The riddle is resolved.
The Class 40's, in Cherbourg, which mysteriously decamped en masse one evening, sailed to La Rochelle.
For their World Championship. Skippers, sponsors and families throng the race village. Stargazer has a ringside seat.
The day's racing is the only topic of conversation. Those 'almost' moments are analysed, in search of a performance edge.
The digitally minded download their data, to the same end.
Sailmakers are busy. Cutting and stitching contentedly in the evening sunshine.
Gossamer thin light wind sails are being prepared for tomorrow’s racing. Forecast to be held in mere zephyrs.
(I am glad that Stargazer chose Thursday, for her passage south).
This evening (written Thursday evening) sponsor's flags flutter freely above the decks of these scow bowed, full beam skimming machines. It will be instructive to see how they fare in light airs. Pinched at the waterline though they are, wetted area looks higher than it would be for an 'old school' design.
Alas, it is a tomorrow which never arrives. Racing is cancelled. There will be none on Friday or Saturday. No Saturday night prize giving party either, a glum faced official informs me. Shrugging his shoulders, when I ask how the championship is to be decided.
The final fettling, of the boats, has been in vain.
The racers remain on the dock. A casualty of forty degree heat. Outdoor events prohibited, in the region, by law.
The Vendee Arctique IMOCA fleet have suffered a similar fate, for an equal but opposite reason : Ordered, by Race Control, to seek refuge in the fjords of eastern Iceland. Their race prematurely over. Due to the arrival of a severe Arctic storm.
Charlie Dalin, aboard our old friend Apivia, victorious.
Picture Credits
'No Way Back' (Last pic) courtesy of Jacques Vapillon
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