Please select your home edition
Edition
A+T Instruments 2024 Leaderboard

Bournemouth Digital Poole Week 2023 – Day 3

by David Harding 22 Aug 2023 22:30 PDT 20-25 August 2023

Super Tuesday: Sun, wind and sparkle

Everything came together on the third day of Poole Week. There was just the right amount of wind, the harbour was full of water, and the sun that the Met Office had been promising all week finally shone. It was a day when even those who didn't cover themselves in glory on the race course came ashore smiling.

Perfect sailing conditions don't mean that competitors relax, even if 15 knots of wind, flat water, temperatures of 20 degrees C and brilliant sunshine do make the job more pleasurable. As ever, the wind was wiggling this way and that and the secret was getting in sync with the shifts. That's exactly what Jon Gorringe and Kelly Aaron did in the Flying Fifteens, not banging any corners in the first race but playing the shifts up the middle to round the first windward mark with a lead of a size that's rarely seen in the hotly-contested Fifteen fleet. From there on they were free to sail their own race and were never challenged. A 2nd place in the second race - Richard Whitworth taking the gun - moved them into the lead overall by two points from Whitworth, who is tied on points with Bob Alexander and Huw Willetts.

Positions were shuffled around in the RS200s, too - not in the overall standings, but in the day's races because Paralympic medallist Niki Birrell, crewed by Eliana Edwards, put in a guest appearance to score two bullets. Both were hard-won. In the first, Birrell was pushed hard - and led some of the way too - by Peter Loretto, who is still tied on points at the top of the table with Dave and Jan Pointer, who were a close 2nd in the second race.

In the ILCA 6s (Laser Radials) it was the turn of Niall Peelo from Queen Mary SC to ignite the afterburners and come home first in both races ahead of overall leader Roger O'Gorman.

While the Flying Fifteens, ILCA 6s and 7s and the RS200s were sailing their usual regatta courses, the fleets starting from Parkstone Platform were given a short first race followed by an anti-clockwise circuit of the islands (essentially leaving Green Island to port, which meant rounding Brownsea and Furzey too). The exceptions were the Dolphins, who had a long single race taking in other parts of the harbour, and the slow handicap fleet, for whom the Round The Islands was the only race of the day.

One would imagine that local knowledge might be an advantage when it comes to negotiating narrow channels in the further reaches of Poole Harbour, but the fact that the three visitors from Itchenor filled the top three spots in the XODs suggests otherwise. Itchenor's Penny Fulford had won the first race in convincing style from John Tremlett, who then reversed the order in the second.

Local knowledge didn't stop an RS400 from having a rather-too-close encounter with a starboard-hand stake on the way around the islands, while one of the Dolphins went so firmly aground that it had to be towed home. That apart, it was largely a drama-free day. Normal service was resumed in the Dolphins, Nigel Yeoman winning to move to the top of the leaderboard. It was a similar story in the Darts, where Pete Stacey - crewed this year by Rosemary Crinion - notched up two firsts to adopt his customary top position.

Back ashore, after the post-race tea and cake, it was the turn of the Wayfarers and RS200s to listen to what Adam Bowers - this year's on-the-water coach - had to say to help them go faster. Studying photos and video footage and hearing constructive analysis from a top coach during Poole Week can, it seems, be useful even to Olympic medallists. Everyone agreed it was an hour well spent after a day as well spent as a day could possibly be.

Provisional results on www.pooleweek.org

Photos on www.SailingScenes.com

Related Articles

ILCA 6 Women's and ILCA 7 Men's Worlds day 4
Wind yet to arrive, fog prevails Heavy fog returned from the south, choking off what little wind remained. At 11:17 a.m., AP over H was hoisted. The fleet was towed back to shore once again, for yet another stretch of waiting. Posted today at 2:21 pm
Naples to host 2027 America's Cup
The fight for the Auld Mug will take place under the watchful shadow of Mt Vesuvius The Government of Italy, in conjunction with Team New Zealand and the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, are pleased to announce Italy as the Host Country and Naples as the Host City for the Louis Vuitton 38th America's Cup to be held in 2027. Posted today at 8:17 am
Coutts gives some advice to ageing pro teams
Coutts sounds a warning to the 12 teams to refresh their talent and upskill younger sailors Speaking with Stevie Morrison at the SailGP Technologies facility in Southampton, UK, Coutts sounds a warning to the 12 teams to refresh their talent, upskill younger sailors, and bring them into the SailGP teams. Posted today at 12:28 am
Dragon Worlds at Vilamoura day 3
Consistency and competition Day 3 of the Dragon World Championship by Tivoli Hotels & Resorts brought another day of top-level competition in Vilamoura, as the international fleet completed two races as scheduled. Posted on 14 May
Formula Kite Europeans in Urla day 1
Smaller kites shrink the riders and mix the fleet Brave riders grabbed their opportunities on day one of the 2025 Formula Kite European Championships, in Urla, Turkiye. Posted on 14 May
Register now for Ullman Sails Long Beach Race Week
LBRW is open to multiple classes and in 2025 the event is proud to host the Catalina 37 Nationals Exciting racecourses with flat water offerings inside of the Long Beach breakwater, and big waves and big breeze on the outside are just a few of the factors that make the Long Beach Race Week regatta one of the most enjoyable on the west coast. Posted on 14 May
Banger Racing, Back Racing and No Racing
Racing on the cheap, a return to racing for young Aussies, and ILCA struggles We start with racing on the cheap at the Colander Cup, then focus on a return to racing for the Aussies at the Youth Worlds, moving on to a complete lack of racing at the ILCA Worlds, and then looking at how SailGP should be back out on the water. Posted on 14 May
44Cup Porto Cervo starts tomorrow
This event sees the high performance one design owner-driver fleet back up to 11 in number RC44 racing returns to Europe tomorrow with the start of the 44Cup Porto Cervo, hosted by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda. Posted on 14 May
New study in Vendée Globe could be a game changer
Research is being carried out by a bio-engineering specialist into human performance What effect does racing alone around the world on a high performance IMOCA yacht have on the human body and mind? Posted on 14 May
ILCA 6 Women's and ILCA 7 Men's Worlds day 3
The wind stays away and the day is cancelled once more For the third consecutive day, the ILCA World Championship race course remained stalled under a windless sky. A dense fog clung to the Olympic Sailing Center, muting the horizon and chilling the air to a damp 17 degrees C. Posted on 14 May
C-Tech 2021 SnuffAir 728x90 BOTTOMPalm Beach Motor YachtsLloyd Stevenson - AC ETNZ 1456x180px BOTTOM