Tom Gillard and East Antrim's Andy Thompson Win Fireball European Championship in Slovenia

22nd September 2023

Afloat.ie Team

Tom Gillard (left) and East Antrim's Andy Thompson with their trophy haul after winning the Fireball European Championship at SC JK Pirat Portoroz Slovenia Credit: Frank Miller

Tom Gillard and Andy Thompson of Larne in Northern Ireland have won the Fireball European Championship at Portroz, Slovenia.

The pair scored three bullets during the final day of racing in spectacular conditions with winds typically around 18 knots but gusting over twenty knots at times.

Vince Horey & Dave Wade finished 2nd while event leaders Claude Mermod & Ruedi Moser finished 3rd. Racing started early and by 2 pm the race officer had two races in the bag.

Despite the relatively fresh conditions, there were still plenty of shifts and variations in pressure around the course.

Tom Gillard and Andy Thompson of Larne on the wire in winning form at the Fireball European Championship in Slovenia. See day five photo gallery below Photo: Urs Hardi

The Czech team of Martin Kubovy & Roman Rocek finished 4th while the UK father & son team Graham and William Cook were 5th.

All starts took place under the U flag, and the starts, mainly pin-end biased, got away cleanly.

Best of the Irish were Josh Porter & Cara McDowell, who finished up 12th overall, still a terrific result in a highly competitive 70-boat fleet.

Next Irish were Adrian Lee & Ossian Geraghty, who finished 24th, and Ed Og Butler & Sean Collins, who were 25th. That pair led the final race for a period and finished 4th in the last race.

Frank Miller & Ed Butler Snr were 41st overall.

Results downloadable below as a pdf file

Fireball Europeans Photo Gallery (Day Five) by Urs Hardi

Downloads

Races1-8.pdf (260 Downloads)

Published in Fireball, Northern Ireland Waters

Published in Fireball

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Fireball

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Fireball: 60 years of history

Designed in 1962 by British naval architect Peter Milne, the Fireball is a two-person dinghy with spinnaker and trapeze, combining simplicity of construction, high performance and accessibility. Over the years, it has been a training ground for generations of sailors, developing skills in tactics and technique, and producing champions who later moved on to Olympic and offshore challenges. More than half a century later, it remains one of the most vibrant and passionate classes, also thanks to initiatives such as the Under 25 category, designed to engage new generations and keep the tradition alive.

At A Glance – Fireball Dinghy Specs

Crew 2 (single trapeze)
LOA 16 ft 2 in (4.93 m)
Beam 4 ft 6 in (1.37 m)
Hull weight 175 lb (79 kg)
Mast height 22.3 ft (6.8 m)
Mainsail area 108 sq ft (10.0 m2).
Jib / Genoa area 35 sq ft (3.3 m2).
Spinnaker area 140 sq ft (13 m2).