The cumulonimbus is surely the most fascinating of clouds at sea. Its changing shapes which end up flared out in a kind of anvil shape at over 10,000 metres of altitude are, unfortunately, the cause of a lot of trouble for the sailors. It’s as if good things can only be accompanied by terrible things. You have to experience a sea storm to understand the modesty needed when battling against the elements. There is nothing rational about Neptune’s anger, and even the most hardened seadogs know how difficult it can be to take its knocks sometimes. The wind, which drops down in gusts from the highest layers of the atmosphere, play at contradicting the most elementary laws of physics by choosing a strength and direction according to its caprice. The rain can drop out of the sky like a waterfall when the lightning rips up the horizon with its sublime yet menacing shards. Clearly the lightening likes to choose the shortest route to discharge its overburdened electric charge, and what better than the carbon mast of an IMOCA 60'!

In the doldrums, moreover, the effects linked to the rotation of the earth are no longer in play between the Northern hemisphere and the Southern hemisphere. The Coriolis effect, which has the tendency to shift any northbound particle to the right and to the left in the South, no longer has any reason to be there. This serves to strengthen the random aspects of the operation. The wind can then turn sharply 180° and climbs 30 knots all of a sudden. The sailors end up with their sails in the wrong direction, ballasted on the wrong side, keel swinging, trying to work out how to turn the boat round the right way. On the Open 60’ footer, the risk of irremediable capsize is non-existent, but a vicious gust can cause a right muddle and the potential for broken gear, wasted hours and accumulated fatigue are high.

It’s almost enough to feel nostalgic about the onset of winter...