Geronimo, the giant trimaran owned by Cap Gemini Ernst & Young and Schneider Electric, was involved in a violent collision caused by a smaller yacht in the Moulin Blanc harbour at Brest yesterday.

Early in the afternoon, as Geronimo’s crew were busy making their final preparations for the new series of sea trials, a ‘Figaro’ type yacht (just over 9 metres in length) collided with the giant Trimaran at full speed. Geronimo was moored on her normal pontoon at the time of the incident. The point of impact was on the aft section of the starboard float, just behind the beam.

A preliminary examination of the damage will be undertaken today, and although it is still too early to speculate about the extent of the repairs necessary, it seems inevitable that Geronimo will have to be lifted out of the water once again. It is not yet known how long any such shore-based repairs may take. This new setback is a hard blow for the Geronimo team, which was ready to set off to conduct sea trials on the new rudder system fitted as pat of a major eight-week refit

Since returning from her attempt on the round-the-world record, Geronimo has been revised and updated down to the smallest detail. The modifications and improvements made to Geronimo in her time ashore focus on three main areas: the rudder system, which has been the subject of much concern and many questions, the structure of the beams and hulls and the entire rig.