The Gilles Montaubin–designed SPRINT’O creeps along under greatly reduced sail during a sudden squall on the Challenge Navigeur Léger’s approach to Île de Batz on the north coast of Brittany.
My cameras tell the story: At 9:43 a.m. on June 12, 2025, my faithful old Nikon D800 records several shots of various small boats being rowed in early-morning sunshine across a glassy calm sea. Ahead of them are multiple lines of craggy black rocks, and in the distance an island with a tall, elegant lighthouse at one end. It’s an idyllic scene, apart from the huge mountain of black clouds piling up on the horizon behind the fleet.