Sentence:  The 27,000-mile course starts in November in the Bay of Biscay on the coast of France; points south through the <WSD>horse latitudes</WSD> and doldrums, past Africa to the bottom of the world; rounds Cape Horn; then turns north to home. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  The warm, subtropical bands which encircle the globe between approximately 30 and 35 degrees both north and south of the Equator, characterized by high atmospheric pressure and dry variable winds ranging from calm to light.