So near but so far

Geronimo stalls at crucial moment. Record out of reach now for the French trimaran

Day 63 0300	Position	24hr run	Av speed	DTF
Geronimo	41°53N 20°47W	180nm	7.51	762nm
Orange	47°37N 15°18W	549nm	22.89	402nm

Geronimo's position at 15:00 GMT: 42°40N 19°09W
Distance travelled in 12 hours : 58,40 nautical miles
Average speed over the last 12 hours: 4,86 knots

At 15:00 GMT today, Geronimo, the Cap Gemini and Schneider Electric sponsored trimaran was 683 nautical miles from her home port of Brest, having covered only 180 in the previous 24 hours: an average speed of just 7.5 knots. Beating Orange's record is now a pipe dream. "It's a meteorological nightmare!" described Olivier de Kersauson. "But despite everything, we're sailing just as we've been before, although the atmosphere is a little more relaxed now".

Having set sail with 60 days' of food (five of them fresh food days), their supplies are beginning to run out. "There's not a great deal to eat, but we still have our survival rations. It's not terrible... it could be worse!".

For the time being, Olivier de Kersauson and his 10-man crew are continuing their laborious progress towards Ushant and the finish line. "There are no tactics at the moment, because we can't get anywhere. There's a real feeling of impotence on board - there's nothing any of us can do about weather as ridiculous as this. It's so unusual! Even if we'd had a 3-day lead by the time we reached the Azores, we'd have lost it anyway. This weather system is really huge and totally surreal: in July or August, you might expect it, but in March …It's really unbelievable!", concludes the skipper.