Displaying items by tag: Fireball
Goodness Gracious Wins it on Dublin Bay
BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Magic (D.O'Sullivan/D.Espey), 2. Extreme Reality (P.McSwiney/E.O'Rafferty), 3. Attitude (D.Owens/T.Milner)
BENETEAU 31.7 - 1. Magic (D.O'Sullivan/D.Espey), 2. Extreme Reality (P.McSwiney/E.O'Rafferty), 3. Attitude (D.Owens/T.Milner)
CRUISERS 2 - 1. Cor Baby (Keith Kiernan et al), 2. Graduate (D O'Keeffe), 3. Bendemeer (Lindsay Casey Power)
CRUISERS 3 - 1. Papytoo (M.Walsh/F.Guilfoyle), 2. Upd8 (Whelan/McCabe/Carey), 3. Chouskikou (R.Sheehan/R.Hickey)
FIREBALL - 1. Goodness Gracious (Louise McKenna), 2. Elevation (N.Colin/M.Casey), 3. Licence to Thrill (Louis Smyth)
GLEN - 1. Pterodactyl (R & D McCaffrey), 2. Glenshane (P Hogan), 3. Glencorel (B.Waldock/K.Malcolm)
IDRA 14 FOOT - 1. Dunmoanin (Frank Hamilton), 2. Squalls (Stephen Harrison), 3. Doody (J.Fitzgerald/J.Byrne)
MERMAID - 1. Kim (D Cassidy), 2. Jill (P.Smith/P.Mangan)
RUFFIAN 23 - 1. Ruff Nuff (D & C Mitchell), 2. Diane ll (Bruce Carswell), 3. Alias (D.Meeke/M.McCarthy)
SIGMA 33 - 1. White Mischief (Timothy Goodbody), 2. Pippa lV (G.Kinsman/K.Blake/M.O'Brien)
McGrotty and Grimes Win Fireball Ulster Title
Representatives from Skerries (2), Clontarf (1), Howth (2), East Down Yacht Club (1), Sligo Yacht Club (1) were joined a composite crew from Cushendal Sailing and Boating Club/Royal St. George Yacht Club and eleven boats from Dun Laoghaire.
In times past the Fireball Class were regular visitors to Ballyholme, particularly when they hosted a week-long dinghy regatta, but in the time of this scribe’s association with the Irish Fireball Class this has been our first visit. Ballyholme has had a solitary Fireballer in recent times, but unfortunately Denis Findlay lost his struggle with cancer and so he was unable to enjoy the return of the class to this venue on Belfast Lough.
Race Officer Robin Gray, RYA N. Ireland’s Race Officer Co-ordinator did the honours over the weekend and enhanced his reputation as an excellent RO with three superb races on Saturday when we enjoyed a sea breeze of 15/16 knots. In addition to good courses we enjoyed sea conditions that gave us excellent surfing conditions and saw a few stories of rogue breaking waves in Saturday’s post-mortems. Turnaround times for races were good to the extent that after a solitary black flag start in Race 1, after a General Recall, three hour long races were sailed in beautifully sunny conditions that saw the fleet ashore and showered by 16:30.
I gather that Sunday was not quite as co-operative from a wind perspective as the wind started light and moved around much more. Due to a family bereavement, I missed the day’s proceedings but was updated on how the day panned out.
Day 1 was claimed by Simon McGrotty & Ruari Grimes who won races 1 and 3 with good upwind speed on the beat and excellent boat handling off wind, particularly in the tight first reaches of the triangles. The blot on their day 1 record was a fourth place which may have been influenced by a wandering gybe mark which had to be substituted by a rib flying an X Flag. There certainly was the unusual sight of Fireballs beating and tacking towards the gybe mark and McGrotty/Grimes may have lost places here. Kenny Rumball & Seamus Moore, Barry McCartin & Conor Kinsella and Damien Bracken & Brian O’Hara were able to take advantage by filling the first three places before McGrotty/Grimes finished in fourth.
