Poole Yacht Racing Association Two-Handed Race and RNLI Pursuit Race 2026
by Keith Lovett 12 Aug 10:13 BST
8-9 August 2026
PYRA RNLI Pursuit Race © Poole Yacht Racing Association
Poole Yacht Racing Association (PYRA) enjoyed two contrasting days of racing on 8-9 August, with the Royal Motor Yacht Club providing the race base for both events.
Light winds dominated the start of both days, but the breeze eventually filled in to produce some close and competitive racing across the fleet.
Two-Handed Race
Saturday's PYRA Annual Two-Handed Race got under way after a nervous wait for the breeze. At 0930 there was virtually no wind, although 5-6 knots from around 140° was beginning to show.
Race Officers Andrew Pearce and Dave Butters set the course with the Stoneways Race Mark as the windward mark, and remarkably, the breeze arrived almost exactly as hoped just five minutes before the scheduled 10:00 start.
The fleet raced in four VPRS classes, with the Elan 295 Mad Fish taking the overall win and Class Two. QT, Ecume de Mer and the smallest yacht in the fleet, finished second overall and won Class Three.
Just four seconds separated QT and the Archambault A31 Red Fox on corrected time, with Red Fox taking Class One. All or Nothing, a Sun Fast 3200, won Class Zero.
RNLI Poole Station Pursuit Race
Sunday's RNLI Poole Station Pursuit Race formed part of the new PYRA Poole Bay Series, introduced this season and proving highly successful.
Twenty yachts took part, with VPRS ratings used to stagger the start times over a 30-minute period. Once again, light winds delayed proceedings, with the race start postponed by 65 minutes.
When the fleet was finally under way, the breeze was below 5 knots. QT, the smallest yacht competing, led the fleet for the first hour of the two-hour race before being caught by Mad Fish.
As the breeze built steadily to around 12 knots, the race became increasingly competitive. The Farr 30, Wild Haggis, the highest-rated monohull in the fleet, worked through the fleet to take the lead and held on to win overall and take Class Zero.
Class winners were Red Fox (Class One), Mad Fish (Class Two), QT (Class Three), Magnum (Class Four) and the Corsair F31, Smithy (Class Five Multihulls).
The increase in breeze transformed the race, with the fleet enjoying fast and close racing in Poole Bay as conditions improved.
Racing and RNLI Support
The Sunday event also incorporated support for Poole Station RNLI. The RNLI water safety team inspected more than 20 lifejackets ashore, identifying a few that were no longer in satisfactory condition, hence very worthwhile. A raffle raised £470 for the RNLI's Poole station.
The weekend concluded with prize-giving at the Royal Motor Yacht Club, with Paul Thompson from Poole RNLI presenting the trophies.
Despite the challenging starts to both days, the improving breeze produced two rewarding races and a strong turnout from the PYRA fleet. The events were sponsored by Stoneways Marine Insurance.
Poole Yacht Racing Association: www.pyra.org.uk