MIKE GOLDING

I confess I was a little disappointed to find the first event of 2019’s Figaro race circuit, the Sardinha Cup, was not actually in the Mediterranean but in St Gilles de Vie, just a few miles north of Les Sable d’Olonne. However, it’s always a pleasure to return to the Vendée region of France, and feel the warmth of the locals, who stop sailors in the street just to wish us well.

My first encounter with this