Afternoon finish likely

Geronimo heads for home

Day 63
Position at 2317GMT: 50°07N 13°11W
24 hour run: 329 nautical miles
Average speed: 13.7 knots

Last night Geronimo was 82 miles ahead of Orange's 2002 position with 322 miles left to run in her attempt on the Jules Verne Trophy. This morning at 0500GMT the trimaran's distance to go before crossing the Ushant-Lizard finish line was down to 200 miles but for some reason de Kersauson was maintaining a course more to the east than he needed to. At present conditions are lively with 25-30 knot northerlies propelling the French crew back home. These conditions should stay with Geronimo for the rest of the day until they cross the line later this afternoon.

Significant for the crew was that yesterday they altered course and went on to port tack. "It's like having to reformat your body, which has become so used to living on the starboard tack," said de Kersauson yesterday. "Over and above the fatigue, the lads are having difficulty moving around - we're all a bit clumsy. It's bound to take a few hours for the helmsmen to recover their reflexes and our brains to cope with finding their way around the boat now that she's heeling the wrong way..."