In the lap of capricious Gods… Cap Istanbul

by Kate Jennings on 5 Oct 2008 As they waited for a favourable weather window to take the start of the 4th leg of the 'European Capital of Culture – Cap Istanbul', the skippers were still in the port of Aghios-Nikolaos this morning.

They will finally set sail at around 1600 hours this Saturday to tackle a course leading them through a maze of islands at the tempo of a front generating a SSW’ly air flow. Ahead of their bows are 300 miles (555 km) across the Aegean Sea en route to the island of Bozcaada…

They should be both conciliatory and favourable but that doesn’t take into account the virulence of which they are capable. The mood of the Gods is very changeable and they have been particularly capricious since the fleet entered the Aegean; the Mediterranean as a whole being renowned for its extremes. From north to south of the eastern section of this sea, which brings together Greece and Turkey, there have been no end of changes to the programme. The forecasts had anticipated a light spell but the reality has seen a succession of gales for over 48 hours! After the 'Kadhafi', as the inhabitants of Crete call the sirocco, which nailed the fleet to shore at the supposed start yesterday, it is now the turn of a front associated with a low at work over the Mediterranean basin which is currently calling for vigilance and prudence. The violent winds and the raging seas led the organisation and the race management to once again delay the kick-off of this 4th leg today.

The start of this 4th course bound for the Turkish coast is to be given at 1600 hours, and not 1000 hours as planned yesterday in relation to the first estimated evolution of this front, which was threatening to scoop up the 27 skippers as they passed the Cyclades. As a result they have had to spend most of the day waiting patiently to make good their escape from land.

Pascal Landure, the onboard meteorologist from MeteoStrategy, his gaze fixed on the charts, models and other grib files, explains the weather menu for today and tonight: 'The start will be rather light with a really weak N’ly air flow. However, as soon as the fleet has made the Loannis headland (at the exit from the bay of Aghios Nikolaos), it should hit an 8-12 knot W’ly which will gently fill in to 15-20 knots. However, between 4 and 5 this morning, in the middle of the night, things will become a little complicated. The SSW’ly wind will fill to 25-30 knots with gusts of 35-45 knots. The passage of this front associated with a low circulating from Italy to the Balkans, is something the fleet will have to endure for 6-8 hours.'

Despite the extended wait resulting from this decision, all the skippers are relieved to be avoiding the worst of the weather and not have to tackle conditions which are reminiscent of survival conditions. Jeanne Grégoire (Banque Populaire) willingly highlights the pertinence of this latest change to the programme: 'It’s certainly wiser to set off at this later time given the weather context. I hadn’t seen this front this morning, but it’s certainly here now and it’s beefy. We’re not going to risk being battered by 50 knots with gusts of 55-60. In these conditions you’re not sailing anymore, you’re in survival mode and if ever MaxSea (onboard navigation and routing software) decided to give up the ghost as we pass the Cyclades, the situation could become really critical. We’re avoiding the worst of it: there’s no problem in 35 knots.'

These words are echoed across all the fleet in the little office placed at the disposal of the skippers at the Aghios Nikolaos marina. Matthieu Girolet (Entreprendre-Lafont Presse) reinforces this: 'nobody is keen to get hit by a steady 50 knots of breeze, or more than that in the gusts. However, the boats are really sound and seaworthy. We’ll be on a reach so on this point of sail the 35 knots we have as the front passes through won’t put us in any danger. We’ll doubtless be under solent and full mainsail…' For his part Arnaud Godart-Philippe (Senoble) has this to add: 'we’ve already experienced these wind conditions during the course of the first leg. The fact that we have some spare days in the programme for just such an eventuality is proof of how well organised the race is in anticipating any unforeseen event caused by the weather. We were fearful of encountering really light conditions and now we’re sitting it out in port as a result of a storm. It’s much of a muchness at the end of the day!'

On the north coast of Crete, the 'Kadhafi' has now deserted the zone after blowing fiercely throughout the day. There is glorious sunshine now with a stifling heat and a light breeze: at Aghios Nikolaos, it’s hard to imagine the front which is forcing the 27 skippers to wait patiently for proceedings to kick-off. Evidence, if it were needed, of the mysteries of the Mediterranean, which are so difficult to decipher. This is what makes it so special and so legendary after all. Here, more than anywhere else, we’re doubtless in the lap of the Gods…