Sailing Update I–Bye, Bye Olivier!: Facing a forecast that was pleasingly pathetic, Olivier De Kersauson turned tail and is sailing back to Brest, abandoning his attempt to break my…sorry, I mean Steve Fossett’s east to west transatlantic record. From the boat:

“This Sunday morning, Geronimo is on course back to Brest. Wind conditions

have deteriorated even further for the French crew, with less than 10

knots of wind, which is backing easterly all the time. Worse still, the

24- and 36-hour forecasts leave no doubt of what would lie ahead: a gaping

windless hole opening up before the bows of Geronimo. The anticyclone will

extend as far as 15° south and no trade wind is forecast until next week.

With no chance left of beating the record set by Playstation, Geronimo’s

skipper has laid a course back to base.”

It makes sense, in a way. DeK cares more than anything about the round the world (RTW) record, which he lost last year, and is planning to make an attempt this winter. So if he sails the boat all the way to the American seaboard without even breaking a record, he’d have to rush back to France to get set up for an RTW departure without having anything to show for his troubles. The record breaking game is a tricky one, and De Kersauson has always been willing to pull the plug if he thinks things aren’t looking good. So my world record certificate can continue hanging, for the moment. There don’t seem to be any other pretenders setting up for a run at it. Phew…til next year…..



Heading Home: “Don’t let the door hit you in the ass……”