Jules Verne Trophy - Orange II - Geronimo - Cheyenne zur Übersicht 06.04.2004 An intermediate fix taken at 13:16 GMT today, Tuesday 6 April, put the trimaran Geronimo at 58°45S, 80°01W. Still making very slow headway upwind, Olivier de Kersauson and his crew announced their intention by satellite telephone to do battle with the strong winds that stand between them and the Horn. The Cap Gemini and Schneider Electric crew are now preparing to head straight for the rock, thanks to a 25-knot south-easterly which is forecast to strengthen as they approach their objective. Nevertheless, they should soon feel the benefit of a change in wind direction to the south, which is forecast for between 18:00 and 21:00 GMT today and which should allow them, finally, to pass Cape Horn. Geronimo bides her time. [6 /4 /2004 ] The Cap Gemini and Schneider Electric trimaran is now at the entrance to the Drake Strait at 59°S, where a wind of around 20 knots is gradually changing direction from East to South. This rotation should continue through the rest of today and tonight and eventually result in the overdue release of the 11-man crew from their icy nightmare. Since the large depression is moving a little more slowly than forecast, they are literally having to wait. Geronimo tried to put on some speed towards the East yesterday, just to see what would happen in a westerly swell which is flowing against a 2- to 3-metre easterly “chop”. About every 15 minutes, a wave from the East would coincide with the crest of the swell from the West to create a 5-metre wall of water, which would break over the forward beams without warning. This is neither the place nor the time to put the structure of the boat at risk, especially since a gigantic depression will arrive here on Saturday, finally closing the door on the Pacific Ocean for this winter. It will be best for all concerned to be far away from here by then. The trimaran therefore continues to tack towards the Atlantic, taking good care to avoid getting too close to the coast and, paradoxically, not to arrive too soon at the Horn. What’s more, just in case the escape into the Atlantic was a little too easy, it is possible that Geronimo could be met by quite a storm north of the Falklands... After the Azores High over Madeira, the trade winds out of place, a gigantic Doldrums, the St. Helena High over Argentina, a civilised Indian Ocean, a warlike Pacific and a crawling upwind passage to the Horn, what else is there to come? All it needs is a small depression over the Azores to complete this meteorological rollercoaster of a round-the-world trip! DAY 40 GERONIMO (Cap Gemini / Schneider Electric) 59°07S - 84°52W 264.60 nautical miles covered in 24 hours at an average speed of 11.02 knots Distance from Cape Horn: 571 nautical miles Comparisons Jules Verne Trophy: ahead by 421 nautical miles Round-the-world record 2004: behind by 696 nautical miles Press Relations RIVACOM Régis Rassouli Tel : +33 (0) 2 98 43 21 50 regis@rivacom.fr Téléchargez le communiqué - Geronimo's web site The wind is forecast to back southerly, then south-westerly from tomorrow evening or Wednesday morning, enabling Geronimo to race north as fast as possible. Today's objective was simply to avoid being "thrown" north before this change in the wind direction. Geronimo's latest news are on http://www.trimaran-geronimo.com Copyright © 1996-2016 - SEGEL.DE