My favourite speed spot in the UK has to be the legendary Portland Harbour in Weymouth. It’s not the fastest spot anymore by a long way but it is steeped in speed sailing history. It was the first place that a windsurfer, Fred Haywood from Maui, broke the 30-knot barrier. It is where Sailrocket, the fastest sailing craft of all time was conceived and developed. It was the venue for the 2012 Olympic games and of course it is home to Weymouth speed week in October, the longest running speed sailing event on the planet.
But what is it like to sail there as a speed spot? The short answer is, “it’s easy”. No kilometre walk against the wind like the Ray. No wall to hit, like West Kirby. Just one big flat water sailing area. The best direction to sail in is a south westerly, which fortunately is the prevailing wind direction! For speed, anything with a West in it is great. The area is sailable in all wind directions however apart from a true southerly, where the wind has to go over Portland Island and so is very gusty and full of holes. It can be sailed at all points of the tide but the unique double lows can mean a bit of a walk and some shallow spots, especially if you launch from the Ferrybridge end, which is the car park at the start of the causeway. I tend to park at the National Sailing Academy with its showers and a café on site, and launch next to the OTC run by the ever smiling Tris Best and his team.