A report from Geronimo this morning shows she is still making good headway north, despite having to contend with lazy trade winds blowing at around 12 knots. Making an average speed of over 15 knots, Geronimo passed 15° North at the end of last night and should reach 20° North some time tonight. This faster progress puts her back ahead of Orange, her rival of last year. But the crew continues to take a realistic view, since Bruno Peyron and his crew had excellent conditions on days 58, 59 and 60 (covering 411, 518 and 496 nautical miles respectively), which will not be the case this year on this part of course.

The weather outlook for Geronimo remains confused however, with a windless high pressure area covering the ocean between 20° and 25° North. There are now three distinct weather systems in the North Atlantic, with two fairly inactive depressions enclosing an anticyclone. Olivier de Kersauson analysed the situation by saying: “If things continue like this, we’ll be within half an hour of the target time. We haven’t had a single day of proper “gliding” since we rounded Cape Horn. We’ve been close on the wind all the time and we still are. It’s unbelievable. It’s very hard on the nerves when there’s no improvement forecast.”

Position at 03:00 GMT

Latitude, Longitude, Distance in 24hr, Average speed

Geronimo, 15°47N, 36°24W, 358 nautical miles, 14.94

Orange, 13°60N, 30°48W, 304 nautical miles, 12.65