Jules Verne Showdown–So, Geronimo, Whaddaya Got?: The Cheyenne crew is showered, hungover in the extreme, and still savoring their 58-day record. Down in the misery of the Southern Ocean, the only threat to their record this year–Olivier De Kersauson’s Geronimo–is lining up to round Cape Horn. So where does Geronimo stand? When we checked yesterday, De Kersauson was whipped, humbled and whining following the seemingly endless pasting he and his crew have received courtesy of the Pacific Ocean. If De Kersauson is lucky, he’ll get around Cape Horn in a little over a day, which would put him around Cape Horn more than 41 days after his start. Fossett got there in under 40, so the big trimaran will be about two days behind and chasing Cheyenne all the way up the Atlantic. Seeing as Cheyenne sailed from the Horn to the Equator, and then the Equator to the finish, faster than any boat ever before, TWC rates De Kersauson’s chances of besting his American rival at close to zero. But you never know, so we’ll keep an eye on him. De Kersauson is still about a day ahead of Orange 2002–though that lead may disappear by Cape Horn–so he is still in the running for the Jules Verne Trophy. Fossett refused to pay the roughly $30,000 Jules Verne extortion fee so he holds the world record without holding the Jules Verne Trophy (world speed sailing is now about to turn into professional boxing, with multiple titles). So if Geronimo can beat Orange 2002 home De Kersauson will be able to claim the Jules Verne Trophy. But how meaningful will that be if he doesn’t break Fossett’s world record? TWC’s answer: about as meaningful as a warm bucket of spit….



“I’m cold, I’m wet, I’m slow…and that f*cking American just stole the world record. Merde!”