Tres serieux

Conclusion of Geronimo team after inspecting beam damage

Having arrived in Fremantle earlier this morning the crew of Geronimo and their support team have wasted no time in getting to work to find out the extent of the damage to their maxi-trimaran's crossbeam.

“We stopped because we knew we had serious damage, but it's actually worse than that - it's very serious“, said skipper Olivier de Kersauson this morning. “We have been incredibly lucky to reach Perth with a boat that really isn't seaworthy. If we'd had to put any weight on the starboard side, I don't think we'd have lasted more than 20 hours and we'd have lost Geronimo." The crew had been able to sail Geronimo on starboard tack all the way to Western Australia.

"It's only the weather conditions that have allowed us to be this lucky. By heading further south and sweeping round to come back north to Perth, we were able to stay on the same tack all the way. That's life though: it can throw major problems your way and, just as easily, give you a helping hand when you need it. This problem could also have happened in the middle of nowhere and we'd have been in real trouble. It's a bit like having a heart attack right outside the American hospital. When it's all over and you know you're safe, it sends a chill down your spine”.

The Capgemini/Schneider Electric trimaran arrived in the middle of the Australian night, the crew and shore team wasting no time in getting to grips with the problem. There must have been at least 20 hyper-competent people to welcome us. We came into port just as if we were coming home to Brest. At the end of the quay where Geronimo is now moored, there was - in the middle of the night remember - a heater and a vacuum pump ready and waiting: it's like a full field hospital for boats!” Every resource was in place to welcome the damaged trimaran and start repair work within the shortest possible time.

By 0500. local time, the crossbeam had already been dried by the three Australian technicians, with the assistance of most of Geronimo's crew. An hour later, the vacuum pump had dried out the gaping hole in the crossbeam.

By 0700, the technical team had begun to strip away the outer layers, opening and enlarging the hole to conduct a minute examination of the damaged materials. Using an ultrasound scanner, Fabrice Allaz scanned the area to measure the extent of the damage and, more particularly, the extent of the delamination.

Finally, at 1000, the diagnosis was announced: “Without a shadow of a doubt, Geronimo has had a violent collision with a solid object - probably a tree trunk - which has had the effect of penetrating the arch of the starboard crossbeam right through to the pure carbon fibre core (4-5 cm thick). The outer fairing is burst, crushed and split over an area 30 cm wide and 60 cm high,” explained Allaz.

Olivier de Kersauson believes that the impact could have happened when Geronimo was sailing upwind towards the centre of the anticyclone, “it's most like to have been debris from the Tsunami disaster,” the French skipper theorises.

The repair schedule has now been drawn up. It involves rebuilding the inner skin, replacing and profiling the Airex foam, curing the carbon fibre and finally, assuming all goes well during these demanding initial phases, rebuilding the external fairing of the crossbeam. Meanwhile the crew are using the opportunity to give the boat a thorough check-up.

“We haven't actually completed the diagnosis yet“, explains Olivier de Kersauson. “We know we have the human and technical resources we need to make the repairs, but we have to approach it carefully and thoughtfully”. The decision on whether or not to rejoin the race will be taken in the coming hours. As Geronimo's skipper stresses: “When we set sail again, it's for the Southern Ocean, not a cruise”.