“Eet’s the end of summer,” said the taxi driver, en route from the airport to Barcelona, partly because he’d just learned to say it on Duolingo, but mostly because of the heavy rain and great bolts of fork lightning in the sky above the Catalonian capital.

As Melbourne celebrated the Olympics in late 1956, and Beryl and Miles Smeeton headed off from the Yarra River on their epic journey around Cape Horn, the finished vessel quietly slipped into the water near Great Yarmouth on the Norfolk Broads.

At days end my retreat is a cool wine bar overlooking the fleet. Young cosmopolitans mixed with grandmothers and priests, not a sailor in sight, endless delicious anti-pasta free with the excellent local wine. I have realised that pretty well every boat here except ours is professionally crewed. A youthful full-of-it-ness camaraderie characterises their beery off-duty hours.

Les Voiles de Saint Tropez marks the last event on the Mediterranean racing calendar and is heralded as one of the most prestigious regattas in the world. In its 24th year, the regatta will take place across two weeks from September 24 to October 8