#fireball – If the upcoming Pwllheli GUL World Championships for the Fireball Class are a light weather event, four of the five Fireballs who took to the water in tonight's DBSC race had a good work out writes Cormac Bradley. However, as it is very unlikely that a Worlds race would be sailed in tonight's conditions, the boats who took to the water can at least claim that they had an enjoyable session on the water – one hopes!
The XCWeather forecast for 19:00 and start time wasn't favourable – 1 – 3 knots coming from a NE direction initially. This was modified to a northerly direction as the afternoon wore on but with no more strength! As a consequence of the prevailing conditions, racing was hosted inside the harbour and as I took up station the adjacent weather station was suggesting 8 – 11 knots at 153˚. However, I don't think anyone enjoyed this sort of wind strength on the water. James Clancy in in IRL 15113 was doing some trapezing in "armchair" mode but that was the height of it (pun intended!).
A windward-leeward course was signalled with two laps and a separate downwind finish, a popular configuration this summer.
As the start signal went, four boats were stacked at the committee boat end of the line and Frank Miller & Ed Butler (14713) were in sole charge of the pin. Initially all five boats sailed on starboard tack towards the mouth of the harbour but early on Mary Chambers & Brenda McGuire (14865) and the Clancy Brothers, Conor and James (15113) came right with the Clancys holding on the longest. On the opposite side of the course, Louise McKenna & Hermine O'Keefe (14691) appeared to sail over the top of Miller & butler, but both boats were then passed out by Noel Butler (15061). Clancy's persistence with the right-hand side paid huge dividends as he crossed the fleet and tacked marginally to leeward of Butler. As they approached the weather mark they were overlapped with Butler in the windward berth. It appeared as though the three Mermaids approaching the weather mark on the starboard layline might influence proceedings at the mark but both Fireballs were able to get around the mark without interference. Butler led but only by a boat-length, if even that. McKenna & O'Keeffe rounded third followed by Chambers & Maguire and Miller & Butler.
Gybes early on the downwind leg by Butler & Clancy saw the latter overtake Butler and thereafter the brothers were never headed. Behind them however, Butler gybed again and McKenna and Chambers pursued a port tack so that at one stage the four boats were all overlapped with Clancy on the inside and Butler on the outside. This situation resolved itself before the rounding of the leeward mark where the order was Clancy, Chambers, McKenna, Butler and Miller.
Butler & McKenna headed off for the harbour mouth again while Chambers & Clancy went right. First Chambers then Clancy tacked so that these two were applying a loose cover on the other two. For the balance of the second beat, Clancy made sure he was in the covering position so that he would shepherd his flock and keep an eye on them all. As to be expected, almost, Butler got out from underneath the two all-lady crews to round the second weather mark in second place, but there was to be no catching the Clancys tonight. Downwind Clancy mirrored every move that Butler made – applying the golden rule – stay between the mark and your opposition. Late on in the leg, Butler tacked again to sail a wider course to the finish and initially it looked as though he might have opened the door to Chambers, while McKenna was also putting in a push to close on the second and third boats. However, as he gybed for the penultimate time he slotted himself into a position just ahead of Chambers to close out the race in second place. Chambers took third.
Three sound signals in quick succession after the last finisher of the fleet crossed the line indicated that the competitive activities for the evening were being brought to a close.
Four of the boats racing tonight will be part of a healthy Irish representation in Pwllheli at the GUL World Championships and UK Nationals. The Clancy Brothers, Noel Butler & Stephen Oram, Frank Miller & Ed Butler and Louise McKenna & Hermine O'Keeffe will be joined by Niall McGrotty & Neil Cramer (14938/Skerries), Kenneth Rumball & Brian Byrne (15058/Irish National Sailing Club), Jon Evans & Aidan Caulfield (14748/Sligo Yacht Club) and Barry McCartin & Conor Kinsella (15114/RStGYC & Cushendall Sailing Club) in the last week of August for the World Championships. Cormac Bradley will also contest the event sailing with Chris Thorne in GBR14950. This makes the Irish the second biggest national contingent after the host fleet, the UKFA. Other nationalities represented are Australia (Ben Schulz), Canada (Joe Jospe & Tom Egli & 2 others), Switzerland (Mermod & Moser + 2 others), Belgium (2), France (2), Czech Republic (4) and South Africa (2 Anthony Parker/Ferdinand Holm & David Laing/Mark Dee).
