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The huge multi-hull 'Geronimo' skippered by Olivier de Kersauson has
recently established a new record for a trans Pacific crossing under sail of
14 days 19 hours between San Francisco and Yokohama. 'Geronimo' actually
travelled 5,600 (nautical?) miles, thus an average speed of 15.8 knots. This
eclipses Steve Fossett's previous record, set not so long ago, by 4 days, 17
hours.
According to de Kersauson: "The crossing was magnificent. Everything was
excessive, with the weather changing and shifting around at a mad pace: it
was exhausting and exhilarating, except for the final section, which was
more of an exasperation. The last 1000 miles were incredibly violent".
By way of contrast, the first trans Pacific crossing BY AIR was in 1927 when
Charles Kingsford Smith and his crew flew a Fokker Trimotor named the
'Southern Cross' from Oakland, California, to Brisbane, Australia via
Honolulu and Fiji in nine days.
Some of the sailing speed records over various courses were set more than a
hundred years ago by the 'clipper' and similar timber multi-masted sailing
ships. They are only now coming under threat by modern multi-hulled
monsters. Even in doldrum conditions where any other sailing boat sits
limply these craft seem to create their own wind and continue at about 5
knots, although that seems standing still compared to their typical speeds.
Because of this they are nearly always sailing upwind; their speed means
that regardless of the actual wind direction their apparent wind is nearly
always from ahead. This is in contrast to the old sailing ships that could
only sail downwind.
Multi-hulls have been regarded with some suspicion by mono-hull sailors, but
it is notable how few disasters have accompanied the now many passages of
these incredibly fast and demanding boats, in all sorts of seas and
conditions.
