Geronimo: Jules Verne Record Attempt – Day Six, 1300GMT
Position: 10.53N 23.43W (off the coast of Guinea/Sierra Leone)
Distance Covered: 2,494 miles (c.f. Sport Elec – 1,325 miles)
Telemetry: Making 14 knots south in 15 knots of breeze from the north, calm seas

Despite somewhat temperamental pressure as he approaches the Doldrums, Geronimo’s skipper Olivier de Kersauson can’t scarcely conceal his delight at just how well his latest Jules Verne record attempt – his sixth – is going. “Everything’s going very well on board,” said OdK. “The boat and the crew I have the honour to captain could hardly be running more efficiently. The Cap Gemini Ernst & Young and Schneider Electric watches run like clockwork every six hours.”

His good mood, evident in his last radio communiqué, grows despite light northerly airs forcing him and his crew to sail the angles, gybing on the slightest windshift to keep Geronimo broad reaching as fast as possible. “Conditions are not clear-cut and rather slack. The wind is between 16-21 knots, but it’s blowing from the north-northwest, and is therefore right behind us. We’re having to tack, which means that we’re also having to travel half as far again as we should.

“I’m spending a lot of time analysing rather imprecise weather data. Pierre Lasnier is doing an enormous amount to help and is sending us all the data he can, but it can be 10 or 15 per cent adrift of the actual conditions here. So, we continue to check the boat’s heading and speed, but the conditions are extremely variable and aren’t at all easy to read. We’re having to sail the old way – when the wind turns, we gybe. It’s not possible to have a fixed strategy. “

Lasnier, having spotted a narrow bridge across the Doldrums, recommended Geronimo keep heading south rather than taking the usual route across further west. “We’re going to try to pass through a little further east than normal,” said Lasnier yesterday. “It shouldn’t take too long.”

Weather aside, Geronimo and her crew are thriving. “We’ve all sailed at least 14,000 miles together on Geronimo. We had a small lull of a few hours during which Xavier Briault climbed to the masthead to change a halyard and check the mast. The whole thing was done without slowing the boat, which shows just how efficient this crew is and how well its members are working. We hardly need to speak when we change course, because everything’s working so well.”

Follow Geronimo’s progress on his PC-friendly but Mac-not-so-friendly website: www.grandsrecords.com