Olivier de Kersauson and crew are currently doing all they can to curb Geronimo’s outstanding speed in an effort to prevent boat damage. According to reports from the boat this morning the squalls in the Southern Ocean are travelling at 60 knots and the sea conditions are wild.

Under a three-reefed main and staysail, the trimaran is struggling hard to keep her bows out of this grasping sea and is already considering how best to position herself for the attack on the Pacific. The crew tried shaking out one reef to match the boat’s power to the speed of the waves, but in one squall earlier today, the trimaran peaked at over 40 knots in a very broken sea. On the advice of their router and weather guru, the crew will not venture further south than the 47th parallel, where the sea is completely chaotic. “Further south than that and we’d be massacred” says Olivier de Kersauson.

At 15:00 GMT today, Geronimo was 313 nautical miles from the longitude of Cape Leeuwin, the second great cape of the Jules Verne Trophy course. She should pass it sometime tomorrow.

Geronimo’s position at 03:00 GMT

Latitude, Longitude, Distance in 24hr, Average speed, Distance from Cape Leeuwin

Cap gemini Schneider, 44°25S, 102°48E, 448 nautical miles, 18.67, 455 nautical miles

Orange, 45°13S,

69°50E, 315 nautical miles, 13.13, 1,676 nautical miles

The boat’s position at 15:00 GMT today

45°15S, 107°45E Distance travelled in 12 hours 216 nautical miles

Average speed over the last 12 hours 18.04 knots