After three excellent races, the standings were as follows;
1. Simon McGrotty & Ruari Grimes 6pts (1,4,1)
2. Kenny Rumball & Seamus Moore 8pts (4,1,3)
3. Barry McCartin & Conor Kinsella 10pts (6,2,2)
4. Noel Butler & Stephen Oram 13pts (2,7,4)
5. Louis Smyth & Cormac Bradley 16pts (3,8,5)
The silver fleet was 5-strong for this regatta and included a visitor from the UK. Hannah Showell teamed up with Margaret Casey to provide the third all-female crew of the event and together with Cariosa Power & Marie Barry, Mary Chambers & Brenda McGuire, they contested the regatta with Kate Grimes (helm), Martina Michels (crew) and Karen Caughey (crew), the latter three being joined by Nick Malone, Cearbhall Daly and John Orr respectively. Diane Kissane was the sole female outside the Silver fleet, sailing 14939.
What is encouraging for the Irish fleet at this point in time is the influx of young talented sailors into the class. Yes, it may be coincidental with the hosting of the Worlds, but it seems that they are enjoying themselves and there is a camaraderie that is developing among them and with the more “established” members of the fleet. This weekend we were joined by Luke Malcolm & Shane Diviney who bought a Fireball on the back of the Leinsters sailed in their home club of Howth last year. Howth is also scheduled to host the 2012 Nationals and we hope to have fledgling fleet there by the time we visit next summer.
Barry McCartin has joined the fleet from the Topper Class where he has enjoyed significant success. Diane Kissane has proven her pedigree in Optimists and has been showed a great turn of speed and ability to handle the Fireball in a very short time. There are other young recruits to the class who contested the Worlds in Ben Malone and Ben Scallan and the hope must be that we can continue to attract this age of competitor to ensure that we remain at the forefront of domestic sailing in Ireland and beyond.
My detail on Sunday’s proceedings is based on word of mouth reports from my helm, but I gather that the day’s wind wasn’t quite as steady as Saturday’s. It doesn’t seem to have upset the McGrotty/Grimes charge to the title as they bagged another two firsts to give themselves two-thirds of the regatta’s race wins. The one that “got away” on Sunday went to Frank Miller and Grattan Donnelly.
Counting all races, for the sake of analysis, Conor Clancy & Francis Rowan won by a healthy margin, counting a 2,2,4 for the day. On Saturday they had a complicated capsize in race 1 and retired from Races 2 & 3 due to a broken spreader. Thus while they didn’t feature overall on Saturday evening their success on Sunday saw them finish 7th overall.
McGrotty/Grimes had the next best daily score of 12 points (1,10,1), the 10th becoming their discard, with Rumball/Moore next best with 5,6,2. Butler/Oram’s travails continued with a 4,5,5, for the day which is completely inconsistent with their recent form. Damien Bracken and Brian O’Hara also had a better day with a 8,4,3.
In the Silver Fleet Hannah & Margaret had a three point lead over Cearbhall & Martina at the close of racing on the Saturday evening, with Cariosa & Marie in third place a further three points adrift. Cariosa & Marie won the second day with two finishes just outside the top ten and an 18th to Hannah/Margaret’s 11,12,DNF to leapfrog Cearbhall/Martina into 2nd place in the Silver fleet.
As ever with our northern visits, the hospitality of Ballyholme Yacht Club was excellent with a dinner arranged for the Saturday night at which some unfinished business (a prize-giving) from the Open Championships was concluded. The atmosphere in the Club was welcoming and in particular their provision of race results on both Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon was very fast with multiple score sheets being made available.
Robin Gray will definitely be on our wish list for future events, particularly as he ran the regatta exactly as we asked him to. Our thanks also go to Mark Markey, Rear Commodore Sailing who coordinated our visit from a BYC perspective.
The Class now enjoys a month’s break until the Nationals which are being hosted by Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club on Dublin Bay over the last Friday/Saturday/Sunday of August, 26 – 28th. Class coordinator for this event, Neil Colin, has secured sponsorship from Pinnell & Bax and the regatta documentation can be found on both the Irish Fireball website and the club website.
The decision to go with a Dublin venue was taken in view of the two-week Worlds regatta in Sligo so that we didn’t have to embrace another distance regatta for the Nationals. Additionally, in recent years the Nationals have been hosted outside the capital (Baltimore, Westport (x2), Cork, Fenit, Wicklow) and the feeling was that it was time for them to return.
