and it’s certainly not going to be an
enjoyable ride: “From Sunday, the wind will have continued to swing round so
that the crew are faced with an E’ly wind at the approach to the Bay of
Biscay. More close-hauled sailing is in store for Gitana 13 then in a steady
E to NE’ly breeze as they traverse the Bay of Biscay and make the climb
along the English Channel. The ten sailors of Gitana Team will have to make
a series of tack changes as far as Pas-de-Calais so the last few miles will
be extremely strenuous. Doubtless the climb up the Thames in downwind
conditions will be a relief for the whole crew, even if the river traffic
will warrant increased vigilance all the way to London.”
Today’s figures
Departure from Hong Kong: Thursday 14th August at 07h55’32’’ (UT)
Thursday 18th September at 1415 (UT)
Latitude: 29°17.47 N – Longitude : 22°33.12 W
Distance left to go: 1,760 miles
Find all the latest about the Gitana Team at www.gitana-team.com
Translated by Kate Jennings – Expression
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