Grands Records - Going South To Lengthen The Boat's Stride
01 April 18:30

The trimaran flying the colours of Cap Gemini and Schneider Electric continues its descent southwards. The Geronimo covered 490 nautical miles on its 35th day of navigation, still hoping for the west wind that has been eluding it.

Olivier de Kersauson and his 10-man crew are still encountering difficult sailing conditions, with the wind still blowing from the south, but less violently. A progressive change in the wind to west/south-west was expected around the middle of the day, thus allowing the boat to lengthen its stride and take less battering to its structure.

Geronimo must now wait until a big depression moves up from the south, so that it can be pulled along with it and get back into the westerly flow. But it must not get too near to areas where the ocean currents are too strong and would make sailing too difficult.

To sail one degree of longitude at 50°S, you have to do 38.57 nautical miles, while at 55°S, you only have to do 34.41, which is 12% less. So the southerly route not only offers a refuge against the depressions, it also means that less distance needs to be covered. But still, that wind from the west would be more than welcome...

Geronimo's latest news are on http://www.trimaran-geronimo.com