Pos |
Sail No |
Crew |
R1 |
R2 |
R3 |
R4 |
R5 |
R6 |
Nett |
1 |
14981 |
Simon McGrotty & Ruari Grimes |
1 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
10 |
1 |
8 |
2 |
15058 |
Kenneth Rumball & Seamus Moore |
4 |
1 |
3 |
5 |
6 |
2 |
15 |
3 |
14820 |
Barry McCartin & Conor Kinsella |
6 |
2 |
2 |
6 |
3 |
7 |
19 |
4 |
15061 |
Noel Butler & Stephen Oram |
2 |
7 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
20 |
5 |
14904 |
Damien Bracken & Brian O’Hara |
20 |
3 |
6 |
8 |
4 |
3 |
24 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
14 |
14775 |
Hannah Showell & Margaret Casey |
12 |
13 |
13 |
11 |
12 |
20 |
61 |
15 |
14854 |
Cariosa Power & Marie Barry |
15 |
14 |
15 |
18 |
11 |
11 |
66 |
16 |
14877 |
Cearbhall Daly & Martina Michels |
14 |
15 |
12 |
14 |
18 |
13 |
68 |
Dubarry Profits On the Rise
Shoe manufacturer Dubarry saw a 44 per cent increase in overseas sales last year, The Irish Times reports.
The firm, which is a long-time supporter of sailing in Ireland, reported pretax profits of €1.95 million on revenue that topped the €20 million mark, an increase of more than €4 million on the previous year.
Though shoe sales are on the decline in Ireland, growth in export markets - and the success of Dubarry's new clothing range – has more than offset any domestic losses, said marketing director Michael Walsh.
Dubarry was recently title sponsor of the Fireball World Championships at Sligo Yacht Club last month.
The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.
Mid-Week Wrap up: Fireballs, Lasers, Three Peaks, Calves Week, VOR and Life Saving Honours
An Irish debutant leads the fleet after four days of competition in the Three Peaks Yacht Race. Last night Glen Ward's crew were climbing Ben Nevis.
Half the country is heading for the Tall Ships.
400 are now expected for next week's Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta.
There's only a month to Calves week in West Cork. The race programme (plus a sponsor) has been unveiled.
One year to go to the finish of the Volvo Ocean race. Galway gets serious.
Who should be June's Sailor of the Month? Water Rat asks are two medals a realistic expectation from London?
And finally, a German Honour on an Irish Lifesaver. Well done Frank Nolan.
All these stories – and more – on our home page this morning!
Burge and Wagstaff Take World Fireball Title in Sligo
The role call of leaders at the first mark of each race was expanded today when Simon McGrotty & Tony Fitzgerald (IRL 14981), and Joerg Nolle & Roger Leeman (GER 14508) took the honours in Races 1 & 2 respectively.
The other races were lead around the weather mark by the "usual suspects".
The Provisional Results for the regatta have just been posted and the 1-2-3 reads as follows;
1. Matt Burge & Richard Wagstaff 16pts
2. Tom Gillard & Sam Brearey 16pts
3. David Wade & Simon Potts 19pts.
Burge/Wagstaff thus take the title on countback.
Burge/Wagstaff scored a 6,2,1,4 to Gillard/Brearey's 1,3,2,3 with Wade/Potts scoring a 2,1,1,2.
Best of the Irish, in 10th overall is Noel Butler & Stephen Oram, followed by Kenny Rumball & Seamus Moore in 12th and Simon McGrotty & Tony Fitzgerald in 13th.
Leading lady is Derian Scott in 14th overall.
The new Fireball World Champions Matt Burge and Richard Wagstaff
Best Irish boat (10th overall) - Noel Butler & Stephen Oram
New Leaders at the Fireball Worlds
There has been a change in the overall lead of the Fireball Worlds in Sligo after three races today writes Cormac Bradley.
The leaders now are Tom Gillard and Sam Brearety. The overall results after five races are below. Day four photos from Gareth Craig on the Afloat gallery.
