What it's actually like

Poole Harbour is my water. The bay tucked inside Sandbanks is Whitley Lake to us, or just "inside Sandbanks", even though it is no lake at all: it is the shallow corner of a huge tidal harbour, with Brownsea Island sitting out in the middle. Give it a mid tide and a westerly and the water goes flat, and you can blast across it for as long as your forearms last.

It is not glamorous. It is a promenade, a row of school vans on Shore Road and a lot of people squinting at the tide table before they rig. On a classic windy weekend there can be over fifty windsurfers out, a load of kiters and half a dozen wingers, and you soon learn who is who by their sails.

On a spring high in 20 knots or more it chops up, because the waves bounce back off the sea walls, and that short chop throws up little ramps if you fancy a chop-hop.

Your month

When it's good

12 kt+ for 3+ daylight hours · kite

January · 55%. 17 rideable days in 31, 5.8 hours a day over 12 kt. Bring a book.

At a glance

Is it for you?

Skill levelComfortable

WaterBit of chop

Wind · JanUsually turns up

Crowds · JanRoom to ride

Local vibeWelcoming

Water qualityUsually clean

NightlifeA bar or two

CostMid

Geek analysis

January in the record

55% of days clear 12 kt for three daylight hours or more.

Where the wind sits

Share of daylight hours in each speed band. Blue clears the bar.

4–712

8–1133

12–1536

16–1916

20–233

24–270

28–310

When in the day

The trades are a clock. A dawn session is a different spot.

8am

9

10

11

12pm

1pm

2

3

4

5

6pm

January on the record

The month's own figures, not the year's average.

Rideable days17 of 31Worst 10 in 1992, best 24 in 2007

Strongest gust64Kt

Air8.4°CMaximum

Waves0.9 m38% of days run big

Record 1940 to 2026Normals 1991 to 2020Open-Meteo, CERRA

Take it with you

The full Poole Harbour report

Eight sections over six to eight pages, built from the same record as this page. A PDF you can read on the plane.

01Hour-by-hour & month-by-month wind02The month's own records03Full stays, schools & kit04Per-launch tide windows05Mudflats, channels & the harbour entrance06Getting there, packing & best months07Sources, and their limits

Three free reports with an account, then premium.

When it gets busy

Crowds

Jan · Low

Summer weekends are the busy stretch at Shore Road, and the launch gets crowded very early. Come in winter and it is mostly the regulars, the schools and a lot of room.

On the water

What January usually does

Wind directionSW to NWAcross Whitley Lake from Shore Road, with the longest fetch in a NW. NE and E come over the houses gusty.

Wind strength15 to 25 ktA proper frontal day in autumn and winter. Rig for the mean, not the gusts.

When it blowsWith the frontsThe good wind rides in on passing weather. Catch it on a mid to high tide, when the water goes flat.

Your playground

Launches & safety

Local intel

Getting there & on the ground

Nearest airportBournemouth (BOH)About 11 miles by road. Southampton (SOU) is about 38.

On the groundOctober to MarchThe months the record shows the most rideable days.

Getting aroundCar or the Breezer busThe Purbeck Breezer 50 runs from Bournemouth via Sandbanks. Roadside parking by the launch is paid, and the launch gets crowded early on summer weekends.

Stay, schools & kit

Who works this beach

EasyridersSchoolKite · Wing · FoilSandbanks Beach Club, Shore Road. Lessons on the harbour side and the seafront.Photo: Andrew Collenette via Google

Poole Harbour WatersportsSchoolWindsurf · WingVan and trailer at Whitley Lake, opposite the Tesco Express in Sandbanks.Photo: Poole Harbour Watersports via Google

Poole WindsurfingSchoolWindsurfWindsurf school on Shore Road, with hire and a Thursday evening club.Photo: Heather Stratton via Google

The Watersports AcademySchoolWindsurf · WingRYA centre at 15 Banks Road, Sandbanks, with café, changing rooms and hot showers.Photo: Imogene Meyer via Google

Did I miss something out?Send it straight to me. I wrote this page.