Fireball Inlands at Chew Valley Lake Sailing Club
by Jonathan Bale 3 Nov 2004 10:12 GMT
30-31 October 2004

Action from the Fireball Inlands at Chew Valley Lake © Mike Rice /
www.fotoboat.com
Forty-five Fireballs descended on Chew Valley Lake, one of the South West’s premier inland sailing venues, for the 2004 Fireball Inland Championships. The weather forecast was for light winds all weekend, which looking on the bright side would mean at least a sporting chance of Race Officer George Simpkins completing the six race series, especially bearing in mind the sixty knot gales that had been battering the country during the preceding week.
Race 1 started in a force 1 breeze. Mark Maskell and Vic Gomez were first round the windward mark, followed by Adam Whitehouse with Mikey Woodward then Dave Wade with Richard Wagstaff. However it was Vince Horey with Gavin Tilson who gybed away on the run to pick up more pressure, gaining water on Whitehouse at the mark and securing second place. Maskell & Gomez held the lead until the last reach when Horey and Tilson slipped passed and went on to win.
With the wind increasing slightly for race 2, Horey and Tilson rounded the windward mark first followed by Malcolm Davies with Ian Cadwallader. Both boats pulled away from the fleet whilst having a personal battle. Horey & Tilson held on to win from Davies and Cadwallader.
Race 3 and the wind was dying again. This time Andy Smith & Jonny Mildred lead from start to finish. Angus Hemmings and Steve Chesney sailed some superb down wind legs avoiding the many holes to finished 2nd with Horey & Tilson in 3rd. Over night Horey & Tilson had a 5 point lead over Smith & Mildred with Maskell & Gomez a further point behind.
Sunday dawned and there was more wind than the weather man had predicted. The boats that started right at the pin end were first to show and it was Horey & Tilson who lead at the windward mark just tacking under Debi Gibson and Simon Forbes. Horey sailed away to win his 3rd race, Maskell & Gomez sailed though the fleet to claim second with Hemmings & Chesney just beating Gibson for third place.
In Race 5 at the windward mark 6 boats rounded together with, Penny & Ian Gibbs just leading. By the end of the second beat Whitehouse and Woodward just lead the Gibbs’s. Rounding just outside the Gibbs’s at the windward mark were Sam Mettam and Jonathan Bale who were able to gain just enough of an advantage to roll the Gibbs’s on the reach to take second spot. Horey & Tilson managed to beat Smith & Mildred, keep them out of the top 5 and in the process securing Vince Horey and Gavin Tilson as 2004 Fireball Inland National Champions with a race to spare.
With Horey & Tilson sitting out the last race the battle for second commenced. Mettam & Bale lead the race at the windward mark. It was on the second beat that Smith & Mildred managed to call the shifts correctly and jump from fourth to first. Wade and Wagstaff out gybed Mettam & Bale at the final gybe mark to take second spot. However fourth place was enough for Maskell & Gomez to take second place over all.
The winners took take away some impressive Rooster kit which included their latest Aqua Fleeces and Aqua Skins.
Overall Results:
Pos | Sail No | Helm | Crew | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | Pts |
---|
1 | 14870 | Vince Horey | Gavin Tillison | Fishers Green | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 46 | 14 |
2 | 14805 | Mark Maskell | Vic Gomez | Fishers Green | 4 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 4 | 19 |
3 | 14801 | Andy Smith | Jonny Mildred | Notts County | 6 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 9 | 1 | 20 |
4 | 14725 | Adam Whitehouse | Mike Woodward | RYA | 2 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 24 |
5 | 13945 | Malcolm Davies | Ian Cadwallader | Paignton | 5 | 2 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 27 |
6 | 14880 | David Wade | Richard Wagstaff | Northampton | 3 | 11 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 28 |
