Please select your home edition
Edition
Leaderboard FD July August September 2023

Bournemouth Digital Poole Week 2021 - Day 5

by David Harding 27 Aug 2021 21:16 AEST 23-27 August 2021

Being a race officer can be a thankless task when the wind is all over the place. It's never easy at the best of times, but at least in Poole Harbour you usually have plenty of water to play with.

With fleets that don't expect or insist on set courses around laid marks, like windward/leewards or the good old triangle/sausage, sometimes it's best to use that water and to send them on a long race around the harbour. Whatever the wind does - providing it doesn't die completely - they should get a bit of everything.

So it was that, for the third time this week, the Wayfarers, Dolphins and fast handicappers found themselves leaving the northern part of the harbour behind and setting off towards greener and more pleasant lands to the south. For the Shrimpers it was the second time, as they only started racing on Wednesday.

The Wayfarers and the fast handicap fleet sailed a true round-the islands course, anti-clockwise around Brownsea, Furzey and Green. The Shrimpers and Dolphins went the other way, to the top of South Deep, where they met the boats coming from the opposite direction for the beat home.

After this all the classes except the Shrimpers and Dolphins had a second race, staying relatively close to their home patch this time.

The fleets in the harbour's Top Triangle are the ones that sail the 'proper' courses and this is where the water started getting busy. Large fleets of Flying Fifteens and ILCA 7s, and slightly smaller fleets of RS200s and ILCA 6s, were all trying to sail their own races while keeping out of the way of the other classes. It's another challenge for race officers, arranging courses and timings so as to avoid having multiple fleets approaching the same mark at the same time from different directions.

In the round-the-harbour fleets as well as the Darts, XODs and slow handicap, the pecking order was broadly consistent with the way it has been during the week. At the top of the harbour, however, some significant changes took place. Notably in the Flying Fifteens, Bob Alexander and Huw Willetts - former Poole Week winners - had been quietly clocking up consistent results all week, usually in the top four, but found the magic button on Thursday to win both races and move to within one point of the leaders.

Roberta Hartley in the ILCA 6s also engaged the afterburners to score two bullets and level the points at the top of the table with Freddie Howarth.

Roberta's Husband, Andrew, was having a quieter day in the ILCA 7 fleet but still sitting in the top 10. Two other wife-and-husband Laser sailors, Ann and John Keates, have forgone their singlehanders for this Poole Week and joined forces in a Flying Fifteen, though Ann still sailed in the ILCA 6s on Monday and couldn't stop herself winning the second race.

It's one of the features of Poole Week that, while the racing attracts some top-flight sailors, the event still retains its family feel. That's probably because so many families are involved. Nigel Yeoman was crewed in his Dolphin earlier in the week by his granddaughter Kate - a more-than-accomplished helm in her own right - whose parents are at the sharp end of the Flying Fifteens and whose aunt is crewing in a Dart. You will find a Harris almost everywhere you look in the Dolphins, though confusingly they're not all related to each other. Husband-and-wife teams are found throughout the fleets, often near or at the top, while other sailing partnerships have been established and maintained over many years specifically for Poole Week. Some helms and crews team up just for one very special week of the year.

Few people would say that their results don't matter but, wherever they end up in the fleet, it's the friendships, the rivalries and the social life at the club after racing that brings people back year after year and maintains the unique atmosphere that makes Poole Week what it has always been.

As for those results - well, some of the front-runners already have leads that can't be challenged. The rest will be decided on the final day of racing on Friday.

Related Articles

Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta day 3
Mother Nature teases the competitors Mother Nature teased the competitors today and made them wait a bit, but she did not disappoint; the sun came out and a big westerly built to 18-20 knots! Posted today at 5:22 pm
A century of human endeavour
The Fastnet Race is regarded as one of offshore sailing's most complete proving grounds For 100 years, the Rolex Fastnet Race has been regarded as one of offshore sailing's most complete proving grounds. It is a place where ambitions and dreams meet harsh reality, where skill, endurance and fortitude are severely tested. Posted today at 10:14 am
Martine Grael in Racing on the Edge
First female driver to win a Fleet Race captured in behind-the-scenes documentary Major milestone moment for SailGP captured in behind-the-scenes documentary series, which reaches 10 million total viewers since launching in 2021. Posted today at 8:45 am
Get ready to celebrate world's best sailing photos
16th edition of the Pantaenius Yacht Racing Image Award Professional photographers from around the globe are invited to submit their best yacht racing images captured between October 14, 2024, and October 12, 2025. Posted today at 7:15 am
Alli Bell & Restless crew to make Transpac history
On course to be the first woman skipper to win Transpac overall Alli Bell and the crew of her Cal 40 Restless took a winch handle to the notion that winning the Transpacific Yacht Race's top corrected-time prize requires membership in an old-boys club or a mighty war chest. Posted today at 6:28 am
Rolex Fastnet Race IRC Four preview
The pinnacle of grass roots sailing has 97 entries The very largest yachts, including the 100ft Ultim foiling trimarans and 60ft IMOCAs are an essential part of the spectacle of the Fastnet Race, however a critical element in the race's enduring appeal is that this is predominately a grass roots event. Posted on 14 Jul
Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta day 2
Classic Long Beach conditions return The weather conditions at the Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta shifted noticeably today, delivering the classic Long Beach breeze that many expect from this world-class venue. Posted on 14 Jul
NYYC International Women's Championship update
Third group of skippers includes Nicole Breault, Dominique Proyoveur, Laura van Veen While there is no nationality requirement for the crews that will compete in the 2026 New York Yacht Club International Women's Championship, a number of teams are embracing the opportunity to wave their respective national flags at the debut edition. Posted on 14 Jul
The Sardinia Cup set to return in 2026
The competition will make its long-awaited return to the waters of the Costa Smeralda The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS) is pleased to announce the return of the Sardinia Cup, one of the Club's most iconic regattas and a renowned international sailing event. Posted on 14 Jul
How inclusive is sailing?
Largest global survey aims to find out The Magenta Project has today launched the 2x25 global survey, marking the start of the most ambitious equity and inclusion review ever undertaken in sailing and the wider marine industry. Posted on 14 Jul
Rooster 2025Sea Sure 2025Cyclops Marine 2023 November - FOOTER