Jules Verne Gymboree–“The Admiral” Is Chasing Hard: 608 miles. That’s the tally from Geronimo’s first day in the Southern Ocean as Olivier De Kersauson rockets towards the Cape of Good Hope in fine winds and flat seas. Hitting the Roaring Forties is always a dramatic experience for any sailor, and here’s what the big man had to say about it: “[I]t’s the point where you leave the normal world behind to enter another that’s full of beauty and extraordinary unexpected sights, but also has an enormous potential for violence. Once you get below 40° South, there’s no mistaking where you are!” Geronimo is sailing a careful course, trying to thread her way past a danger of high pressure to her north and a danger of ice to her south.

De Kersauson is obviously pushing his boat hard, though. Why? He knows that up ahead Fossett and Cheyenne are 2000 miles ahead of the current record (chart here). From a tactical point of view this is one of the downsides for Fossett of broadcasting his positions twice a day. Geronimo knows how hard she has to sail. It’s ironic that De Kersauson is the beneficiary of this modern PR aspect of record breaking on the web. In the bad old days of the Jules Verne, De Kersauson was famous for going totally silent about his positions or even reporting false positions to screw the opposition up. And today, thanks to the web, The Admiral can comfort himself with the thought that Cheyenne is no longer extending her big lead. She ripped off 508 miles yesterday as she continues to deal with mediocre wind angles and a rough sea on the approach to Cape Horn. TWC will report on their rounding strategy as it becomes apparent. But my bet right now is that it’s not going to be an easy one. Meanwhile, if you want to know more about the sleeping arrangements belowdeck on a maxi-cat, here’s a report from Nick Leggatt (who has time for these things now he is stuck below recuperating from getting his bell rung)…



“Hang on, Stevie, here we come…!”