A huge, relatively benign area of low pressure over much of northern Europe is serving little if any wind for competitors in Skandia Life Cowes Week and the trend looks likely to continue.
Winds are out of the north and into single figures, pretty dire for those yachts under the alternate influence of a lunchtime sea breeze near the mainland today which has left nothing to fill the sails. Looking back over the past 24 hours on the www.ybw.com/weather site, average wind speeds have not exceeded 7 knots, great news for those out on buoys in the sometimes boisterous approaches to Cowes Harbour last night with not even a ripple to rattle the halyards but frustrating in the morning come start time.
It’s going to be a real game of hide and seek for the next couple of days, with threatened thunderstorms perhaps giving the odd puff to play with. Everyone will need to read and use the neap tides and any sea breezes for all they are worth.
A ridge of high pressure is due to push in from the west late Monday, which might see the northerly winds strengthen a little on Tuesday.
To view the 24-hour trend for any of over 150 locations around mainland Britain, plus current and 2 hour ‘nowcasts’ and tides for those locations and three-day synoptics for Europe, click here