Please select your home edition
Edition
Palm Beach Motor Yachts

Bournemouth Digital Poole Week 2024 - Day 4

by David Harding 29 Aug 2024 05:30 UTC 25-30 August 2024

Fickle winds and fluctuating fortunes

Wednesday was to have been a day of round-the-harbour courses for most of the fleets racing in Poole Week. The Dolphins and Cornish Shrimpers tend to sail round-the-harbour courses anyway - none of this windward/leeward or triangle/sausage business for them - but the idea was to send the others (except the slow handicap fleet, perhaps) towards the green and pleasant land that lies to the south of Poole Harbour. 'Green Island to starboard' (or port) is in some of the courses, and if you leave Green Island to starboard (or port) it's hard not to do the same with Brownsea and Furzey (they're islands too, in case you're not familiar with Poole Harbour).

The problem was that the wind gods were having a little tussle up in the sky. Eurus, the god of the east wind, had asserted his dominance early in the day and so the courses were set accordingly. What nobody had fully appreciated is that Zephyrus - he of the west wind - was going to play tug-of-war with Eurus and, for a time, match his strength. The result was that, at different times in different parts of the harbour, neither wind blew at all. Eventually Zephyrus won and ushered in a gentle westerly, but by that stage the racing had, to say the least, been rather disrupted.

While the ILCAs and Flying Fifteens in the Top Triangle were waiting for enough wind to start racing, most of the fleets sailing from the Parkstone Platform set off down the harbour en route to South Deep. It was all very gentle, beating against barely 5-6 knots of breeze and the faintest of flood tides. As ever, it was a question of whether to go right towards Brownsea or left towards the north shore of the harbour. On the whole, it was the right that paid.

The reward for negotiating the beat and reaching the east side of Brownsea Island was a sizeable patch of no wind. There was a bit of a bottleneck here as all the fleets compressed. The leading Wayfarer even caught up the last of the Darts, which had started 10 minutes earlier. A lot of boats bobbed up and down off Brownsea Castle, going nowhere fast and being urged by one of the harbour's pilot boats to 'keep to the edge of the channel' as a large freighter was on its way out.

Just past the castle, by the entrance to South Deep, the lightest of breezes was enough to get kites filling on a shy reach towards Amy Group, one of Parkstone's race marks, where a RIB was waiting as a finish boat. At least that's how it worked for those who finished before about 15:20. After that was a virtual calm for a good 15-20 minutes as a group of (mostly) XODs and RS200s drifted inch by inch across the line.

Thankfully, the wind gods' little game came to a conclusion after that and a gentle westerly filled in to help everyone back down South Deep and towards Brownsea Castle, where a different wind hole lay in wait. The beat back towards the Parkstone platform was worthwhile, however, because a second race was on offer. For most, it was a relatively short windward/leeward in a wind that started at 10-12 knots and gradually eased.

As for the Top Triangle fleets - well, when the easterly that had been blowing earlier in the day finally deigned to return some time after the scheduled start time for the first race, they set off on a beat down the harbour. Then, of course, the wind shut off before coming in from the opposite direction, turning the beat into a run. The race was finished at Glovers buoy, between the north-east corner of Brownsea and the Lilliput shore, with dozens of ILCAs and Flying Fifteens crossing the line together. That wasn't how it was supposed to work - but sometimes that's yacht racing for you.

In terms of results, some new leaders have emerged including Rob Jackson in the ILCA 6s and Peter Loretto in the RS200s, both of whom have been close to the front all week. Others less close to the front scored good results not because of 180 degrees wind-shifts working in their favour but simply by going the right way, like Trevor Card, who came 2nd in the Wayfarers' second race to leave most of the regular front-runners in his wake.

It's tight at the top in many of the fleets. We can only hope that Eurus and Zephyrus have had their fun and games for now and will allow competition in Poole Week to continue in conditions marginally more predictable than they were on Wednesday.

Provisional results on www.pooleweek.org

Photos on www.SailingScenes.com

Related Articles

Marine Auctions: June online auctions
Bidding to open on Friday 20th June The Bidding for the June Online Auction will commence on Thursday 20th June and will end on Thursday 26th June at 2pm AEST. Posted on 7 Jun
Bulwarks and Bulldust – watch Episode Five
Episode Five - Shane Subichin, The Boat Works - is now up and running Watch along as we speak with Shane Subichin, GM at The Boat Works about his life from tinnies on Sydney Harbour to leading the team at the premier refit and maintenance yard on the Gold Coast. Posted on 6 Jun
New Formula 360 Crossover Bowrider
An exciting new generation of Formula dayboats has arrived An exciting new generation of Formula dayboats has arrived with the upcoming debut of the all-new Formula 360 Crossover Bowrider. Posted on 5 Jun
Michael Rybovich & Sons construction updates
Progress on hulls from 84', 62' down to 42' New construction updates of 70' S/F Hull # 9, 42' S/F hull #10, 75' S/F hull #11, 84' S/F - Hull # 12. Posted on 5 Jun
A very clear video for overhead casting
Stop fly casting 10-2 and start using this method for longer casts Lyall and Nathan have spoken to me often of how to advance beyond the clock face 10-2 using the terms translation before rotation. Posted on 4 Jun
Valhalla 55 Sport Yacht - Ready to ride
Making her highly anticipated debut in Atlantic City The Valhalla 55 Sport Yacht makes her highly anticipated debut in Atlantic City, New Jersey – and it's more than a new model. Posted on 4 Jun
NOAA reduces Atlantic bluefin tuna retention limit
The adjusted limits will take effect June 3, 2025 and extend through December 31, 2025 On May 29, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced adjustments to the Atlantic bluefin tuna daily retention limits for recreational anglers. Posted on 3 Jun
Delegation urges state control of red snapper
Expressing "strong support for a state-led framework to ensure science-based stewardship" South Carolina's congressional delegation, led by Congressman Russell Fry and joined by U.S. Senators, formally urged U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to transfer management of the South Atlantic snapper-grouper fishery to the states. Posted on 2 Jun
Bayliss Boatworks new construction updates
Big Deal's final touches are coming together beautifully Gearing up for her christening later this month, Big Deal's final touches are coming together beautifully. Posted on 2 Jun
Bulwarks and Bulldust – watch Episode Four
Episode Four - Mark Elkington, The Yacht Sales Co. - is now up and running Watch along as we speak with Mark Elkington from The Yacht Sales Co. about his transition from a West Australian crayfisherman to a global sales and support organisation par excellence. Posted on 30 May
Maritimo 2023 S600 FOOTERPalm Beach Motor Yachts