Geronimo has finally found the Trade Winds and started to make up for lost time. A report from the boat this morning shows she’s spent the last few hours surfing towards the Doldrums. In the last 12 hours, Olivier de Kersauson and his 11-man crew have covered 241 nautical miles at an average speed of 20.15 knots bringing her to within 500 nautical miles of the Equator.

According to all the forecasters, the Doldrums promise to leave only a small area of calms behind to trouble the all-French crew. If it keeps its word, the Equator could be crossed tomorrow, leaving Geronimo free to throw all her energies into attacking the North Atlantic. However, there still remains the potential problem of no depression over the Azores, which means that the final straight-line dash for home will be upwind, involving, as usual, twice the distance and three times the trouble.

Position Day 52

11°42S – 33°37W

356 Nautical miles in 24 hours

Average speed: 14.84 knots

Orange (Jules Verne Trophy)

09°39S – 21°30W

540 Nautical miles in 24 hours

Average speed: 22.49 knots

Distance to the Equator (at 30W)

Geronimo: 734 nautical miles

Orange: 769 nautical miles