Fireball Victorian Championship at Lake Bullen Merri

Fireball Victorian Championship 2016 © Darrel Cairns

In the past few years there has been a growing interest in the International Fireball class in Victoria. At Easter this culminated in 13 Victorian Fireballs and 2 South Australian Fireballs attending Yachting Victoria's Western Region regatta at Lake Bullen Merri for the 2016 Fireball Victorian State Championships.

Although warnings had been given that the regatta was being sailed in a crater of an extinct volcano, the majority of the racing was sailed in great conditions with winds primarily from the S - SW of 10 to 20 knots.

Race 1 saw SA legends Tom Gordon/ Jack Fletcher take the lead early from Glenn Peverell/ Bruno Lanati (FYC). This set the scene for the rest of the regatta with Heather Macfarlane/ Chris Payne (BRYC/SYC) finishing second just ahead of Jalina Thompson-Kamba/ Peter James (ASC/RGYC).

Day 2 had the PRO, International Fireball Association of Victoria (IFAV) Life Member, Ian Lane about to hoist the AP on shore due to lack of wind, only to have it fill in just prior to the hoist. Heather/Chris won a close battle with Tom/ Jack followed by Lloyd Collings/Jack Lidgett (DBYC). The wind filled in nicely for the 3rd race and Jalina/ Peter were able to show their speed and skills to win comfortably from Heather/ Chris and Tom/ Jack.

In Heat 4 a squall hit the fleet on the second reach. Some of the lighter crews dropped their spinnakers early while Jalina/ Peter and Brendan Garner/ Peter Durran (RGYC) opted to carry the spinnaker for as long as they could. Rumours were that these two crews were more interested in just "sending" their boats rather than trying to get to the mark. Tom/ Jack showed a master class in two sail reaching and took a good lead to go on to win. Jalina/ Peter recovered from their blistering reach to the shore and motored up the beat to get to second, only to lose it to Heather/ Chris in the fickle wind on the hitch to the finish.

After 2 days and 4 races this left Tom/ Jack Heather/ Chris equal on points and Jalina/ Peter just behind.

Heat 5 showed the pressure on Heather/ Chris with a bad start followed by hitting the gybe mark, allowing Tom/ Jack to take the biggest lead of the regatta, followed by Nick Gunner/ Ben O'Brien (RGYC) who also broke clear of the fleet to come in second. After their mistakes Heather/ Chris got some lucky breaks to sail up to 3rd.

Going into heat 6 it looked like Tom/ Jack were going to just extend their lead, but a rare mistake from them saw them doing turns including a capsize to put them right at the back. Heather/ Chris took the opportunity to win the race from Lloyd/ Jack and Jalina/ Peter. Tom/ Jack finished 5th to make it all winner takes all in the in the last race.

Heat 7 descended into a tacking duel with Heather/ Chris not allowing Tom/ Jack a chance to find an overtaking lane. Jalina/ Peter and Lloyd/ Jack tried to make the most of the opportunity, but eventually Jalina/ Peter broke their tiller extension causing a spectacular capsize. Heather/ Chris won the race and the series by a point from Tom/ Jack with Jalina/ Peter coming in 3rd to keep the South Australian flag flying.

The final day saw the Western Region's annual Jack Lane (Ian Lane's father) pursuit race with a le Mans start. The South Australians were missing as they had taken the opportunity to get back to Adelaide early and so it was a chance for Phillip Peverel/ Bruce Shand (BRYC) to finally show their form only to lose the lead on the last tack of the race to Nick/ Ben.

The weekend wasn't just about the racing, with most competitors camping at the lake and enjoying each others company. Most also enjoyed Simon Gunner's home made "fire place" and John Garner's waterside fire. IFAV really appreciate the warm welcome and great support they received from the Western Region committee and also the support of Tom, Jack, Jalina and Mel Thompson Kamba for making the trek from South Australia.

Full results [PDF]