At 07:40:42 local time today (14:40:42 GMT and 16:40:42 French time), Geronimo crossed the start line off San Francisco under grey skies with a light south-westerly breeze of between 5 and 10 knots.

Having cast off late yesterday evening to avoid port traffic, the Capgemini and Schneider Electric trimaran finally crossed the start line at about 0740 local time and set course for Yokohama. “It’s a complex course, and therefore an interesting one”, explained Olivier de Kersauson before the start. “The Pacific is governed by three or four different weather systems, which makes some passages rather challenging. Unlike the Atlantic, these are waters we aren’t very familiar with”. Having set off in highly variable wind conditions, the maxi trimaran will have to clear San Francisco Bay before she finds more favourable weather.

The current record: San Francisco (USA) – Yokohama (Japan): Steve Fossett – 19 days, 15 hours, 18 minutes, 9 seconds – 1996

Crew list

Olivier de Kersauson,Didier Ragot, Larry Rosenfeld (USA),Jean Charles Corre, Lucas Zamecnik, Xavier Douin, Antoine Deru, Philippe Laot, Rodolphe Jacq, Pas cal Jagut, Kazuhiro Nishimura (Japan),Matt Bryant (USA)