Geronimo does it tough

by Rivacom on 6 Jul 2005 Now over three quarters of the way around The Challenge course, Olivier de Kersauson's trimaran Geronimo is in the grip of midwinter in the southern seas, in a rough beam sea with icy winds gusting up to 65 knots.

‘The wind is cold and strong and the sea brutal. It's dark for half the day and the crew is enduring a good dose of unremitting fatigue,’ de Kersauson said in this morning's update.

‘It's squally weather, which means lots of manoeuvres and great application. Since Yves Pouillaude is the navigator for this campaign, I can spend a lot more time on deck and at the helm. The forecasts have been remarkably accurate, and although we have been able to keep on a southerly heading until this point, we're now in a configuration where we're getting at least 10 knots more than we were advised.'

Geronimo is now heading for Tasmania. The forecast holds out little hope of any respite for the Capgemini/Schneider Electric crew. ‘Geronimo is going well and I'm pleased to say she's coping well with this appalling sea; in fact, she's behaving remarkably,' de Kersauson remarked.

'If the wind wasn't so strong and the sea was a bit kinder, we'd be making more speed. Unfortunately, we still have another 48 hours of this weather. I hope that things will be a bit calmer when we turn left after Tasmania. Three-day forecasts don't mean much here. If there's worse to come, will it spare us?’

Once they have taken this ‘left turn’, there will be 700 nautical miles left to run into Sydney. Here is what de Kersauson had to say about the course: ‘This is a coastal course of some 6,500 miles and coastal means demanding and intense. It's an exciting thing to circle a continent that does so much to disturb the winds.

'We couldn't shorten it by getting closer to the coast. If we'd done that, it would have become a game of Poker. We had to stay well offshore where the terrestrial wind mixes with the sea air. It's equivalent to a third of the way around the world and concentrates on all the pitfalls you would meet on a circumnavigation.

'It's a long way removed from a summer cruise around the coast of Brittany, but it's enthralling. Here, there's something happening all the time.' Distance covered in the last 24 hours: 400 miles.

At 3.00am this morning, Geronimo was 620 miles west of her Maatsuyker turning point, 1267 miles from Sydney, sailing at 16.2 knots with a 33 knot following breeze.

For all the news and tracking www.sail-world.com/geronimo.