Weather / wind this evening

[Dorset Dan]

It is our first season of motor boating and trying to get as much use as possible of the boat. This evening we had provisionally kept free to go out for a few hours. However, wind (Poole) per xcweather.co.uk is 12mph at 16.00 to 19.00 with possible gusts to 18-24mph.

I've also read possible localised thunderstorms (not specific to Poole, but for whole of UK generally).

Am I being rightly cautious or over cautious about thinking of not venturing out in the above conditions?

 

[colingr]

Depends on the boat tbh. I'd go out in that if the wind had been reasonably stable all day.

22ft sports cuddy.

No harm in heading out and having a look. If you don't like it head back in before you get out of your comfort zone.

 

[LadyJ]

I view this in two ways, if your other half of friends are with you and you don't want to put them off then don't go out as from experience a too choppy day/evening on the water can put off those not as keen/fearless as you. That said I would do as the thread above suggested and venture out then decide whether to go farther. It's good to get some rough weather experince as you will encounter these for sure once you are heading away for a few days.

 

[mlines]

Dan,

As at any location, its not just the Wind but the direction and state of the tide. In Poole watch out for Wind with an "E" in it (i.e. East) as this comes straight in the harbour entrance and also across the length of the harbour so becomes rougher that it does for the same wind in another direction. We have a 22ft Cuddy Sportsboat and would think hard about 12 gusting to 24, not because the boat will not cope but because the crew start to tire more quickly and your options for activities decrease and you end up bouncing around in a circle asking "what do we do now?". In Poole if it was South East wind then Ballard Down shelters Studland and also there is shelter around Brownsea so you can find flat water to stop in.

And as we said to ourselves last year of St Catherines Point on the Isle of Wight, we understood the sentiment of "Its better to be on the land, wishing you were on the water than being on the water wishing you were on the land". Perhaps a bit dramatic for Poole Harbour but if the passengers do not enjoy it then it can set the mindset for future boating.

 

[LadyJ]

It is our first season of motor boating and trying to get as much use as possible of the boat. This evening we had provisionally kept free to go out for a few hours. However, wind (Poole) per xcweather.co.uk is 12mph at 16.00 to 19.00 with possible gusts to 18-24mph.

I've also read possible localised thunderstorms (not specific to Poole, but for whole of UK generally).

Am I being rightly cautious or over cautious about thinking of not venturing out in the above conditions?

Interested on what your decision was, did you venture out or not?