On the eve of the start of the Tour of the British Isles, Nicolas Lunven shares his initial thoughts on the upcoming weather. A sluggish start, a slow loop, and uncertainty right to the end: the tone is set.

"We’ll be heading off clockwise, starting westwards. And the first few days of racing look very calm, with just 2 to 4 knots of wind. The tricky part here is that we’re starting in the English Channel, so there’s current. Even without wind, the current is still there. We’re concerned that between tomorrow afternoon, the following night, and maybe even Monday, we’ll have so little wind that we might actually be drifting backwards with the current. On an IMOCA, that’s rare – we don’t often sail in reverse – but in this case, it’s a real possibility. A single puff would be enough to get us going. These boats can move in very light air. But right now, we’re not confident it’ll happen.

Overall, it’s going to be a slow lap. Getting out of the Channel and up to the Fastnet lighthouse looks like it will take time. We’re hoping to pick up a bit of breeze near the Scilly Isles, but it’ll be coming straight on the nose – so upwind, which isn’t very fast. Around Fastnet, there’s another transition zone to deal with. We expect to get there around Wednesday.

After Fastnet, the leg up to the Shetlands should go more smoothly. There’ll probably be a bit of wind. But the descent remains uncertain. We still don’t really know what to expect. There’s a good chance we’ll have light winds again on the way down, or at least toward the end.

I was expecting a complicated race, but not in this way. The only time I’ve sailed around the British Isles before, it was a real bashing. I didn’t come here thinking it would be easy. The Shetlands are still 60° North. I was expecting tougher conditions. But it’s exactly the opposite: very light winds, so we adapt."

Interview by IMOCA