Geronimo moves into the Tasman

Conditions still awkward for de Kersauson's crew

Day 29	Position	24hr run	Av speed
Geronimo	45°41S 144°43E	459	19.13
Orange	50°24S 112°21E	418	17.41

The boat's position at 15:00 GMT today: 46°15S 150°14E
Distance travelled in 12 hours : 233 nautical miles
Average speed over the last 12 hours: 19,4 knots

Geronimo passed Tasmania at around 07:00 GMT this morning on her 30th day at sea. The Cap Gemini and Schneider Electric sponsored trimaran continues to maintain good speed, despite the difficult sea conditions that still prevent her from taking a more southerly route. Nevertheless, Olivier de Kersauson and his crew continue to clock up the miles but at 45° South. The trimaran is currently in the Tasman Sea.

The next few hours will be very important for the record attempt, since Geronimo has no alternative other than to track further south around New Zealand and therefore return into the Howling Fifties. Everyone on board is hoping that sea conditions will allow them to return to the latitudes enjoyed by the current Jules Verne Trophy holder on his record-breaking circumnavigation of last year: at this longitude, Bruno Peyron and Orange were at 54° south.

The Indian Ocean has therefore been a very difficult stage of this record attempt, having forced the crew to extend the trimaran’s route significantly. The 11-man crew has now travelled more than 13,000 nautical miles since leaving Brest on 11 January.

Their thoughts now turn towards the largest ocean on earth: the Pacific covers 180 million km2, almost one third of the world’s surface.