Complete
overhaul of the boat
Since this morning, Geronimo has been close on
the wind (at 31° actual) to try and force
her way through the centre of the small depression
to her north. The Cap Gemini and Schneider Electric
crew then hope to pick up the northern edge of
the low pressure area and catch its westerly winds.
As they wait, the crew have continued to use today's
calms to overhaul the entire boat as she runs
at reduced speed.
"Flat calm and the wind right behind us:
we're a long way from the galloping return leg
we had on Sport Elec or even on Lyonnaise des
Eaux. We've given the mast a major check-up and
changed the lashings and the main track travellers.
We've also made the most of our situation to seal
the dagger board housing, turn the halyards and
sheets and dismantle the winch heads, as well
as refitting our navigation lights and turning
off our transmitters to wipe the data, etc.",
says Olivier de Kersauson.
The small sea bird rescued by the crew last Friday
has now flown away. "He perked up once we
got him on board. We fed him some fish and he
must be the only bird around here to have tasted
olive oil. We were happy and proud of the care
we were able to give him and although it wasn't
much, it was done with great care and affection.
Nevertheless, it's amazing. He was with us for
about 30 hours and didn't even try to fly inside
the boat. He'd clearly recovered and now he's
gone. Everyone was pleased to see him fly off
so strongly, because he wasn't too hot when we
found him", reports the skipper.
The French Army captures Geronimo in Kosovo!
Starting
today, Olivier de Kersauson's radio bulletins
will be broadcast three times a week as part of
the sports magazine programme on AZUR F.M, the
official radio station of the French Army, which
broadcasts direct from Mitrovica in Kosovo to
French forces in the Balkans and French-speaking
listeners throughout the country. This new coverage
says a lot about the enormous amount of interest
that the eleven men on board the Schneider Electric
and Cap Gemini Ernst & Young trimaran are
generating around the world! And as Nicolas, one
of the three military presenters of AZUR.FM puts
it: "We have a lot of sailors in this army
who are very keen to hear Olivier's latest comments
over the air. We've been following Geronimo's
progress since she left Ushant and we're right
behind them every mile of the way".
www.grandsrecords.com
Geronimo's position : Day 45
Geronimo's position at 03:00 GMT