Into the Indian Ocean

Lionel Lemonchois' Gitana 13 maxi-cat is now just over a week into her attempt on the Tea Route record from Hong Kong to London

Lionel Lemonchois and the crew of the maxi-catamaran Gitana 13 are now just over a week into their attempt on the Tea Route from Hong Kong to London having set out on 14 August at 07:55:32 GMT, in the weather window between tropical storm Kammuri and typhoon Nuri. Despite the lively conditions, the LCF Rothschild Group maxi-cat posted a good time down to the Sunda Strait, that separates the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java.

Gitana 13 is now out into the Indian Ocean having exited 12 mile wide Sunda Strait last night, shortly after 0100 GMT.

“The first part of this course was very tricky, but we’ve come out of it rather well," commented Lemonchois. "Prior to setting out from Hong Kong, the most optimistic forecasts gave us eight days to reach the Sunda Strait. In the end we covered the 2,000 miles of this initial section in 6 days 16 hours. It’s very satisfying, particularly as the weather didn’t really favour us; dishing out what felt like some interminable days sailing upwind and a rather long passage across the equator.”

Arriving in the Indian Ocean will mark a change of rhythm for the crew. After a week spent in the confined waters of the China Sea and Java Sea, tacking upwind, Gitana 13 is now speeding along on the longer oceanic swell. Benefiting from some well-established southeasterly tradewinds, the ten crew will finally be able to unleash the potential of Baron Benjamin de Rothschild's 33m maxi-catamaran: “The southeasterly tradewinds are well and truly here!" continued Lemonchois. "We’ve got 22 to 25 knots of breeze, which is enabling us to drive Gitana 13 at speeds of 25-30 knots. The seas are building gradually and it is wetter on deck now. Those on watch have swapped their T-shirts for foulies, which are better suited to these new sailing conditions. Everything seems to be in place to enable us to pass the Reunion Islands quickly… some big surfing awaits!”

Meteorologist Sylvain Mondon, router for the Gitana Team, outlines the next 4,500 miles: “The southeasterly tradewinds are well established in the Indian Ocean. These highly favourable winds will enable Lionel Lemonchois and his crew to maintain an average speed of around 25 knots throughout the first half of this ocean crossing. This regular tradewind air flow is currently being produced by two vast zones of high pressure: the first close to Australia and the second close to Africa. These two systems are shifting slightly eastwards as they fill in and the second zone of high pressure will settle between the Kerguelen and Reunion islands and stretch right across the breadth of the Indian Ocean on Saturday 23 August. A fine and slightly favourable SSEly swell is accompanying the maxi-catamaran, so Gitana 13 should make fairly rapid progress over the next four days. Following on from that, they’ll have to line themselves up nicely in order to negotiate the passage of several fronts to the south of Madagascar, prior to reaching the Cape of Good Hope. The second half of the crossing won’t be as direct and they'll be upwind once more in increasingly big seas as they approach the African continent”.

Gitana 13’s crew
Watch no.1: Lionel Lemonchois (Skipper / watch leader / helmsman) / Olivier Wroczynski (trimmer /in charge of computers and power) / David Boileau (Bowman / in charge of deck fittings)
Watch No.2: Ludovic Aglaor (watch leader / helmsman) / Laurent Mermod (trimmer) / Ronan Le Goff (Bowman)
Watch No.3: Pascal Blouin (Watch leader / helmsman) / Ronan Guérin (trimmer) / Léopold Lucet (No.1, in charge of supplies and doctor)
Outside the watch system: Dominic Vittet (navigator)