P&B and Zhik Fireball National Championships 2025 at Looe Sailing Club - Day 1

by Adam Whitehouse 25 May 15:09 BST 24-27 May 2025

Thirty-six boats entered and were ready to go. Back in Looe, we were greeted by an extremely welcoming shore team and an intimate dinghy park. Fuelled by the biggest Cornish pasty ever baked, we reached down to the starting area with strong wind settings, which we immediately changed upon arrival. I guess some of the new boats did it while they were reaching.

Anyway, the wind wasn't what we anticipated, and after one general recall, the fleet got away up the long beat back towards the town. Local knowledge was important at this stage, and we had none. If it's blowing a westerly, hit the shore and keep going, which is exactly what Tom Gillard & Andy Thompson did, promptly rounding the windward mark with a tidy lead.

No surprise as to who the next boat was chasing them: DJ Edwards and the smooth operator Vyv Towned, immediately setting up another epic battle for the championship. In third was Duncan Gregor & Jasmine Williams in one of the two classic boats, showing that 25-year-old boats still cut it.

It was a relatively short race, just two laps, and on the last run, DJ & Vyv managed to work low and inside Tom & Andy to lead them along the short leg to the finish, opening their account with a win. Vince Horey & Rob Gardner worked up to third.

Race 2: I t had to be said, the race committee was really on it, with barely any time to drink my isotonic sports drink between races. It would have been even quicker, I'm told, if Paul Cullen & Simon Forbes had behaved themselves as pathfinders.

Anyway, no messing around from the fleet, another clean start, and we decided to get out early and see if we could pick up something to get us over to the right side of the course.

There wasn't a lot of movement, and at the windward mark, the leading pack was made up of early and late starters. Pathfinder Paul rounded in first, followed by Georgia Booth and Oli Davenport. The fleet split down the run, with some, including Tom & Andy, staying on starboard.

With a bit more breeze and better wave opportunities, they saw themselves in the lead by the bottom mark, with DJ and Vyv dropping to about eighth with some work to do. The second beat saw some real pressure across the course, and the beautifully laid triangle was a real test on starboard and port.

In the end, Tom & Andy hung on for a comfortable win, with Georgia & Oli bagging second and DJ & Vyv third.

So, a fun first day. It all feels very tight, with quality right through the fleet, and minor mistakes proving very costly. More breeze is forecast for day 2, so an early night for everyone... yeah, okay.

Results after Day 1:

Pos	Fleet	Sail No	Helm	Crew	R1	R2	Pts
1st	Gold	15122	Thomas Gillard	Shandy	2	1	3
2nd	Gold	15144	DJ Edwards	Vyv Townend	1	3	4
3rd	Gold	15091	Graham Cook	William Cook	4	6	10
4th	Gold	15147	Paul Cullen	Simon Forbes	5	5	10
5th	Gold	15120	Vincent Horey	Robert Gardiner	3	8	11
6th	Gold	15151	Martyn Lewis	Daniel Lewis	6	7	13
7th	Gold	15172	David Hall	Paul Constable	10	4	14
8th	Gold	14940	Georgia Booth	Oliver Davenport	18	2	20
9th	Gold	15133	Kevin Hope	Andrew stewart	8	12	20
10th	Gold	15145	Steve Goacher	Tom Goacher	7	19	26
11th	Gold	15118	Peter Gray	Rich Pepperdine	14	13	27
12th	Gold	14801	Oliver Rayner	Ben Rayner	12	16	28
13th	Gold	15042	peter wood	Richard Bailey	20	9	29
14th	Silver	14754	Simon Evans	Matthew Sharman	19	11	30
15th	Gold	14928	Anthony Willcocks	James Willcocks	11	21	32
16th	Silver	15114	Daniel Thompson	Henry Thompson	23	10	33
17th	Silver	15075	Andy Willcocks	Andrea Willcocks	9	27	36
18th	Silver	14991	Alex Piggott	Simon Hibbert	13	23	36
19th	Gold	15174	Simon Kings	Jono Loe	22	15	37
20th	Gold	15102	Imogen Wade	Dave Wade	21	17	38
21st	Silver	15073	Joe Warwicker	Tim Saunders	25	14	39
22nd	Gold	15127	Mike Deane	Richard Botting	17	24	41
23rd	Silver	14624	Duncan Gregor	Jasmine Williams	15	28	43
24th	Silver	15113	Craig Burlton	Hennie Burlton	24	22	46
25th	Gold	15046	Philip Popple	Andy Phillips	31	18	49
26th	Silver	14750	Chris Bateman	Lucy Loughton	29	20	49
27th	Gold	15173	Ben Schulz	Iain Blake	16	DNF	53
28th	Gold	15096	Adam Whitehouse	Mike Hanson	30	26	56
29th	Gold	14837	Russ Cormack	Ali Cormack	26	31	57
30th	Silver	15045	Christine Willcocks	Graham Slater	33	25	58
31st	Silver	15087	Dave Poore	Dave Orrell	28	30	58
32nd	Silver	14391	Jemima Line	Jo Line	27	32	59
33rd	Silver	14797	Chris Hampshire	Niel Peters	34	29	63
34th	Silver	14889	Barry Smith	Rick Spring	32	33	65
35th	Silver	14876	Jason Cahill	Kerry Webb	35	34	69
36th	Silver	14836	Matt Potter	Jake willars	RET	DNC	74