Geronimo
passes the Falklands…
The Cap Gemini and Schneider Electric crew passed
the Falkland Islands this morning. Yesterday was
a day of transition for Geronimo with little sustained
wind (blowing between 10 and 12 knots), resulting
in just 349 nautical miles covered. Still driven
by an irregular breeze, Olivier de Kersauson's
trimaran is now back on the direct route making
an average of almost 15 knots. The weather pattern
in the South Atlantic remains complex and as Geronimo's
skipper explained during yesterday's bulletin:
"It means we have to pay close attention
to every aspect of boat trim to get the most out
of conditions that are not good by any stretch
of the imagination".
The new "Cape Horners" haven't yet had
the time to celebrate their rounding of the famous
cape, but for Yves Pouillaude (the Cap Gemini
watch captain), this was the third time and for
Didier Ragot (the Schneider Electric watch captain)
and Marc Le Fur their second. For Geronimo's skipper,
this was the sixth rounding of Cape Horn.
The Falklands' group covers an area of 12,170
km2 and is made up of two main islands and innumerable
smaller ones. The totally uninhabited archipelago
was (re) discovered in 1690 by English navigators,
who claimed it for the crown and gave it the name
of the Falkland Islands. The first permanent settlers
arrived in 1764, in the form of a French garrison
and a group of fishermen from St Malo, who preferred
the name of Malouines for their home. Although
the Falklands became an English colony in 1892,
Argentina continues to claim the islands as national
territory.
Olivier de Kersauson has already rounded Cape
Horn on five previous occasions:
