Day 1

A WINDY WELCOME TO THE WEEK

Has anyone noticed that 2024 has been rather breezy? Last year, some regattas and championships were struggling with lack of wind. That hasn’t been a problem on the whole this year. Just think back to significant markers in the racing calendar such as the Round the Island Race and the Fastnet. On a local level, evening cruiser-racing from the Royal Motor Yacht Club in Poole was blown off last Thursday for the third week in succession. No one can remember the last time that happened.

Then came the Saturday before the first day of Poole Week. The heavens opened and the rain was biblical. Many people would have been thinking ‘thank goodness Poole Week starts tomorrow and not today!’ But guess what? When ‘tomorrow’ arrived, although it wasn’t raining, it was blowing. Parkstone Yacht Club’s race platform was registering gusts of 23 knots by 10am. Racing in Poole Week is in the afternoons, with the first starts at 14:00. By 12:30 the gusts were nudging 30 knots and the decision was taken to call the racing off. Of course, some people would have been happy to go. A good number of ILCAs, XODs, Darts and Flying Fifteens had been looking forward to a blast around the harbour, but even some of them might have acknowledged that the race officers had made the right call when gusts over 32 knots were recorded at 3pm.

So, instead of getting wet, competitors busied themselves with boat preparation, having a drink and a chat in the clubhouse or catching up with what was happening in the Louis Vuitton in Barcelona. And while the Poole Week racing didn’t happen, the hospitality provided by the event’s sponsors and supporters made sure that it was worthwhile either relaxing at the club or, at the very least, returning later. A different purveyor of beverages is providing free drinks every day for competitors after racing (or after the racing would have been), with Saturday’s tokens giving entitlement to a pint of Piddle from Dorset’s Piddle Brewery. Or, if you preferred, a cup of tea and a slice of cake.

Poole Week also has daily sponsors as well as the title sponsor, Bournemouth Digital. On Saturday, Dorset Private GP helped to make sure that an evening curry was on offer to put some fire in the belly of those eager to make up for lost time on the water. At the daily 18:30 prize draw, in which any competitor has a chance of winning a goody bag from Rooster, a special extra prize was presented by Dorset Private GP in the form of a comprehensive private medical worth £600. 

The breeze on Monday still looks to be fresh, but then lighter for the rest of the week. The helms and crews of over 150 boats are keen for battle on the water to commence.