If you assume that the wifi in our Chalet de Pierre is mostly used for watching cricket or consulting Coutts accounts, take a look at this. Atlantic Mavericks, one of the boats rowing the 3,000 miles from the Canaries to Antigua at the moment in the Talisker Challenge, is receiving its weather and position reports from our sitting room. The four retired servicemen in our boat should finish in a week or so, just six weeks behind the winners, Fortitude IV, though slightly ahead of Row Off The Wall, who are expected to arrive in May!

The fastest trio ever were these Scottish brothers, who came in in third place and might have won if they hadn’t insisted on bringing bagpipes in the boat.