#fireball – The Clancy's aka Conor and James were deserved winners of the Fireball main prize in the four day biennial Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta.
The brothers sailed consistently well through the lively and varied winds of the regatta. In second and giving the Clancys a good run for their money were Tedz (Brian Byrne) sailing with Stephen Campion. This marriage of convenience (due to Kenny Rumball's temporary departure to a larger vessel) proved to be very compatible with Tedz jumping from the role of crew to helm and Stephen, a former Laser 2 world champion, using his excellent crewing skills to maximum advantage.
Third place went to Louis Smyth with Joe O'Reilly returning to the crewing position. This duo were up and down the placings during racing but consistently managed to come back from difficult positions to post high average scores. In fact one of the features of the regatta was the amount of place changing throughout the fleet, especially in the Salthill course where a shifting offshore wind and tidal changes provided many puzzles to be solved. At different times the race lead by the overall winners were shared by those further back.
This was a most successful regatta with lively, varied and challenging winds which tested the brain and the body. The eight Fireballs who competed shared starts with the smaller RS 400 turnout, a mix that worked quite well despite the different downwind optimum angles needed by each. Wind strengths ranged from about 8 knots to well over 20 with dinghies racing in the harbour one day. Courses varied but PRO Harry Gallagher and his team provided excellent race management and fleet separation on their inner/outer trapezoid courses. What Fireballs may have missed in exciting close reaches was compensated for with the tactical challenges of longer beats and runs. The final day was lighter and shifty leading to even more place changing but the Clancys did enough to maintain their very credible lead and take first place.
Overall this event has been a huge success, full marks to all those whose hard work created another great Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta..
