Cape Horn this weekend

Gitana 13 maxi-cat off Argentina on their New York to San Francisco record attempt

It's been more than 14 days since Lionel Lemonchois and the Gitana 13 crew few past the Statue of Liberty bound for San Francisco via Cape Horn on the traditional clipper ship record. At present Baron Benjamin de Rothschild's 33m maxi-catamaran is down into the Roaring Forties but tackling light winds off the Argentinan coast. This has been typical of the conditions the crew have been experiencing all week thanks to the undulating nature of the south Atlantic high.

The latest sched has Cape Horn around 630 miles away. Due to the weather situation ahead of them, with another anti-cyclonic area developing off the coast to their south, it is likely we will see them hugging the Argentinian coast, leaving the Falkland Islands way off to their port side. It is also likely that they will attempt to sail through the Strait of LeMaire between Islas Estrados and the Tierra del Fuego mainland. Given the forecast Gitana 13 is expected to round Cape Horn on Saturday. This will be better than if they round on Friday when they would encounter 40-45 knot headwinds and a nice beat to get around Cape Horn - not a good scenerio in a maxi-cat!

"Proceed cautiously but quickly," is the mantra for skipper Lionel Lemonchois and crew during this record attempt. "Sails, winches through to the very structure of the boat - everything is regularly checked by the crew to sure it is in top condition. On a long passage like this, of nearly 14,000 miles, being at the helm of a vessel in top condition is an asset," stated Lionel Lemonchois. The nine sailors on board have a schedule of daily maintenance to carry out.

Accustomed to these big multihulls having twice won the Jules Verne Trophy with Bruno Peyron on his Orange maxi-cats ( Gitana 13 was at one time Orange 1), Florent Chastel gave his impressions: "On board, everything is really in good shape. The boat is very much improved, and any changes made by the Gitana Team have been a real benefit to the balance and performance. The new sails are perfect "