Well what a difference 5 minutes can make. We were all geared up and ready to go, we had looked at the weather and knew it was interesting(!) and had started to make plans accordingly when we went off to the Skippers briefing at the hotel. We were given all of the information we needed in terms of starting procedure and then the detailed weather forecast for the next week. this was a little concerning as the wind is in the wrong direction, strong and with gusts up to over 30 knots, plus 6m swells, and on top of that there was another nasty bit of weather coming in which made taking a different course just as much of a challenge! After that , the organising chairman of the ARC made the announcement that for the 3rd time in 27 years, the race start was to be postponed for 48 hours. We were very relieved, after all this is a rally for a high proportion of people who are new to sailing, plus a significant number of families.
So now we have a couple of days to chill out, just a bit more shopping to do but its good to know we are ready and have some time on our hands.