Gul Fireball National Championship at Penzance Sailing Club - Day 1
by Dave Hall 23 Jul 2018 09:15 BST
22-27 July 2018
Penzance Sailing club are hosting this years Fireball National Championship sponsored by Gul Watersports. The fleet were welcomed by warm sunshine and very little wind as they arrived in the boat park.
The first day of racing came, but to start with the wind did not. After over an hour's postponement the fleet were sent out into a very light and patchy westerly breeze. By the time of the start the wind had built to enable the lighter crews to get on the wire.
Two races were successfully held in the late afternoon. The fleet, having been waiting around, were keen to get started which resulted in black flag starts and some casualties at a result of it.
Ian Dobson & Richard Wagstaff showed the fleet the way round in both races picking the shifts and opening up a huge lead in race one. The minor placings were fought over and constantly changed depending on which shift or patch of wind one was in. The local boat of Colin Stevens & Tom Klinskey sailed an impressive first beat in the second race indicating to the fleet that right was the way to go most of the time.
Racing continues through the week with it looking like a light wind championship.
Results after day 1:
| Pos | Sail No | Club | Helm | Crew | R1 | R2 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 15141 | RTYC | Ian Dobson | Richard Wagstaff | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2nd | 15096 | Stokes Bay SC | Penny Clark | Russ Clark | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 3rd | 14928 | Portishead Yacht & SC | Anthony Willocks | James Willcocks | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| 4th | AUS 15152 | AUS Black Rock SC/SYC | Heather Macfarlane | Chris Payne | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| 5th | 15145 | HISC/LTSC | Steve Goacher | Tom Goacher | 9 | 6 | 15 |
| 6th | 14941 | Chew Valley SC | Derian Scott | Andy Scott | 8 | 8 | 16 |
| 7th | 15038 | Penzance Sailing Club | Colin Stephens | Tom Kliskey | 14 | 5 | 19 |
| 8th | 13944 | Errwood SC | Dan Johnson | Ben Latham | 6 | 14 | 20 |
| 9th | CZE14864 | CZE ALT Fireball | Martin Veit | Filip Krejza | 10 | 10 | 20 |
| 10th | 14991 | Datchet Water/Chew Valley SC | Andy Robinson | Tim Morgan | 13 | 11 | 24 |
| 11th | 15045 | Paignton SC | Elaine Slater | Graham Slater | 11 | 13 | 24 |
| 12th | 14860 | Broxbourne SC | Peter Bettles | Richard Bettles | 18 | 7 | 25 |
| 13th | 15149 | Hayling Island SC | Chris Turner | Jono Loe | 16 | 12 | 28 |
| 14th | 14388 | Newhaven & Seaford SC | James Cuxson | James Neil Arnott | 20 | 9 | 29 |
| 15th | 14950 | Lyme Regis SC | Chris Thorne | Russell Thorne | 12 | 18 | 30 |
| 16th | 15070 | Northampton/South Shields SC | Isaac Marsh | Kieran Graham | 15 | 15 | 30 |
| 17th | CZE14551 | CZE JL Tousen/LS Brno | Jiri Paruzek | Jakub Kosvica | 5 | DSQ | 32 |
| 18th | 14889 | Thornbury SC | Barry Smith | Rick Spring | 17 | 16 | 33 |
| 19th | 15122 | Blackwater/ Ardleigh SC | David Hall | Paul Constable | 7 | DSQ | 34 |
| 20th | 14821 | Hayling Island SC | Nick Hurst | Jake Elsbury | 19 | 17 | 36 |
| 21st | 14284 | Bartley SC | Jason Cahill | Kerry Webb | 22 | 19 | 41 |
| 22nd | 15121 | HISC/Bough Beech SC | Bryan Thompson | Sarah House Barklie | 23 | 20 | 43 |
| 23rd | 14887 | Hayling Island/Warsash SC | Thomas Payne | Alice Powell | 24 | 22 | 46 |
| 24th | 14656 | Hayling Island SC | Simon Benson | Sophia Benson | 26 | 21 | 47 |
| 25th | 15046 | Shoreham SC | Philip Popple | James Popple | 21 | DNF | 48 |
| 26th | 14622 | Draycote Water SC | Jane Collison | Patrick Collison | 25 | 23 | 48 |