About Us

Chris Shaw

Welcome to Poole Harbour Watersports!

We are a family-owned and independently run watersports business, with a shop situated in the heart of Poole and just two minutes from the glorious Sandbanks beaches and the second largest natural harbour in the world. We are the oldest watersports shop and school center in Poole, and are now one of the top 5 watersports shops in the UK. We believe that the long-standing success of the business has been through word-of-mouth on the team’s great reputation for knowledge, experience, quality, authenticity and support for our local area and community!

2023 is a special year for Poole Harbour Watersports as owner, Chris Shaw, is celebrating 30 years of ownership!

Poole Harbour Watersports Story

  

Poole is one of the main watersport hubs in the country, with many shops and teaching centres in a close vicinity, and we like to think of the shop as the original founder around here! You will find the family tree of the water sports scene in Poole traces back to Poole Harbour Watersports, many watersport enthusiasts have either worked here or continue to have a long-standing relationship with the shop.


 
Our shop (and Chris over his 30 years) have made and supported this local community with watersports –the friendly and great community here all stems from everyone’s love and passion for watersports and wanting to get others to enjoy them too.

  

Our owner, Chris Shaw, is a well-known name (in a good way) and a local, living legend in the community. Chris has an undeniable expertise in the sports and experience like no other around. He is always happy to help, whether the request big or small, and there is almost nothing he doesn’t know about windsurfing. If he’s not in the shop, he is on the water or nearby watching any of his kids windsurfing too!

Poole Harbour Watersports continues to support its roots in windsurf racing. We are one of the handful of distributors in the country of the youth and adult racing classes – Techno One Design and the Olympic iQFoil, and with Chris’ own kids partaking in these journeys. We find great pride in supplying and inspiring the younger generation to get into the sports and continue even with careers in it! Our shop riders and Shaw family members regularly tour around the country and internationally at events and it’s great to see the sport continuing through the ages and around the world. (Technically we have gone global 😉).

Chris' son Boris coming 3rd in International Techno Competition.

Shop Rider Alice Read competing in International iQFoil Games. 

 

On a visit to the shop you would find everything you need to get out on the water. Known to be an ‘Aladdin’s cave’ when you first walk in, the shop is stocked well with every little bit of kit you may find you will need (down to every nut and bolt). While it is stocked well, the team prefer to call it ‘organized chaos’, we know all the ins and outs of the shop and can help anyone find everything they need!

Pop in and say hello to our staff at 284-286 Sandbanks Road, Poole, BH14 8HU. We are open everyday from 9-5:30!

 

Back to blog