Global Challenge
Week 41 - Boston

You wouldn't be alone in thinking that one of the pre-requisites for a yacht race would be a spot of wind. I didn't think to check the brochure for a wind guarantee before I undertook my little trip.

If only you could insure against the lack of such an essential commodity. For those of you who have been involved or interested in weather for any length of time, you'll know that it rarely comes with any such guarantees.

You may remember that our progress towards the finish of leg four of the Global Challenge yacht race in Cape Town was blighted by very light airs in the shadow of Table Mountain.

On that occasion we lost ninth place on one puff of wind after sailing over 6000 nautical miles(nm). I thought our luck had changed when we steamed through the Doldrums on our way to Boston during leg five, only for us to be caught in a western lobe of the Azores high.

We came out of that lottery a lot better than many boats but still suffered serious sail damage in heavier winds which again hampered our progress.

You can probably imagine the frustration of sailing in excess of 7000nm at pretty fair speeds only to have the last 200nm drag out in a series of stop - start spurts as we seemed to encounter ridge after transient ridge off Cape Cod. At least the wind had the good grace to usher us into Boston harbour at good speed, albeit at 3a.m.

According to my spies, Bostonians have been robbed of their spring this year.

In the few days I spent in this marvelous city, the temperature variation was by far the most noticeable feature of the local climate.

Fenway Park is the home of the World Series Baseball Champions, the Boston Red Sox. Our arrival coincided with a series of evening games against the Cincinnati Reds. I can tell you that games on consecutive evenings were played in temperatures of 91F and 54F; that's a fall from somewhere in the low 30sC to close to 13C.

For my part, I cleaned the yacht for two days in the higher temperature and sat at the stadium for an enthralling game in the lower. Oh that it had been the other way round!

Departure from Boston was always going to be a tricky affair given the constraints of a narrow harbour and a long channel to the relatively open Bay of Maine.

A moderate northeasterly got us safely off the line, but after a tacking duel towards the Bay, so the winds died completely as a ridge drifted across the course.

Currents of water rather than currents of air were decisive in these first few hours. We even considered anchoring to stop our retreat on the tide!

I'm relieved to say that a fresh, westerly around a high to the south of Nova Scotia has speeded our progress more recently. Before the finish in La Rochelle though, I'm sure I'll be outwitted many more times by the vagaries of the wind.