A MEMORABLE DAY TO END A MEMORABLE WEEK

Friday was a glorious day to bring the 74th Poole Week to a close. Even when the sun wasn’t actually shining, the weather was still warm and bright, and there was enough wind for all the fleets to sail up to two races as scheduled.

IT’S NOT OVER YET, BUT THE FIRST WINNERS ARE…

Although there’s still a day to go, the top boats in several of the Poole Week fleets have already secured their victories.

A DIFFERENT SORT OF SAME AGAIN

The second half of Poole Week started with the wind pretty much as it had been for the first half: a shifty north-easterly that occasionally swung round to the south east and kept everyone on their toes.

A REAL DAY OF SNAKES AND LADDERS

It’s hard to remember a day when the wind in Poole Harbour has been shiftier than it was on the Tuesday of Poole Week. During the racing, between 2pm and about 5pm when the fleets returned ashore, the wind was flicking between about 020° and 130°. Its strength ranged from practically nothing to nearly 20 knots on occasions when gusts sprang out of nowhere.

READING THE WIND

For Poole Week competitors on Monday, it was all about getting on the right side of the wind shifts. There were a lot of them, and they were big. That and negotiating the tide, while some of the Flying Fifteens later in the day also had to think about keels and mud.

NOT A BAD DAY ON THE WATER

That was the consensus among competitors on coming ashore after the first day of the 74th Poole Week. The wind had blown - not very hard at times, but generally enough - and the sun had shone now and again as well. So it had been quite a satisfactory day, all things considered.