Global Challenge
Week 45 - The Final Leg to Portsmouth

La Rochelle, lying on the western coast of France, proved to be a gem of a stopover after the trials of our Atlantic crossing.

The pavement lifestyle, so beloved by the French, is writ large along the streets and squares of this busy little port. There are sufficient cafes and restaurants to dine out in a different one every night for a year, and in some style too.

From a weather viewpoint, the area is a perfect location for holidays as the Isle de Re, lying just to the west of the town, is noted for being one of the sunniest locations in France.

The beaches along the southern shores of the island are of white sand and the water temperatures at this time of year are an inviting 24C. A dip proved very welcome as daytime temperatures exceeded 30C during our stopover.

Weather that makes for a pleasing break ashore need not suit the purpose of ocean racing yachtsmen. Light winds over the past few days had made shopping and dining out pleasant pastimes.

Once start day of the seventh and final leg to Portsmouth arrived, many in the fleet were disappointed to see that the forecast was correct once again, and light winds would prevail.

Start day looked as though it would be dominated by winds from the north or northeast, making for close calls between headsails and spinnakers. At the start itself, there was barely sufficient wind to fill even the lightest weight of spinnaker but as things progressed, the odd puff of breeze blessed some at the expense of others.

After an hour or so of racing, I witnessed one of the most extraordinary wind phenomena I have seen throughout the entire race. Three boats, lying less than half a mile to the south of us, sailed into a wind hole.

The waters around them were perfectly still and yet just 100m or so away, another yacht sailed past them in a wind closer to the 15kts we were enjoying at the time. I pointed the spectacle out to my crewmates and observed: 'Who would be a forecaster?' Oh that the phenomenon had lasted a few hours rather than a few fleeting minutes!

Start day looked to be the breeziest day of this dash for home. If the forecasts are but half right, high pressures or perhaps even a col, a light wind area between opposing sets of high and low pressure, may dominate the race and rob the fleet of a spectacular entrance into the Solent on Saturday afternoon.

If the wind really does fail us, then the race may be curtailed at a point off south Devon. Motoring the last hundred miles or so would be such an anticlimax for a group of people who have achieved so much in the past ten months.

No doubt, as ever, the forecaster will get the blame. Perhaps I should view it as good practice for my return to the Weather Centre?