The fleet assembled early in Sligo this morning, ready to embrace a day that offered the prospect of four races.
Big winds, big waves in Sligo. Photo: Gareth Craig. More on the gallery here.
Yesterday's layday, in a true application of Murphy's Law - this is Ireland we don't use Sod's Law - the wind blew and some of our British friends and both the Czech boats took advantage to have a session of their own.
As usual the speculation was on what the wind Gods would give us, Ireland's Sea Area forecast had promised F4 – 5 moderating to F3 – 4, XC Weather were talking of 15 – 20 knots moderating to 10 – 15 knots. That brought varying degrees of pleasure to the fleet!
In the end the wind ranged from 16 – 21 knots during the races with gusts of around 23/24 knots in-between, direction moved during the day.
Conditions were excellent for Fireball sailing with moderate seas and a steady breeze which was its strongest during the first race.
Three races were sailed today even though the programme was for four. As you can appreciate the reporting of three races in one day can't allow for the detail that everyone might want so I will instead try and provide a flavour of the day!
The charge to the first weather mark was tight in every race but in the last race in particular, the lead enjoyed by the first three or four boats was very comfortable indeed, not only over each other but relative to the bulk of the fleet. Included in this bunch were Messrs Burge & Wagstaff, Wade & Potts, Horey & Thompson, Gillard & Brearey, Taylor & Anderton, Rush & Pepperdine and Krailing & Saunders. However, black flags were to dictate who were legal finishers and from this bunch came Taylor/Anderton (1st), Gillard/Brearey (2nd) and Schulz/Bowley (3rd).
Schulz & Bowley scored a win in the middle race and were relieved to see the breeze back on the course and were never outside the top 2, losing a place on a gybe mark but recovering to take the gun. Behind them came Gillard/Brearey, Wade/Potts, Horey/Thompson and Krailing/Saunders.
Matt Burge & Richard Wagstaff opened the day's proceedings with the first race win, leading from start to finish. It was to be their only race finish as they are currently sitting with an OCS and a BFD for races 2 and 3. Wade/Potts took second and Gillard/Brearey 3rd.
Rank | SailNo | HelmName | CrewName |
---|---|---|---|
1st | 15041 | Tom Gillard | Sam Brearey |
2nd | 14801 | Jonny McGovern | Max Capener |
3rd | 14954 | Alan Krailing | Tim Saunders |
4th | 15065 | Tim Rush | Richard Pepperdine |
5th | 15031 | Alex Taylor | Richard Anderton |
6th | 15045 | David Wade | Simon Potts |
7th | 15062 | Ben Schulz | Philip Bowley |
8th | 15061 | Noel Butler | Stephen Oram |
9th | 15058 | Kenneth Rumball | Seamus Moore |
10th | 15056 | Martyn Lewis | Richard Byrne |
11th | 14917 | Remy Thuillier | Loic Berthelot |
12th | 14941 | Darian Scott | Andy Scott |
13th | 14981 | Simon McGrotty | Tony Fitzgerald |
14th | 15070 | Phillip Popple | Doug Shore |
15th | 14907 | Guy Tipton | Matthew King |
16th | 14820 | Barry McCartin | Conor Kinsella |
17th | 15036 | Matt Burge | Richard Wagstaff |
18th | 15015 | Martin Peculier | Cantona Nouel |
19th | 14976 | Stuart Hydon | Nigel Spurr |
20th | 15024 | Joe Jospe | Thomas Egli |
21st | 14934 | Andrew Boyle | Brian Flahive |
22nd | 14977 | Jonathan Carter | Gareth Wilkinson |
23rd | 14894 | Chris Owen | Steve Jobson |
24th | 15020 | Vince Horey | Andy Thompson |
25th | 14807 | Graeme Grant | Hugh Butler |
26th | 14508 | Joerg Nolle | Roger Leeman |
27th | 15066 | Mark Maskell | Nigel Sheppard |
28th | 14973 | Pascal Anselmo | Jean Robillard |
29th | 14430 | Hannah Showell | Barry Smith |
30th | 14990 | Owen Laverty | Ed Butler |
31st | 14937 | Mick Creighton | Cillian Magee |
32nd | 14809 | Jaroslav Verner | Jakub Napravnik |
33rd | 14790 | Diane Kissane | Finbar Bradley |
34th | 14713 | Frank Miller | Grattan Donnelly |