7 | 14791 | Angus Hemmings | Steve Chesney | Stokes Bay | 7 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 28 |
8 | 14789 | Penny Gibbs | Ian Gibbs | Brightlingsea | 8 | 4 | 17 | 5 | 3 | 15 | 35 |
9 | 14628 | Simon Maskell | Jon Watkins | Hunts | 11 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 46 | 12 | 40 |
10 | 14820 | Andy Pearce | Adam Broughton | Portishead | 9 | 8 | 15 | 15 | 4 | 5 | 41 |
11 | 14821 | Sam Mettam | Jon Bale | CVLSC | 22 | 10 | 19 | 46 | 2 | 3 | 56 |
12 | 14771 | Debi Gibson | Simon Forbes | Staunton Harold | 10 | 14 | 31 | 4 | 15 | 13 | 56 |
13 | 14853 | Derian Chandler | Olly Goldsmith | CVLSC | 12 | 17 | 7 | 18 | 13 | 7 | 56 |
14 | 14798 | Martin Scarth | Nigel Sheppard | Blackwater | 17 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 23 | 63 |
15 | 14780 | Alex Piggott | John Rowell | Notts County | 14 | 9 | 9 | 21 | 17 | 16 | 65 |
16 | 14877 | Philip Popple | Don White | Shoreham | 15 | 15 | 16 | 27 | 19 | 9 | 74 |
17 | 14775 | Noel Butler | Hugh Butler | Dun Leary | 24 | 21 | 10 | 19 | 12 | 14 | 76 |
18 | 14804 | Elaine Tudor | Warren Tudor | Brightlingsea | 40 | 16 | 14 | 8 | 22 | 19 | 79 |
19 | 14574 | Helen Carroll | Bryan Mobbs | Blackwater | 26 | 19 | 30 | 14 | 10 | 11 | 80 |
20 | 14100 | Colin Jarvis | Derek Jarvis | Portishead | 16 | 22 | 20 | 12 | 18 | 30 | 88 |
21 | 14584 | Rhys Lankester | Chris Bishop | Bristol Corinthian | 19 | 27 | 13 | 24 | 23 | 17 | 96 |
22 | 14857 | Becky Priest | Tim Saunders | Staunton Harold | 25 | 32 | 18 | 16 | 26 | 18 | 103 |
23 | 1486 | Jeremy White | Ed Ayre | Draycote | 13 | 18 | 22 | 34 | 21 | 33 | 107 |
24 | 14410 | Bill Chard | Ken Comrie | CVLSC | 18 | 20 | 25 | 20 | 28 | 25 | 108 |
25 | 14249 | Nick Cameron | Caroline Still | Datchet | 23 | 23 | 26 | 23 | 20 | 20 | 109 |
26 | 14391 | Jo Line | Jenny Line | Portishead | 42 | 25 | 21 | 32 | 30 | 21 | 129 |
27 | 14448 | Alex Shaw | Andy Scott | Portishead | 21 | 36 | 37 | 17 | 27 | 32 | 133 |
28 | 14737 | Vic Padgett | Nigel Byrnes | Wier Wood | 32 | 34 | 39 | 29 | 16 | 28 | 139 |
29 | 14294 | Jeremy Hurst | Nick Hurst | Parkstone | 20 | 46 | 38 | 30 | 31 | 24 | 143 |
30 | 14454 | Samantha Bunn | Owen Hughes | Chelmarsh | 37 | 31 | 34 | 26 | 29 | 26 | 146 |
31 | 14881 | Chris Panting | Andy Marsh | CVLSC | 28 | 33 | 24 | 37 | 25 | 46 | 147 |
32 | 14809 | Daniel Hare | Jamie Hare | Blackwater | 31 | 26 | 29 | 33 | 36 | 31 | 150 |
33 | 14313 | Sandra Davis | Mike Davis | CVLSC | 34 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 35 | 36 | 153 |
34 | 14614 | Jemima Line | Paula Symons | Draycote | 41 | 37 | 40 | 31 | 24 | 22 | 154 |
35 | 14882 | Rob Watson | Simon Kelsall | Staunton Harold | 30 | 40 | 33 | 40 | 33 | 29 | 165 |
36 | 14822 | Mike Goldby | Kim Goldby | Notts County | 38 | 38 | 36 | 22 | 39 | 34 | 168 |
37 | 14873 | Keryn Henwood-Fox | Gary Henwood-Fox | Thournbury | 29 | 24 | 23 | 46 | 46 | 46 | 168 |
38 | 13246 | Matt Butler | Marisa Foster | Llangorse | 43 | 30 | 43 | 25 | 40 | 35 | 173 |
39 | 14387 | Steve Popple | Seb Rogers | Shoreham | 46 | 29 | 35 | 38 | 34 | 37 | 173 |
40 | 14328 | John Piatt | Rich Deyes | Plymouth Uni | 44 | 42 | 32 | 36 | 38 | 27 | 175 |
41 | 14178 | Mark Elliott | Alison Elliott | CVLSC | 39 | 39 | 27 | 35 | 37 | 38 | 176 |
42 | 11054 | Jon Cowper | Lucy Lingard | Hunts | 27 | 41 | 42 | 46 | 32 | 46 | 188 |
43 | 14598 | Peter Gifford | David Nash | CVLSC | 35 | 43 | 44 | 39 | 42 | 39 | 198 |
44 | 14625 | Steve Greenhalgh | Gabrielle Sellick | Staunton Harold | 36 | 44 | 41 | 41 | 41 | 40 | 199 |
45 | 14116 | Mark Dinwoodie | Helen Dinwoodie | CVLSC | 33 | 35 | 46 | 46 | 46 | 46 | 206 |
1st Silver Fleet, Elaine Tudor & Warren Tudor, Brightlingsea
1st Bronze Fleet, Vic Padgett & Nigel Byrnes
1st Classic Boat, GBR14249 Nick Cameron & Caroline Still
1st Lady Helm, Penny Gibbs
1st Lady Crew, Caroline Still
1st Under 21 Helm, Debi Gibson
1st Under 21 Crew, Simon Forbes