Global Challenge
Week 43 - From Boston to La Rochelle

You may remember that the departure of the fleet from Boston was marked by very light winds. Things have been very different since then.

Leg six of the Global Challenge yacht race looked very straightforward at first sight: Boston to La Rochelle with just one waypoint to the southeast of Newfoundland. This was to be left to port to force yachts away from the southern limit of the ice flows at this time of year.

The route seemed to have few of the potential minefields of the previous legs such as the Gulf Stream or the Doldrums. As ever though, it never pays to underestimate one of the world's great oceans, albeit that my passage was to be forged in early summer.

Routeing for the leg was always likely to be a balancing act between taking the shortest distance to the finish and flirting with lighter winds close to the core of the Azores high.

Very soon after the start, it was clear that almost all the yachts were going to take a direct line to the waypoint and then follow a course close to the Great Circle route for the passage to La Rochelle. The only exception was the yacht SAIC.

From Boston, their track took them some 100 nautical miles south of the fleet. This may have been to take some advantage of eddies on the northern flank of the Gulf Stream. It may also have been to avoid an area of light winds ahead of a slow-moving cold front, which emerged from eastern Canada soon after the start.

Slow-moving seemed like an over-statement of its speed of advance as I waited for it to cross our position. The HF fax 1200UTC analysis for that day showed a low centre had developed on the front. Any of you who haved tried to time the arrival of such a feature will know the problems involved.

Once the front was clear, my next concern was the development of a high pressure near Nova Scotia. The GFS numerical model suggested the centre, and associated light winds, might cross our intended track. Thankfully that threat receded as an innocuous looking wave, on a trailing front over the northeast of America, began to develop and run eastwards.

This kept wind strengths up and allowed the fleet to make rapid progress to the east. More significantly, the low became the lead feature of a 'daisy-chain' of lows that eventually were to stretch across much of the Atlantic to the north of our track. To the south of the associated fronts, wind direction looked to be perfect for a swift crossing.

If, however, you have followed my progress over the past months, you'll know that perfect yachting weather is a rare commodity indeed.

Whilst the direction of the winds, from just south of west, may have suited, the speed was quite another thing. Our heaviest weight spinnaker, designed to take winds of up to 30kts-ish, has had a fearful pounding around the globe and has been repaired no less than four times.

A bodged hoist wrapped our friend around the spreaders on the main mast and we eventually recovered it in tatters. Four days of sowing restored it to some sort of order, albeit further weakened. This repair time has coincided with perfect conditions for the sail, but without it, we have had to make do with slower alternatives and now languish at the back of the fleet.

Other yachts, mostly further to our north, have made merry in the stronger winds and are slowly pulling away from us. There are lighter winds in the high pressure to our south, but getting to them would take time, with an average speed of only 8-10kts, and would take us away from our intended target.

Frustrated? Moi? Shall we just say that, like Sir Walter Raleigh, I intend to take up bowls on my return.