35th | 15022 | John Manson | Ivan Fraser |
36th | 14799 | Claude Mermod | Ruedi Moser |
37th | 14755 | David Ryder | Michelle Ryder |
38th | 14754 | Ben Scallan | David Fitzgerald |
39th | 14748 | Jonathan Evans | Aidan Caulfield |
40th | 15007 | Louis Smyth | Cormac Bradley |
41st | 14775 | Neil Colin | Margaret Casey |
42nd | 14945 | Steve Patten | Brian Aldgate |
43rd | 14938 | Niall McGrotty | Neil Cramer |
44th | 14691 | Louise McKenna | Hermine O'Keeffe |
45th | 14939 | Ben Malone | Matthew Bennion |
46th | 14921 | Maja Suter | Thomas Boehm |
47th | 14916 | John Jerrard-Dunne | Matt Barnes |
48th | 14854 | Cariosa Power | Marie Barry |
49th | 14781 | Jonathan Nicholson | Vivian Bessler |
50th | 14623 / 14407 / 14740 | Ian O'Gorman | Glen Fisher |
51st | 14877 | Cearbhaill Daly | Martina Michels |
52nd | 14765 | Gavin Doyle | Richard Franck |
53rd | 14853 | Ladislav Vomacko | Jiri Gemperle |
54th | 15063 | Mianne Erne | Clay Poulson |
55th | 14872 | Barbara Newson | Guy Newson |
56th | 14706 | Patrick Hughes | Aine O'Gara |
57th | 14865 | Mary Chambers | Brenda McGuire |
58th | 15060 | Beth Armstrong | Peter Armstrong |
59th | 14595 | Brian O'Neill | Una l'Estrange |
Hard Working Sligo YC Aim for Four Races on Thursday
As another day at the Fireball World Championships is lost to the weather, the plan now is to stage four races on Thursday writes Cormac Bradley.
Today's racing in Sligo has not taken the regatta any further forward in terms of determining who will be the 2011 Fireball World Champion! Yes, for the second day in a row, no races were completed, but in contrast to yesterday, none were started either.
Sligo was grey and drizzly this morning and combined with a forecast of 1 – 6 knots from a variety of directions on XC Weather, the omens for racing were not good. For some there was an earlier start as the Council Meeting for the Fireball Executive and NCA reps took place this morning and while this might normally cause an anxious eye to be cast the way of the weather outside for those in the meeting, this was not the case today. There was rain and very little wind.
Rainwear by Pinnell and Bax. Taking cover on Day three of the Fireball Worlds in Sligo. Photo: Gareth Craig
As the morning wore on the prospects for racing were put into limbo! Indeed the Council Meeting was asked to consider the implications of the weather in terms of determining a plan of action for the day. A suggestion was offered but almost immediately Numeral 0 and D flags were flown – go afloat........to the outer race area, i.e. beyond the lighthouse.
The fleet launched under a postponement flag at 12:30 and was greeted almost immediately with a rain shower en route to the racing area. That brought some breeze but that died and what was left, in varying degrees of pressure went from SE to almost due N. The difficulty was that during this entire period the strength never stayed above the requisite 5 knots for long enough to consider a start. The consequence for the fleet was a 3.5hr sojourn on the water that ended when the N flag was flown under the postponement flag – abandoned – to be sailed at a later date.
Thus with three days gone, the regatta has two races completed! The plan how is to try and recover races on Thursday with a scheduled start of 10:00 and the prospect of four races on the day.
The perennial debate of using the lay-day to recover races has aired again here in Sligo – understandably – but the difficulty is that for the host club the volunteers may also have made plans for that day.
This evening Sligo is bright again. The Australians will be doing their bit to persuade us all to go to their Worlds in Mandurah, Western Australia, at the end of this year. Also here are Robin Olsen, Race Officer for the Mandurah Worlds and his wife Sue.
Tomorrow is a lay-day which may convince the competitors to rid themselves of the lack of racing frustrations this evening!
