adidas Poole Week 2017 at Parkstone Yacht Club - Day 3
by John Linford 29 Aug 2017 21:45 BST
27 August - 1 September 2017
After a slow start to the afternoon's racing while those in the Top Triangle looked on enviously from a flat calm at the 6 to 8 knots of breeze at the Race Platform, the wind eventually filled in from the west and racing got underway.
The wind eventually rose to an unexpected 16 knots, allowing the Flying Fifteens, RS Handicap Fleet and Merlin Rockets to enjoy a tour of Poole Harbour in the sunshine, while the Laser fleet remained in the top triangle for an Olympic course - after a few false starts!
A great day of racing was had by all, even though it looked unlikely when the fleets were released from shore.
The fast get faster (report from David Harding)
It took a few days of racing in adidas Poole Week for clear front-runners to emerge in many of the classes. During the third day, however, several started to assert themselves. Those who prefer stronger winds found conditions to their liking: by the end of Tuesday, the light and shifty breezes of the first two days had given way to a solid westerly that reached around 15 knots at times. Hiking positions were adopted, the Darts' crews were at full stretch on the wire and the Flying Fifteens were planing down the reaches.
With a string of bullets following an OCS in the first race, Steve and Ally Tyler cemented their lead in the Merlin Rockets, ahead of Ant Hackforth and Carrie Wilkes.
Roberta Hartley in the Laser Radials was among the few who threw down the gauntlet right from the start. She maintained her dominance over the other 10 in the fleet, which included daughter Emma in third. The ever-eager-to-get-started Lasers had to be brought to heel by Graham Davies, PRO for the classes racing on the 'adidas course' in the harbour's Top Triangle, by means of a succession of 'don't-keep-trying-it-on' flags, starting with the P flag and ending with the final warning in black.
Also racing from the committee-boat line were the assorted RSs, with Chris and Alice Bailey in their 200 being the boat to beat.
Most of the boats at the top of their fleets by the end of Wednesday were sailed by members of Parkstone YC, but John Carlin brought his Albacore all the way from West Kirby to leave the rest of the Fast Handicap fleet trailing in his wake. While local knowledge is rarely a drawback, it's clearly not essential for success in Poole Week.
More information at www.parkstoneyachtclub.com/Sailing/Poole_Week.aspx