Giant trimaran Geronimo eats up the miles

by Event Media on 25 Jun 2005 Three days after crossing the start line for The Challenge in Sydney, Geronimo is eating up the miles in her race to circumnavigate Australia.

As the maxi multihull made her way up the coast of NSW and Queensland, she has covered over 1200 nautical miles and sailed through a variety of weather conditions that have challenged the 12 man crew from France and Australia.

Now located off Cooktown on the northern Queensland coast, 360 miles out to sea, Geronimo has approximately 540 nautical miles to go before entering the testing waters of Torres Strait as she rounds Australia’s northern most point at Cape York.

Once she is past this point, she will enter waters that are historically known to be difficult due to light and fickle conditions, along with a minefield of small islands and adverse currents.

At this stage, the latest weather predictions appear to have favourable trade winds for her passage through these challenging waters. The crew anticipates rounding Cape York in the next 24 hours and currently have the breeze coming from a southerly direction at 25 knots.

‘We are sailing with a gennaker and one reef in the main,’ commented Australian crew member Chris Stirling earlier this morning.

‘We have not done too badly since the start, with not such good winds. We are in the trades now and everything is getting back in order,’ commented skipper, Olivier de Kersauson earlier today.

‘The first two days were very demanding for the crew - choppy seas, shifty winds with variations of up to 10 knots within the minute. They have rested a little since we have reached the trade winds, though.'

The three Australian crew members are getting to experience first hand the thrills and speeds that can occur when racing large multihull boats.

Geronimo has averaged approximately 16 knots boatspeed during her run up the coast and has reached top speeds so far of over 26 knots. ‘The Aussies are alright, but I am afraid that they find us and the boat very rough and bizarre, sometimes I think that we are alien yachtsmen to them,’ laughed de Kersauson.

If Geronimo can maintain her current speeds on the race around the country, she will be back in Sydney Harbour in less than 20 days, which will be an exceptional record and one for other multihulls to try and better.

As the boat heads across the top of Australia, Richard Whittaker, from The Weather Channel, has predicted: ‘The boat will travel across the top of Australia with the trade winds and then there is a 50/50 chance they will experience favourable winds on the trip down the north-western section of the course on the Western Australian coast.'

‘We have to learn how the race a multihull, which is very different to a monohull and learn another language, which can be a challenge,’ remarked Australian crew member Paul Montague.

Having passed Tregrosse Island, which means 'very fat'in French, the French and Australian crew are now onto freeze dried food rations, having consumed all the fresh produce on their way up the eastern coast.

Superyachting Challenges would like to thank event sponsors - Sergio Tacchini, Globalstar Australia, The Bulletin, MIC – Maritime International Communications, Protector Boats, Tourism New South Wales and The Weather Channel.