Heading for Tassie

Severe Southern Ocean weather continues to force Geronimo north

Day 27	Position	24hr distance	Av speed
Geronimo	44°41S 123°15E	432	18.04
Orange	46°29S 91°05E	412	17.17

The boat's position at 15:00 GMT today: 44°32S, 128°39E
Distance travelled in 12 hours : 232 nautical miles
Average speed over the last 12 hours: 19.3 knots, point to point

Geronimo continues to make good miles now to the south of Australia. Unfortunately strong conditions to the south are continuing to keep the maxi-tri much further north than skipper Olivier de Kersauson would like to be.

In the strong northwesterly winds, the crew gybed onto starboard at around midnight last night and gybed back again at 0400 this morning.

De Kersauson and his 10-man crew are still being forced to remain “at around 45° south to keep the boat gliding”, as the skipper explained during his radio bulletin yesterday. The result is the big tri having to sail considerably more miles, although the strategy will help preserve the boat and allows the team to maintain an average speed above 20 knots.

The crew were delighted to set a third record, this time from Ushant to Cape Leeuwin yesterday to add to the previous record times they have set from Ushant to the Equator and to the Cape of Good Hope.

Geronimo has also increased her lead over Orange in every one of the three major sections of the course: the time to the Equator (+1d 10hr 34min), the time to the Cape of Good Hope (+ 2d 04hr 05min) and the time to Cape Leeuwin (+3d 02hr 29min). Despite de Kersauson's current predicament - another depression is currently to the southwest and they will have to let this pass before they can dive south, Geronimo is still some 10% ahead of the current record time.