After of few days of holding out on La Gomera with the promise of better weather we have taken the decision to return to the UK and await the next suitable weather window to start the rowing race. This 3 weeks have seen our moods switch from excitement to frustration and we are returning home to refocus ourselves. This been a difficult decision but staying away from family/friends with no end in sight is very difficult.

 

The weather this year is behaving as no-one has ever seen before...over in the UK you are seeing low pressure systems sweeping across the Atlantic and battering the UK. In the Atlantic the weather is usually moderated by a High pressure system sitting over the Azores...this year it seems to be missing!!!! and we are waiting for it to form. This usually deflects the low pressures away from the Canaries and allows the rowing fleet to leave. If you look at the weather charts I've pasted in you'll see the fronts lining up to sweep across the ocean towards the UK, bringing horrific weather for the next two weeks at least :-( Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

 

If we can salvage some of this time before Christmas for family and work then we can prepare for a new date. We stay connected with the Woodvale Race Office to get daily updates from some of the most respected weather planners in the business...but mayble tossing a coin would be a better way to predict what is going to happen in the next two weeks ;-)