The 110ft maxi-catamaran Gitana 13 added the North Pacific crossing to its list of conquests last night after covering the 4,482 miles of the course in 11 days 12 minutes and 55 seconds. Leaving San Francisco on Saturday 29th March for the second record of their 2008 campaign, Lionel Lemonchois and his ten crew crossed the finish line off Yokohama, in Tokyo Bay at 2258 UT yesterday.

The maxi-catamaran improved on the previous record by 3 days 22 hours 27 minutes 46 seconds, held by Olivier de Kersauson and his crew on the trimaranGeronimosince 2006.

Skipper Lionel Lemonchois outlined the team’s plans. “Gitana 13 will remain in Yokohama until early May, since we’re continuing our series of records in the China Sea. The next destination for the crew is Dalian, in China, after a 1,500 mile record crossing attempt between the two towns. We will then follow that by trying to set new record times between Qingdao, Taipei, Hong Kong and Macao, prior to returning to Hong Kong to set off on the Tea Route.”

Keep up with their busy schedule here