Vendee Globe
It is all very well having the right boat and skipper but if you get the weather wrong you’re stuffed in the yacht race – on one of our yachts you could have two days of intense and uncomfortable beating into big winds to get home if you get the weather wrong. Let’s look at sailing with the weather to maximise the fun you can have on a trip on a Kavas yacht, and reflect on the decisions that have made British Vendee Globe entry Alex Thompson’s (Hugo Boss) life a lot tougher on the first three days of his round the world race.
Read the weather before you go‌ Use the best weather forecast you can get before you come to Greece. Compare the projections from local and international meteorologists – their opinions may differ but you can make your own decisions based upon their collective opinions.
In the Vendee Globe, Alex Thompson seemed to believe that a High Pressure system would allow winds to build from the east, so for the first week he planned to sail close to the coast of Europe.
Arch rival Armel de Cleac’h on Banque Populaire VIII chose a more westerly route. He felt that the strongest winds would come from the west due to the march of weather systems coming from the Atlantic. The night before this blog was written Cleac’h got it right and from a 1.8 nautical mile deficit on Thompson he’s now 100 nautical miles ahead and charging south at 18 knots compared to Thompson’s 11 knots.
What does this to me? In the waters in which Kavas Yachting operates we have two winds, the Meltemi winds on the Aegean and the Maistro on the Ionian. These can blow ferociously, and if you get caught by them while miles down wind of the Kavas Yachting base you’ll have a real slog to get back to base.
If you’re reaching in a Force 6 wind then you’re having a blast. If you’re beating into the same wind for a couple of days? The hammering on the hull and the motion will make you regret your decision to ignore the weather forecast!
Put the hard climb first It is always easier to begin a walk in the mountains with the hardest climb near the beginning. Your legs are fresh and you have the energy to do it. You put the worst climb towards the end after six miles and the climb will be painful and stressful.
With sailing you should think the same way. The winds generally come from the northeast in our part of the world during the summer. Think of this as you plan your route around the islands – could you spend a few days heading northeast and get the tough part out of the way ahead of a relaxed blast back to base?
Generally speaking the Vendee Globe course is set the same way. You have nasty westerlies to beat into to get out to sea for the first week out of Biscay and into the Atlantic (this breaks boats by the dozen) but after an uncomfortable start the racers can head south, reaching on the westerlies across the Atlantic to the Trade Winds.
(This year was different with perfect sailing conditions out of Biscay!) Once south of the Cape of Good Hope they head east as the winds blast around the world so they ride the weather easterly and will get huge mileages every day as they charge to Cape Horn and then north to champagne and celebration at the end of the race. The world record for sailing singlehanded east about the world on a monohull is less than 70 days where the world record heading west is around 122 days!
Keep watching the weather! Especially with this year’s weird autumn weather, you have no idea what will happen to the winds next week, or really even beyond 2-3 days’ time. The prevailing winds in Greece are from the northeast in summer.
That means over the last 100 or so years and into history it has been fairly reliably from the northeast. Climate Change means the weather is changing – in the UK you normally have screaming westerly gales in October but you had sunshine and light easterlies in 2016!
Alex Thompson based his initial plans on the new weather conditions. Cleac’h based his ideas on the prevailing winds. Thompson’s gamble didn’t pay off while Cleac’h’s conservatism paid off.
Thompson and his team will be working hard to get pinpoint accurate weather for the next 24 hours so he can get back into the weather and start catching up. All being well he could still be home in 65 days’ time to take victory. The race ain’t over til the fat lady sings! For you, do listen to the Greek Coastguard VHF radio forecast every morning.
Look on the Met Office website from your smartphone for the projected conditions in the next few days. If you’re on a 14 day yacht charter with Kavas Yachting this is absolutely essential. The weather can really make your holiday a success if you use it to your advantage. If you don’t? The sailing could be less fun than the tavernas you visit ashore. It shouldn’t be – you’re chartering a yacht with us and not taking ferries to island hop…
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http://www.kavas.com