Enjoy fun sailing, learn useful boating skills, and join exciting races on the beautiful waters of Poole Bay with a friendly and welcoming sailing community.
Our larger cruising yachts (typically over 33ft) with more powerful sail plans and deeper keels. Racing focuses on out-of-harbour courses when conditions allow. Class Captain: Mark Titterington
Friendly, competitive racing for a mix of modern, classic and performance cruisers, typically 25–33ft. Most races are harbour courses, with out-of-harbour racing when conditions allow. Class 1A Captain: Angus Kemp
Friendly, competitive racing for a mix of modern, classic and performance cruisers, typically 25–33ft. Most races are harbour courses, with out-of-harbour racing when conditions allow. Class 1B Captain: Paul Warrell
Mid-performance cruising yachts that balance speed with easy handling. Great for mixed-experience crews who want enjoyable racing while keeping a competitive edge. Racing is mainly on harbour courses. Class Captain: Martin Trim
Smaller cruisers (typically up to 8.5m), including Splinters, Sadlers, Etaps, Achilles, Contessas and similar club racers. Racing is mainly on harbour courses. Class Captain: Tracey Lee
R19s were designed and built specifically for Poole Harbour one-design racing. It’s a welcoming fleet, from novices to Olympians, racing several times a week and also capable of cruising. Racing is mainly on harbour courses. Class Captain: Andy Macgregor
Cruiser racing is a great way to enjoy Poole Harbour and keep building your sailing skills. Crews of between 2 and 10 take part in friendly, well-run races that suit a wide range of boats and experience levels — from first-time racers to long-standing campaigners.
Race nights have a relaxed, sociable atmosphere. Crews enjoy the challenge of trying to be the evening’s fastest and beating their own personal best. Once the sailing is over and the results are in, we gather in the bar for a chat, a drink and a debrief. It’s a chance to exchange tips, learn what worked (and what didn’t), and celebrate good sailing.
With over 70 boats on the water at the height of the season, there’s always plenty of close racing and plenty of people to meet.
You don’t need years of experience to take part. If you’re new to sailing or new to racing, there are plenty of ways to get involved:
Many boats welcome extra hands, and it’s the quickest way to learn.
Take measurements to rate your boat (see VPRS notes below) and get insured to cover racing.
Class captains and the Cruiser Fleet Captain can point you to the right class, explain the basics and help you get started.
You can race without one while you build confidence (see VPRS notes below).
We race in banded groups (often called classes) of similar-speed yachts to keep racing close and enjoyable. Each season the Notice of Race defines the class rating splits.
Cruiser racing is open to most boats from around 18ft to 40ft. Crews are commonly 2–8 people (though we do have some single-handed sailors), and most races last between one and two hours — ideal for an evening or a Sunday morning.
Some of our closest racing is in one-design classes, where boats are the same design and win by sailing best on the day. We’re proud of our R19 fleet of 20+ boats, many of them sailing several times each week.
Our larger cruising yachts (typically over 33ft) with more powerful sail plans and deeper keels. Racing focuses on out-of-harbour courses when conditions allow.
Class Captain: Mark Titterington Friendly, competitive racing for a mix of modern, classic and performance cruisers, typically 25–33ft. Most races are harbour courses, with out-of-harbour racing when conditions allow.
Class 1A Captain: Angus Kemp
Friendly, competitive racing for a mix of modern, classic and performance cruisers, typically 25–33ft. Most races are harbour courses, with out-of-harbour racing when conditions allow.
Class 1B Captain: Paul Warrell Mid-performance cruising yachts that balance speed with easy handling. Great for mixed-experience crews who want enjoyable racing while keeping a competitive edge. Racing is mainly on harbour courses.
Class Captain: Martin Trim Smaller cruisers (typically up to 8.5m), including Splinters, Sadlers, Etaps, Achilles, Contessas and similar club racers. Racing is mainly on harbour courses.
Class Captain: Tracey Lee R19s were designed and built specifically for Poole Harbour one-design racing. It’s a welcoming fleet, from novices to Olympians, racing several times a week and also capable of cruising. Racing is mainly on harbour courses.
Class Captain: Andy MacgregorCruiser Class 1
Cruiser Class 1A
Cruiser Class 1B
Cruiser Class 2
Cruiser Class 3
Cruiser Class R19