Drizzle and Grey Skies in Sligo
Early signs from Sligo this morning indicate it may be another non-sailing day at the Fireball World Championships. Currently there's no wind on Sligo Bay and a heavy drizzle. The forecast only 3knots from the north-west.
It's frustrating for the 120 sailors especially after yesterday's race three abandonment but also because the forecast for tomorrow (Wednesday) is good but that is the scheduled lay day of the event.
A 100% majority of competitors would be needed to agree to change it from lay-day to race day, according to regatta rules.
The forecast for Thursday and Friday is much more positive with moderate winds from the northwest.
No Wind Forces Race Abandonment in Sligo
The Race Management Team went afloat but permission for the fleet to do the same was withheld. They positioned themselves outside the lighthouse, probably in deference to the concerns expressed by many about the random shallow spots in yesterday's race area.
Permission to go afloat was given at around 12 noon, but the postponement was continued on the water. The day got greyer before a start was initiated at around 14:20 and aborted under General Recall. The Black Flag came out for the second start.
The Jury, on the water, also identified people transgressing Rule 42 on the start.
The left hand side of the beat appeared to be the preferred side, but a substantial queue of boats was coming in the starboard layline for the first mark. Out of the chaos came the usual suspects – Gillard/Brearey, McGovern/Capener and Wade/Potts who opened a gap on the balance of the fleet, who then provided a continuous stream of boats down the first reach. As the fleet worked their way round the course the wind initially dropped and then filled in from the left leaving a lopsided beat for round two. Of greater concern though must have been the fact that after the initial burst of energy the wind petered out. The downwind leg of the sausage was reduced to a crawl before three guns and blue and white coloured flags signalled a close to proceedings. Just as the call was made a slight breeze filled in from the East to provide everyone with an easy two-sail trip home!
For four combinations though, there was a final throw of the dice when they came ashore – as there had been a Black Flag start, there were transgressors; Ben Scallan & Dave Fitzgerald (IRL 14754), Diane Kissane & Finnbarr Bradley (IRL 14790), Claude Mermod & Ruedi Moser (SUI 14799) and Martyn Lewis & Richard Byrne (GBR 15056). They miss the start of the next race.
With two races lost today, the provisional programme is to race three tomorrow with a 12 noon start – an hour ahead of the original programme.
Tonight's entertainment includes a presentation by Marine Archaeologist Auriel Robinson on the wrecks of the Spanish Armada in this part of Ireland's west coast. Who says sailing can't be cultural?
Sail No | Helm | Crew | Nation | Race 1 | Race 2 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
15036 | Matt Burge | Richard Wagstaff | GBR | 1 | 1 |
14801 | Jonny McGovern | Max Capener | GBR | 2 | 2 |
15065 | Tim Rush | Richard Pepperdine | GBR | 5 | 6 |
14907 | Guy Tipton | Matt King | CAN | 9 | 8 |
14954 | Alan Krailing | Tim Saunders | GBR | 15 | 4 |
14809 | Jaroslav Verner | Jakub Napravniik | CZE | 10 | 11 |
14934 | Andrew Boyle | Brian Flahive | IRL | 4 | 18 |
