he weather is usually sunny at the big French autumn regattas – Régates Royales in Cannes in September followed by the biggest of all, Les Voiles de Saint-Tropes in early October. And if you’re from colder climes, it seems more like summer’s last breath tugging at the mainsheet than it does autumn. Nevertheless, at Voiles, the end-of-season feeling punctuates the shoreline here and there, where columns of smoke rise up from burning leaves. Due to the risk of forest fires in high summer, this is the first time that bonfires are legally permitted. What lies ahead for many now is a winter of short nights and long sleeves, with probably quite a bit of boat maintenance thrown in and
