Classic racing canned

Mistral conditions prevent racing at the Régates Royales - Trophée Panerai

In contrast to Tuesday’s perfect conditions, Wednesday dawned dark and cloudy with strong mistral winds and threatening skies in evidence. Soon, the heavens opened and a torrential downpour lashed the quays in Cannes. Due to the strong winds, the Race Committee elected to postpone the starts and keep the large fleet ashore.

With over 1,000 sailors confined to shore, the restaurants and bars were doing a roaring noon-hour trade. Many of the younger crew set up a makeshift football pitch on the forecourt for a spirited game, while next door, the osteopath tent was also a popular destination.

Near noon, the rain stopped and over the early afternoon, the skies began to clear. But strong mistral winds continued to blow. The Race Committee took to the water to see the conditions first-hand, but by 14:20 they had returned and elected to abandon racing in all classes for the day.

Among the boats in the 12 Metre World Championships, is French Kiss, which is being skippered here by Marc Pajot, who first sailed her as a challenger in the Louis Vuitton Cup in Fremantle in 1986-87.

French Kiss was sixth in its division in both races yesterday, but Pajot says the results aren’t as important to him as the opportunity to sail on the boat again after a long absence.

“I haven’t sailed on this boat for 20 years - not since Fremantle,” Pajot said during the long postponement today. “But the feeling of the boat is exactly the same…it’s almost like I left the boat yesterday. So this week is a nice reminder of that time. The new owner just bought the boat one month ago and we sailed for the first time on Monday, so we don’t really expect to be winning…yet!”

Currently, the forecast for Thursday is for similar conditions, albeit with slightly more moderate winds. Météo France is predicting west to southwest winds near 17 knots in the morning, easing to 10 to 12 knots in the afternoon. So more suitable conditions for racing are a real possibility.

Racing is scheduled to continue in all classes at the Régates Royales - Trophée Panerai on Thursday.