The other bonus about Weymouth is there is always a bunch of friendly locals to sail with, including some of the top BSA Slalom sailors like Kevin Greenslade, Simon Pettifer and the rising star of speed and slalom, young Scotty Stallman, always willing to give you a run for your money. Most of the time fast slalom boards and 6.0 – 7.5m slalom or freerace sails are the fastest gear to use here. That is until it gets very strong with the wind coming over Chesil bank, then a speed board is the order of the day. There are three good local shops, the OTC which I have mentioned, who have a huge range of test boards to help you make your mind up about your next board purchase, Weymouth Watersports at Ferrybridge run by Rich and 109 Watersports (Formally Windtek) run by Callum, both of which have a massive range of accessories and kit for sale.
My most memorable day sailing here was back in 2009 during Weymouth speed week. The forecast was for super strong winds on Wednesday morning. The conditions were as good as it gets at Weymouth, south westerly winds gusting 40 knots and high tides so you could sail close to the beach. The atmosphere was electric and the who’s who of speed sailing were there, including Anders Brindgal my then sponsor, Dave White World Production champion, local legend Pete Young, who knows these waters like the back of his hand, and 120 other competitors all with a need for speed. We were all pushing each other on and the speeds were getting quicker all morning till just after lunch when it slipped away. Awesome day with Anders and I setting the men’s and women’s WSW (Weymouth speed week) 500m harbour records with 32.44 for me and 38.44 knots for him; records which still stand to this day.