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Gitana 13 – Pit Stop at the Horn

The 110-ft maxi cat Gitana 13 is stopped, waiting patiently ‘behind the door’ as they put it. The door in this case is the Lemaire Channel, the final passageway to Cape Horn and the Pacific. As this was written, they had been hove-to near the mouth of the Lemaire Channel for a full day, under bare poles with the wheel tied off and the 10-man crew alternately resting, inspecting the boat, keeping watch, and checking with their weather routers back in France for any change in the conditions. In their last report, the wind was blowing 50 knots, with gusts up to 65. Fortunately, they are in an area protected from the 20- to 30-ft swells rolling past the Horn itself, as well as pounding the coast of Chile along their northern route.

The Gitana 13 crew are using their pit stop near Cape Horn to inspect every inch of the boat.

© 2008 Gitana S.A.

“Farther out, where we would be if we hadn’t decided to wait things out, it must be hell,” writes Nicholas Renaud. “And then the thought of sailors from bygone days who had to face the same storms . . . but they didn’t have any way to avoid them like we do today. How did they do it? Respect!”

Gitana 13 has covered 7,000 miles since leaving New York on January 16. She has another 7,000 to go to reach San Francisco on her quest for a new record for the Route de l’Or, the ‘route of gold’ named for the 49ers who sailed this route in the 19th Century. She was originally expected by February 20, although arrival anytime before about mid-March will break the current 57-day record, set in 1989.

The current bad weather is expected to pass through by Wednesday, and the Gitana crew hope to slip through the door and be on their way north before the next big low rolls in.

To keep up with their progress, log onto www.gitana-team.com/en/gitana10/homepage.asp

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We’re saddened to report that Alameda-based cruiser John Long, 78, was found dead in Puerto Madero, Mexico — just north of the Guatemalan border — on Saturday.
Mike, legally a parapalegic, unsnarls his chute off St. Barth about a week ago when he still had 1,100 miles to go in order to complete Wanderlust 3’s circumnavigation.
The SF-based Beneteau 42 Cirque got off to a good start but, like others, struggled to maintain position in the light air.