Fireballs at the Weymouth Dinghy Regatta 2022
by Derian Scott 13 Jul 19:22 BST
9-10 July 2022
Launching at the Weymouth Dinghy Regatta © Phil Touy
Three Fireballs arrived at CCSC to be greeted by sunshine and the promise of a lovely sea breeze. PRO Bill Barker explained that the sea breeze would lend itself to racing in Portland harbour, rather than in the bay, and with just a half hour postponement, racing got under way.
The Fireballs were in the Handicap fleet, racing on a 2-lap trapezoid course. We successfully completed 3 races in a building wind, with challenging tight reaches, and gains and losses to be made on the shifts. Derian & Andy Scott won the day out of the Fireballs and were lying second overall overnight in the Handicap Fleet. Kev Hope & Russell Thorne ensured the Scotts didn't have it their own way, with tight racing between the 2 boats all afternoon. Graham Wilson & Peter Warne were disadvantaged on the tight reaches as the wind built to more than their crew weight suited.
Sunday morning's forecast wasn't promising and the shift in wind direction meant a sea breeze was unlikely. However, our PRO set up for the gentle gradient breeze and got all fleets away after a short postponement. A shift early on in race 4 meant the course went very skewed. Kev and Russell didn't put a foot wrong and showed that their light wind skills are still top-notch leading Derian & Andy from the top of the first beat though to the finish. A quick shift of the course by the race team and were off for Race 5. This time, Derian & Andy played the shifts and didn't let Kev & Russell out of their sight. They rounded the top mark just in front and held this lead up to the bottom mark. However, they got caught out by ending up on the outside of an asymmetric boat sailing a different course. Kev & Russell took the initiative and rounded on the inside, but confusion over whether the course had been shortened meant they tacked off and dipped the asymmetric boat, passing the lead back to Andy & Derian who held it to the finish.
Derian & Andy finished 2nd overall, with Kev & Russell in 4th. Graham and Peter had a much-improved day in the lighter winds, lifting them up to 11th overall.
A huge thank you to all the organising clubs of the regatta along with everyone who ran racing, the rescue boats and all of the volunteers at this super-friendly club.
Full handicap results at www.halsail.com/Result/Public/64101