One of the most sobering TV programmes of recent years reminded us of the events of the Fastnet Race in 1979 when 15 sailors died during a race in August of that year. Any boater watching that program would have felt a chill passing down their spine as the watched reconstructions of the predicted force 6 rise to force 9, shift direction then climb to force 11 as it ripped through the fleet of 306 yachts.
