Fireball Open at Blackwater Sailing Club
by Dave Hall 16 May 2017 08:36 BST
13-14 May 2017
A world class fleet turned out for the second round of the Fireball Golden Dolphin series held over the weekend of the 13th and 14th May. Eight visiting teams from as far as Somerset and the Midlands joined the twelve club boats. The visiting boats included current and past World and National Champions plus a handful of the top UK boats.
Blackwater SC laid on perfect weather for the 2 days and the race team got all five races in.
Three races back to back were held on the first day in 10 -12 knots, in race 1 Tom Gillard and Geoff Edwards gave notice of their intent by taking the lead and then extending it in some style with some excellent downwind sailing, it was pretty much a repeat in the second and third races of the day. Peter and Tom Kyne put in a steady performance in the shifty conditions with two runner up positions. Dave Hall and Paul Constable had a safe day which put them in third overnight. Kevin Hope and Russell Thorne were unlucky in race 2 while looking at a good second place their main halyard broke and Russell took an involuntary swim.
The fleet retired to the club in the evening sun for the traditional Fish and chips and good banter.
Sunday came with more sun and more wind, however the late start because of the late tide meant the sun started to play havoc with the strength and the direction of the wind. It did not seem to affect Tom and Geoff as they continued their winning ways – not without a battle in the first race of the day though. The rest of the fleet struggled in the changeable conditions which along with the tide meant a lot of place changing. Local team Steve Jarred and Nick Collins had a moment of glory leading the fleet for a short while but had to be content with a second place in the end, Christian Birrell and Viv Townend put in a 2nd and 3rd after the challenges on the first day with their new boat. For the rest of the fleet the mixed results and high scoring meant many ties and finishing positions were decided on discards.
An impressive performance from Tom and Geoff winning every race, Geoff thanked the club and all the volunteers who made the weekend work like clockwork. We look forward to the next round at Hayling Island in June.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Crew | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 15127 | T. Gillard | G. Edwards | ‑1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 2nd | 15124 | P. Kyne | T. Kyne | 2 | 2 | 6 | 6 | ‑9 | 16 |
| 3rd | 15122 | Dave Hall | Paul Counstable | 5 | 4 | 3 | ‑7 | 6 | 18 |
| 4th | 15133 | K. Hope | R. Thorne | 8 | (DNF) | 4 | 5 | 3 | 20 |
| 5th | 14886 | S. Maskell | T. Maskell | 10 | ‑14 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 24 |
| 6th | 15115 | Steve Jarred | Nick Collins | 7 | 7 | ‑14 | 2 | 8 | 24 |
| 7th | 15066 | Mark Maskell | Nigel Shepherd | 4 | 10 | 5 | ‑17 | 5 | 24 |
| 8th | 14905 | Charlie Stewart | Malcolm Green | 6 | 6 | 8 | 4 | (DNF) | 24 |
| 9th | 15107 | R. Cones | J. Goodfellow | 3 | 5 | ‑13 | 9 | 10 | 27 |
| 10th | 15097 | B. Clegg | D. Pamnel | 9 | 3 | ‑12 | 10 | 7 | 29 |
| 11th | 14950 | C. Thorne | A. Steward | 12 | 8 | 10 | ‑15 | 12 | 42 |
| 12th | 14755 | Dave Ryder | Peter Bentley | ‑19 | 12 | 7 | 13 | 11 | 43 |
| 13th | 15102 | Martin Scarth | Tom Johnson | 13 | 11 | 9 | 11 | ‑14 | 44 |
| 14th | 15144 | C. Birrell | V. Townsend | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | 3 | 2 | 47 |
| 15th | 15129 | Steve Kuhl | Angela Docherty | 11 | 13 | ‑16 | 16 | 13 | 53 |
| 16th | 15041 | Maria Richards | Jon Chetland | ‑15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 59 |
| 17th | 14675 | Ian Johnson | Nicky Johnson | 16 | 17 | 11 | ‑18 | 17 | 61 |
| 18th | 14948 | Nigel Clark | Nikki Taylor | ‑17 | 16 | 17 | 12 | 16 | 61 |
| 19th | 15058 | Brett Townsend | Dave Nichols | 14 | 9 | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | 65 |
| 20th | 14798 | Rorie Ash | Frankie Ash | 18 | 18 | 18 | ‑19 | 18 | 72 |