Fireball Open Meeting at Shoreham Sailing Club

by Richard Anderton 3 Aug 2015 08:31 BST 1-2 August 2015

With a fantastic forecast, the annual combined Fireball / Merlin open meeting at Shoreham attracted 52 boats. Reputed for its easy launching, and amazing guaranteed sunshine, wind and waves Shoreham did not disappoint, and neither did the weather.

With the Gul Fireball worlds only 2 weeks away, and over 100 entries, Shoreham was the last warm up event. Of the top teams, only Christian Birrell and Sam Brearey sailed both days, with DJ Edwards and Vyv Townend turning up on Sunday to stretch their legs.

Race 1 got away in a stable 15kts of breeze and Andy Palmer-Felgate sailing with Richard Anderton stamped their authority on the race by leading from the start, and after a 3 lap duel with Christian and Sam clinched 1st place by a matter of boat lengths. Vince Horey and Bob Gardner (DC) came in third.

Race 2 saw Andy and Richard start firmly last after a start line 'racing incident' and a long swim. Christian and Sam, and Vince and DC – both also temporarily hindered by the afore mentioned incident - managed to pull through the fleet to take 1st and 2nd, with Andy recovering to 3rd.

Further down the fleet, and the action was close fought as well, most of the fleet finished within minutes of each other, and places were not certain until the finish line. Phil Popple sailing with Andy Phillips posted an impressive 4th in the second race; while locals Martin Walker and John Piatt held in for a respectable 9th.

After the customary BBQ and the annual egg throwing competition, the fleet relaxed in the bar for the rest of the evening in preparation for more fantastic conditions on Sunday.

DJ and Vyvo turned up on Sunday and managed to take 1st in race 3 – though they had to fight hard with Vince and DC all the way around the course. Andy and Christian fought it out for 3rd, with Andy just coming out on top. Anthony and James Willcocks rounded the first mark in 3rd, and managed to hold on for a 5th place finish.

Race 4 saw DJ and Vyvo get off to a slow start, but then took the lead on lap 2 never to be challenged again. With Vince off to his mothers' 80th birthday party, the fight was left to Andy and Christian to settle the open. Andy held on to the lead over Christian, and eventually Christian conceded and went ashore to look at sail shapes.

First lady went to Christine Slater who sailed consistently and finished 9th overall.

Next up is the National Championships, and the Gul Fireball Worlds – both in Pwllheli through the last 2 weeks of August. 57 boats are entered for the nationals, and 102 for the worlds. If you're still undecided – you are running out of time to be part of the largest Fireball event for many years.

Overall Results:

Pos	Boat	Sail No	Helm	Crew	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	Pts
1st		15127	Andy Palmer-Felgate	Richard Anderton		1	-3	3	2	6
2nd	Makira	15107	Christian Birrell	Sam Brearey	SMVC	2	1	4	(RET)	7
3rd		15120	Vince Horey	Bob Gardner	King George	3	2	2	(DNC)	7
4th		15093	David Winder	Matt Calvert	Hollingworth Lake	4	(DNC)	6	3	13
5th		14801	Richard Cornes	James Goodfellow	HISC	7	5	-10	4	16
6th	Simples 4	15122	David Hall	Paul Constable	Blackwater	5	6	-7	5	16
7th	Darth Winkle	15070	Phil Popple	Andy Phillips	Shoreham	8	4	-13	7	19
8th	Blue Tack	14928	Anthony Willcocks	James Willcocks	Portishead	6	8	5	-9	19
9th	Norbert	15045	Christine Slater	Graham Slater	Paignton	-9	7	8	6	21
10th		15096	DJ Edwards	Vyv Townend	Bough Beech	(DNC)	DNC	1	1	23
11th	Wol	14785	Simon Lomas-Clarke	Rob Daniels	Paignton	-12	10	9	11	30
12th		15041	Maria Richards	Graham Hay	Blackwater	11	11	-15	10	32
13th		14804	Tobias Hamer	Torie Morley	HISC	13	-14	12	8	33
14th	Curveball	14579	Martin Walker	John Piatt	Shoreham	10	9	-14	14	33
15th	Sijabybo	14821	Nick Hurst	Jake Elsbury	HISC	-14	12	11	12	35
16th	Ginja I	14982	Maia Walsh	Peter Bentley	Blackwater	15	13	-16	13	41
17th	Aussie Blew	14109	Ted Coday	Jon Chetland	Blackwater	16	15	-18	15	46
18th	2 Fat Laddies	14991	Andy Robinson	Fenella Williams	Datchet	(DNC)	DNC	17	16	54
19th		14860	Peter Bettles	Richard Bettles	Broxbourne	17	(DNC)	19	DNC	57
20th		15073	Tim Rush	Tim Saunders	Staunton Harold	(DNS)	DNC	DNS	DNF	63