14917 | Remy Thuillier | Loic Berthelot | FRA | 7 | 15 |
14941 | Derian Scott | Andy Scott | GBR | 12 | 10 |
15070 | Phillip Popple | Doug Shore | GBR | 16 | 7 |
15045 | David Wade | Simon Potts | GBR | 8 | 16 |
15058 | Kenny Rumball | Seamus Moore | IRL | 14 | 12 |
15056 | Martyn Lewis | Richard Byrne | GBR | 13 | 13 |
15061 | Noel Butler | Stephen Oram | IRL | 3 | 25 |
14820 | Barry McCartin | Conor Kinsella | IRL | 11 | 17 |
14430 | Hannah Showell | Barry Smith | GBR | 6 | 31 |
14977 | Jonathon Carter | Gareth Wilkinson | GBR | 19 | 23 |
14981 | Simon McGrotty | Tony Fitzgerald | IRL | 25 | 19 |
14976 | Stuart Hydon | Nigel Spurr | GBR | 20 | 24 |
14894 | Chris Owen | Steve Jobson | GBR | 24 | 22 |
14508 | Joerg Nolle | Roger Leeman | GER | 21 | 28 |
14973 | Pascal Anselmo | Jean Robillard | FRA | 26 | 27 |
14937 | Mick Creighton | Cillian Magee | IRL | 17 | 37 |
15024 | Joe Jospe | Tom Egli | CAN | 18 | 38 |
14807 | Graeme Grant | Hugh Butler | IRL | 23 | 33 |
14790 | Diane Kissane | Finnbarr Bradley | IRL | 30 | 26 |
15066 | Mark Maskell | Nigel Sheppard | GBR | 27 | 29 |
15041 | Tom Gillard | Sam Brearey | GBR | 60 | 3 |
14938 | Niall McGrotty | Neil Cramer | IRL | 43 | 20 |
14713 | Frank Miller | Grattan Donnelly | IRL | 22 | 42 |
14775 | Neil Colin | Margaret Casey | IRL | 29 | 35 |
14755 | David Ryder | Michelle Ryder | GBR | 32 | 32 |
15015 | Martin Peculier | Jean Francois Nouel | FRA | 60 | 5 |
14765 | Gavin Doyle | Richard Franck | IRL | 35 | 30 |
15031 | Alex Taylor | Richard Anderton | GBR | 60 | 9 |
14691 | Louise McKenna | Hermine O'Keeffe | IRL | 33 | 36 |
14939 | Ben Malone | Matthew Bennion | IRL | 37 | 34 |
14990 | Owen Laverty | Ed Butler | IRL | 28 | 44 |
15020 | Vince Horey | Andy Thompson | GBR | 60 | 14 |
14916 | John Jerrard Dunne | Matt Barnes | IRL | 34 | 40 |
15062 | Ben Schulz | Phillip Bowley | AUS | 60 | 21 |
14754 | Ben Scallan | David Fitzgerald | IRL | 42 | 39 |
15007 | Louis Smyth | Cormac Bradley | IRL | 31 | 54 |
14921 | Maja Suter | Thomas Boehm | SUI | 39 | 46 |
15063 | Mianne Erne | Clay Poulson | SUI | 45 | 41 |
14854 | Cariosa Power | Marie Barry | IRL | 36 | 51 |
14945 | Steve Patten | Brian Aldgate | GBR | 38 | 50 |
15022 | John Manson | Ivan Fraser | SHE | 41 | 52 |
14706 | Patrick Hughes | Aine O'Gara | AUS | 47 | 47 |
14877 | Cearbhaill Daly | Martina Michels | IRL | 52 | 43 |
14853 | Ladislav Vomacko | Jiri Gemperle | CZE | 40 | 56 |
14872 | Barbara Newson | Guy Newson | GBR | 51 | 45 |
14748 | Jonathan Evans | Aidan Caulfield | IRL | 50 | 48 |
14407/740 | Ian O'Gorman | Glen Fisher | IRL | 49 | 49 |
14865 | Mary Chambers | Brenda McGuire | IRL | 46 | 53 |
15060 | Beth Armstrong | Peter Armstrong | IRL | 44 | 57 |
14781 | Jonathan Nicholson | Vivian Bessler | IRL | 48 | 55 |
14595 | Brian O'Neill | Una l'Estrange | IRL | 60 | 60 |
14799 | Claude Mermod | Ruedi Moser | SUI | 60 | 60 |
Burge and Wagstaff Lead Fireball Worlds
57 boats launched from Sligo Yacht Club’s slipway this morning en route to a 13:00 start. It was a great sight to see and must have provided the organisers of this event a hugh sense of relief. The sleepless nights, the speculation as to how many entries there would be evaporated in the sunshine of Ireland’s west coast.
Irish Fireballs competing in race one today of the Sligo World Championships. Photo: Gareth Craig. Gallery HERE.
