Swanage’s racing has ended for 2024, and I’ve started sailing at Poole Yacht Club again now in Poole Harbour. PYC has an excellent Aero/ILCA fleet and race over the winter. The Saturday morning format is five short back-to-back races on a square outer loop course.

We had light winds and murky weather yesterday. After the race, I had a sail around Poole Harbour which was fun.

I found it interesting to sail on a body of water which is largely the same, as in flat water and even wind. This makes it much easier to settle into a groove and work on different things.

Swanage has a bay and the wind and waves are very different depending on where you are. e.g. closer to shore, the wind over the town can be very gusty. The wind is also less and bends around the shore, closer to shore. Further out, it’s still gusty, but with stronger wind and bigger waves. Waves are also all different depending on the wind direction.

It took a few races to get into it, and by Race 5 things were starting to come together. It’s interesting sailing with ILCAs which point higher than Aeros so tactical adjustment is needed.