Get out of this one...

Geronimo going well, but tackling the Azores high could prove the stumbling block

Day 56
Position at 2317GMT: 11°38N 32°21W
24 hour run: 399nm
Average speed: 16.60 knots

While Geronimo, skipper Olivier de Kersauson and her crew may at present be making better progress, despite still being on the wind, of greater concern to them is how on earth they are going to get from their present position to the Ushant finish line.

As the chart below shows the Azores high will be enormous by the time they reach its vicinity and de Kersauson will be studying his options, none of which are appealing.

The direct route to the finish is straight upwind. The right side of the course is blocked by Africa and if he goes left, as is the normal tactic, he will either be stuck in the windless centre of the High or he can hang a hard left and head for America adding several hundred if thousands of miles to his trip home. The choice is not an enviable one but few skippers have more experience of this stretch of water. For de Kersauson this will be a case of deja-vu, for on his Jules Verne Trophy bid last year his return journey up the north Atlantic was equally unaccommodating.