Round 1 went to the Race Officer who, after two aborted starts, signalled by General Recall, brought out the Black Flag. 4 boats went over the finish line to silence and for Tom Gillard and Sam Brearey (GBR 15041) it must have been particular disappointing as they led for most, if not all, of the race. The front three of Gillard/Brearey, Jonny McGovern & Max Capener (GBR 14801) and Matt Burge & Richard Wagstaff (GBR 15036) seemed to have their own race such was their lead on the rest of the fleet. Behind them the chasing pack consisted of Tim Rush and Richard Pepperdine (GBR 15065), Noel Butler & Stephen Oram (IRL 15061) and Andy Boyle & Brian Flahive (IRL 14934) among others. An ebbing tide made course selection very important and right side of the beat seemed to pay in that respect.
Others to fall foul of the Black Flag were Martin Peculier & Jean-Francois Nouel (FRA 15015), Alex Taylor & Richard Anderton (GBR 15031) and Vince Horey & Andy Thompson. Winners from last week, Ben Schulz & Phillip Bowley had a horror first race eventually retiring to reset their rigging and sails.
Race 1 was thus claimed by Matt Burge & Richard Wagstaff, followed by McGovern/Capener, Butler/Oram, Boyle/Flahive, Rush/Pepperdine, Hannah Showell & Barry Smith (GBR14430), Remy Thuillier/Loic Berthelot (FRA14917), David Wade & Simon Potts (GBR15045), Guy Tipton & Matt King (CAN 14907) and Jaroslav Werner & Jakob Napravnik (CZE14809).
Race 2 saw the committee boat relocated to a more westerly location for two reasons – a wind switch and too much shallow water in the vicinity of the race track. The wind was also in decline, from an early morning high of 9 knots, it would eventually drop to 5 knots – in accordance it must be said with the website forecast that this scribe looked at this morning!
There was a 60/40 split between the right and left hand sides of the beat with those on the left being lifted around the outside of the course to their detriment and the advantage of those who had gone right. The leading bunch were the same as Race 1 – Gillard, McGovern and Burge – but others who were well up included the French (FRA15015), Taylor/Anderton, the Scotts, Andy and Derian, the No.1 Czech Team, Tipton & King, Rush & Pepperdine, Phil Popple & Doug Shore (GBR15070). The right side continued to be the favoured side of the beat. Due to the dying breeze, the significant switch in its direction and probably the lateness of the proceedings saw the Race Management Team shorten course to the 3rd weather mark.
Burge/Wagstaff took line honours, followed by McGovern/Capener and Gillard/Brearey. Alan Krailing & Tim Saunders (GBR14954) claimed fourth, the French 5th, and Rush/Pepperdine 6th. First of the Irish boats was Kenny Rumball and Seamus Moore in 12th place, followed by Barry McCartin & Conor Kinsella & Boyle/Flahive.
Thus with two races down, the top ten reads as follows;
Overall |
Sail No. |
Nat. |
Helm |
Crew |
Race 1 |
Race 2 |
Total |
1 |
15036 |
GBR |
M. Burge |
R. Wagstaff |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
14801 |
GBR |
J. McGovern |
M. Capener |
2 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
15065 |
GBR |
T. Rush |
R. Pepperdine |
5 |
6 |
11 |
4 |
14907 |
CAN |
G. Tipton |
M. King |
9 |
8 |
17 |
5 |
14954 |
GBR |
A. Krailing |
T. Saunders |
15 |
4 |
19 |
6 |
14809 |
CZE |
J. Verner |
J. Napravnik |
10 |
11 |
21 |
7 |
14934 |
IRL |
A. Boyle |
B. Flahive |
4 |
18 |
22 |
8 |
14917 |
FRA |
R. Thuillier |
L. Berthelot |
7 |
15 |
22 |
9 |
14941 |
GBR |
D. Scott |
A. Scott |
12 |
10 |
22 |
10 |
15070 |
GBR |
P. Popple |
D. Shore |
16 |
7 |
23 |
For the home fleet, the pecking order in Boyle/Flahive, Rumball/Moore, Butler/Oram, McCartin/KInsella and Simon McGrotty & Tony Fitzgerald (IRL 14981)
Among the ladies, Derian Scott (Helm/9th) leads, followed by Hannah Showell (Helm/16th) and Diane Kissane (Helm/26th).