'These ten days have been like a siege'

For Olivier de Kersauson and his crew, these ten days have been like a siege. The watch system has gone by the board, because everyone has been on deck. Similarly, rank has disappeared as every man has become a simple crewmember giving his all in the service of the fabulous vessel beneath them. It is hard for us to imagine the level of trust and human commitment that makes such symbiosis possible.

The men of Cap Gemini Ernst & Young and Schneider Electric have shown total commitment. The complete dedication of each individual for the common cause has been the sole challenge for these professional sailors turned warriors, heroes and conquerors, whose quest now proves impossible simply for lack of wind. The situation is all the more hard to take, since Geronimo was still ahead of the record at the end of her 62nd day at sea...

Having accepted the almost unthinkable idea that they cannot return home victorious, they must still take pride in the absolute achievement that Geronimo’s performance has helped them deliver: a level of performance that has been superior at every comparable point to that of the current-record holding catamaran. In the end though, they have been at the mercy of weather conditions, but that is what sport is all about – the playing field isn’t always a level one.