Southbourne to Sandbanks training sail

Sail from Southbourne to Poole with Clyde and Gregg. A really good upwind in good breeze. After a short break the wind disappeared for what should have been a great blast back downwind. So after a few fitful planes it turned into a slow slog. A memorable sail though and a spectacular sky for the eventual drift back to Southbourne.

After this sail I reflected on how long distance sailing as a group is more complicated than solo sailing. As a group, to stay safe you want to be looking out for each other, but that is difficult when each board is sailing slightly different angles. Sailing upwind, after just a few upwind legs, you end up completely out of sync - hundreds of metres apart - with those (who started off) around you. Downwind is even worse and the seperation can easily be such that just keeping sight of each other is difficult. Even on the gentle downwind from Poole on this sail, at times we ended up - I would estimate - over a mile away from each other. Downwind in windier conditions, when board speeds are greater and you are more focussed on your own sailing, just keeping track of where to be looking out for your companions is tricky.