Fireball World Championships at Yacht Club de Carnac - Preview

Yacht Club de Carnac © Yacht Club de Carnac

The perennial trip to a foreign venue, for most entrants, is underway as the international Fireball community make their way to Carnac in north-west France for the French Nationals and 2018 World Championships. The French Championships will double up as a pre-Worlds and boasts a fleet of 68 boats from eight countries; Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Great Britain, Kenya, South Africa and Switzerland.

This regatta will run from Wednesday to the Friday of this week, after which the focus will fall on the Worlds and a 101-boat fleet which will start with residual measurement of boats that didn't sail the French Nationals on Saturday 25th, with racing starting on the Sunday, through to the following Friday.

Trying to predict a winner of either regatta is always a challenging activity and runs the risk of either causing offence to those who were left out or jinxing those who got mentioned. Suffice to say that both regattas will be eagerly contested, subject to Mother Nature's cooperation, and some of the names that have to be mentioned as podium finishers in either or both regattas include:

• Tom Gillard (GBR), the defending World Champion from 2016 in South Africa (and 2015 in Wales) sailing with Geoff Edwards (GBR15127).
• Current UK National Champions, Ian Dobson & Richard Wagstaff (GBR15141) who initially threatened to run away with the UK regatta before a certain antipodean combination and others stepped up to the mark.
• The aforementioned antipodean combination, Heather Mcfarlane and Chris Payne (AUS 15152), who after completing the UK regatta in second place have been doing the tourist thing by way of a slow sojourn to Carnac.
• Matt Burge & Daniel Schieber (GBR 15123), Current European Champions (Lyme Regis, 2017).
• Claude Mermod & Reudi Moser (SUI 14799), former European Champions (Italy 2016).
• Penny & Russ Clark (GBR 15096) who finished third at the UK Nationals.
• Anthony & James Willcocks (GBR 14928) who finished fourth at the UK Nationals.

However, a strong GBR contingent and a slightly smaller Czech contingent, relative to the British representation, will be vying for all the top ten spots. And that's not to discount a sizeable French fleet sailing in their own waters!

For the Worlds, the nationalities will increase by one when a solitary Italian entry makes its way to Carnac.

The Executive and former officers of the International Class are well represented at the regattas with current Commodore Christina Haerdi Landerer (SUI) in competition mode as well as former Commodores Steve Chesney (GBR), Joe Jospe (CAN)and Russell Thorne (GBR), while Francois Schluchter (SUI) has been lending his expertise and experience to the organisation of the event. Other officers in competitive mode include Debbie Kirkby (CAN), Rear Commodore America, Jakub Napravnik (CZE), Rear Commodore Central Europe, David Laing (RSA), Rear Commodore Africa, Tom Egli (CAN), Technical Officer and Mianne Erne (SUI), Secretary.

Joe Jospe and Tom Egli (CAN 15024) will be persuading the fleet to come to Canada in 2019 for the Worlds in Montreal, while the 2020 Worlds hosts, the Irish, will also be giving a presentation on the merits of coming to Howth.