Fast French catamaran sets sailing record

San Francisco Chronicle/Houston Chronicle:

Very slowly the big French racing yacht Gitana 13 passed under the Golden Gate Bridge on Thursday and into sailing history.

The Gitana 13 had just completed the fastest voyage by sail from New York to San Francisco: 43 days and 38 minutes on a 14,500-mile route that took it around Cape Horn at the tip of South America.

"It is a very difficult course," said Peter Hogg, a sailor who holds four trans-Pacific and trans-Atlantic course records himself. Hogg was among a couple dozen sailing aficionados who welcomed the 10 crew members of Gitana 13 when they stepped ashore at the Corinthian Yacht Club in Tiburon Thursday.

"It was a fantastic trip," said Lionel Lemonchois, the skipper. "This is the third time I have done this course, and I never get tired of it."

The Gitana 13 cleared the Ambrose Light at the entrance to New York harbor on Jan. 16 and made very fast time to Cape Horn. The best day's run was a remarkable 640 miles, and once, in a burst of speed, the boat made 40.3 knots.

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That is incredibly fast for any kind of boat, much less a sailboat. A typical sailboat averages between five to ten knots of speed, with ten being extremely rare. The crew lost five days waiting for winds and seas to lay enough to get around Cape Horn where it was blowing 60 knots with 35 foot seas when they first arrived.