Larry Rosenfeld is a very versatile American athlete and entrepreneur. He sails multihulls and, indeed, maxis. He is also a very talented businessman. He has been using new technology in his work for a long time. From the early seventies, he successfully developed manufacturing sails using a computer. Thanks to his technological prowess, he designed and manufactured many sails for the America’s Cup Hood sailmaker between 1974 and 1980.
In 1984, he established Concentra Corporation, which soon became the leader in software solutions for industry. His clients were then Airbus, GM, Ford and Boeing. When in 1998, the financial world announced the hugely successful sale of Concentra to Oracle, Rosenfeld was then able to dedicate his time completely to sailing, with an emphasis on multihulls racing, a sport which was then almost totally unknown in the U.S.

He cultivated this passion by joining up with his compatriot Cam Lewis. In 1999, they set the new record between Miami and New York with Bruno Peyron aboard Explorer. They then created Team Adventure, which culminated in entering The Race (3rd) in 2000. During an attempt at the Atlantic record, a full-speed collision with a container ship seriously damaged the maxi catamaran. However, even without a boat to call his own, Rosenfeld continued to show his skills as a router and navigator in many American events : the Bermuda Race, Mackinaw and many others.

In November 2005, Rosenfeld received an invitation from Olivier de Kersauson, Geronimo’s skipper, to join her crew. "This is something I just could not miss," says Rosenfeld. "The first challenge to set a new Los Angeles-Honolulu record (which Geronimo completed in 4 days, 19 hours and 31 minutes) was fantastic. Working alongside Olivier is something really intense. The experience he has had in nine round-the-world voyages is impressive. He has an amazing capacity to feel what is happening around him, which allows him to predict what the weather is going to throw at us," he continues. "As for me, I’m bringing in some new technological tools to collect and analyze weather forecasts. And, of course, I’ll use my experience and my analytical skills to provide every advantage I can to Geronimo in this next fantastic undertaking. But, in the end, Olivier will be making the decisions and carrying out his pivotal analysis. It’s a really interesting process."

Of the route between San Francisco and Yokohama, Rosenfeld is aware he will have his work cut out for him. "Setting this record will be difficult. We’ll be sailing a lot against the winds. We’ll probably have to battle it out against four or five fronts, one after the other, over the 4800-mile course. It’s a bit like steaming up the motorway in the wrong direction. Even if Geronimo is the most suitable multihull for this exercise, the boat can be placed under a lot of strain in these conditions. There are many different choices of route and my calculations show that it can be covered in between 10 and 16 days according to the choices we make. That’s another reason why it is such an exciting challenge !" he concludes.

According to Rosenfeld, there is a window of opportunity to begin the attempt starting on Wednesday or Thursday, the 12th or 13th of April.

Kazuhiro Nishimura, Geronimo’s rising sun

Just as on her previous voyages, the Capgemini / Schneider Electric trimaran is taking on board some foreign crewmen. Among them, Kazuhiro Nishimura is one of the most famous Japanese sailors. A regular participant in match racing and round the buoy races, the Japanese yachtsman will be discovering what life is like aboard a multihull with Geronimo.

At the age of 51, Kazuhiro Nishimura can boast a long sailing CV, which would take three pages to present. Since 1973, Kazu has been in one race after another and has been involved in a multitude of different projects. Having become a match racing specialist, he took part in the America’s Cup in 2000 aboard Nippon Challenge as boat captain. His ocean racing experience, which he admits is more limited, is nevertheless quite impressive. The Fastnet Race, the Sydney Hobart, the Transpac and many other races. One particularly remarkable achievement is that he was the first and most recent to enter a Japanese boat in the Tour de France sailing race in 1992. "A fabulous country, where sailing is part of the tradition."

For his first experience in multihull racing, Kazu says he is "very impressed with Geronimo. I’ve been wanting to discover this type of boat for a long time. When I found out that Geronimo was going to be coming to Japan, I contacted the team and everything happened very quickly. Now I am in San Diego, I must admit that I am a bit intimidated. This boat really exudes power and speed, so I’m wondering how things will work out. But I’m pleased to be on board, as it’s something new for me. I know Olivier de Kersauson by name, as he’s known in the world of yachting just as Titouan Lamazou, with whom I was in contact a while back. As for becoming part of a largely French crew, that worked out very quickly : "The crew is really friendly and are close to one another. They know the boat well and are very efficient." Didier Ragot is also pleased : "Kazu is a really nice guy. But apart from that, it’s important for us to have someone who really knows Japan, its weather and all its dangers. Even if he doesn’t know multihulls, his yachting experience is impressive. He’s one of the greats."

To prepare Geronimo’s arrival in his country, Kazuhiro Nishimura has been working on the logistics and communications concerning the trimaran’s arrival in Yokohama. While yachting is still not very well known as a sport in Japan, "I’m sure that with Geronimo, if we beat the record, the media will turn out. Our country is gradually waking up. When Ellen Mac Arthur passed through, that created a lot of interest, as before these boats were completely unknown in this part of the world."

While Kazu does not have any projects involving multihulls, he is busy working on the construction of "Beecom" a 65-foot monohull with a canted keel that he would like to sail in Europe. "Hopefully with some of the crew from Geronimo."