Australian team gears up for Fireball World Championship 2025 on Lake Garda

Australians competing in 2024 World Championship © DownUnder Sailing

Lake Garda, Italy's largest lake, is set to host the 2025 Fireball World Championship - a first for the Fireball class at this iconic venue. Hosted by Circolo Vela Arco on the lake's northern shore, the event runs from 21-29 August 2025, with racing officially starting on Sunday 24th August.

Lake Garda is renowned for its reliable thermal winds: each morning a brisk northerly (known locally as the Peler) funnels down the lake at 10-20 knots, then around midday the wind shifts as the famous Ora blows from the south at 14-18 knots. Warm summer temperatures (water ~23 degreesC, air up into 30 degreesCs) and the lake's crystal-clear waters against towering cliffs make for a spectacular and challenging sailing arena. Organizers predict a record-breaking turnout for this championship, with over 130 boats from around the globe already entered. This promises to be one of the biggest and most competitive Fireball World Championships ever held, in one of the world's premier sailing playgrounds.

Record Australian contingent ready to compete

Among the international fleets, Australia is making an especially strong showing. Seventeen Australian teams - the largest fireball team to ever travel outside of Australia and the second-largest national contingent after the UK's 38 entries - have committed to the journey from Down Under to Lake Garda. This record-sized Australian squad underscores the growth and enthusiasm for the Fireball class in Australia. The team's size and diversity are remarkable: sailors hail from across multiple states and span generations, from seasoned veterans to rising youth talent. Many are family duos or long-time sailing partners - for example, Peter and Jen Russell, Heather Macfarlane and Chris Payne and Jeni and Peter Danks each form husband-and-wife crews, while Scott and Tom Lidgett and Kevin and Nick Luff will be competing as a parent-child team. Several female sailors are integral to the squad as well, sailing either as skippers or crews in this mixed-gender fleet.

Logistically, getting such a large Aussie fleet to Italy is no small feat. The Australians have coordinated to ship their boats in containers bound for Europe, ensuring their Fireballs arrive race-ready for the Garda regatta. After months of fundraising, planning, and training, the Aussie team is primed to take on the world's best on unfamiliar waters. Team members have expressed excitement about sailing on Lake Garda's legendary breeze and steep chop, conditions quite different from home waters. The camaraderie within the group is strong - they've supported each other through the complex task of transporting boats and gear internationally - and they're eager to represent Australia proudly on the world stage.

Preparation, momentum and high hopes

The lead-up to this World Championship has seen Australian Fireball sailors rigorously preparing both at home and abroad. Many competed in the 2024 Fireball Worlds on home soil (Geelong, Australia) as a springboard for this year's challenge. At that event, Brendan Garner and Ben O'Brien claimed a podium finish - third overall and the top Australian boat - signaling that Australia can contend with the traditionally strong British and European squads. In fact, multiple Australian crews cracked the top ten in 2024 (including Ben Schulz, Jalina Thompson-Kambas with Nathan Stockley and veteran skipper Heather Macfarlane with Chris Payne), giving the team a surge of confidence and valuable big-regatta experience.

Since then, the Aussies have kept the momentum going. The 2025 Australian Fireball Championship in Eden, NSW provided a competitive tune-up for those heading to Italy as well as the inaugural Fireball Youth National Championship held at Lake Bullen Merri. With this schedule the team is optimistic that they can mix it up at the front of the fleet. Their goals range from great racing to ultimately bringing home World Championship silverware. As the event approaches, the Australian sailors are united by a common ambition: to push for personal bests and maybe even capture Australia's first Fireball world title in decades. The major shared attraction is to continue the conversations with friends across the world wide fireball sailing community.

Australian Team entries and partnerships

Below is the list of Australian entries for the 2025 Fireball Worlds. The team showcases a blend of familial partnerships, longtime duos, and new combinations formed for this championship.

Australian Team - Crew Pairings: (Helm / Crew)

• Kevin Luff / Nick Luff - (Western Australia) A father-and-son team bringing generational experience.

• Myles Gavin / Bruno Lanati - A veteran combo who have teamed up specifically to sail together at Lake Garda

• Phil Peverell / Bruce Shand - A long lasting team with multiple Worlds and many National championships under their belts.

• Brendan Garner / Ben O'Brien - Podium finishers from 2024 and current Australian Champions, aiming to go even better this year.

• Peter Russell / Jen Russell - Husband-and-wife team, adding a family dynamic to the mix.

• Addy Bucek / Peter James - A promising mixed-gender team bringing Addy's international success as a 470 Olympian and Pete's long term fireball experience

• Jalina Thompson-Kambas (Pivetta) / Nathan Stockley - Young guns with significant fireball experience together, who cracked the top ten in 2024, keen to repeat that success.

• Andrew Kean / Mark "Moose" Teasdale - Two highly experienced sailors from the country club at Lake Cairn Curran who first teamed up at the 2024 Worlds and are staying together for Garda's challenge.

• Scott Lidgett / Tom Lidgett - A father-son duo continuing a family Fireball legacy.

• Jeni Danks / Peter Danks - Wife and husband team, exemplifying the class's family-friendly spirit and bringing Jeni's 470 Olympian success and both with significant success in a variety of classes

• Dominic Brandon / Alex Brandon - Two brothers that have returned to fireballs after numerous years sailing in keel boats specifically to take on the challenge and excitement of sailing on Lake Garda.

• Sam Danks / David Danks - Young siblings racing together, first time competing in Fireballs and further extending the Danks family presence. They come fresh from success earlier in the year in Flying Fifteen Australian Nationals where close racing on the last day saw them break a tie with their parents Jeni and Peter to finish in 6th place overall.

• Nick Gunner / Tony McRae - A team that have sailed together on Nick's Etchell from Royal Geelong Yacht Club, Nick and Tony each bring lots of experience to team up for the first time together as a Fireball World Championship team. This could be a team to watch with potential to surprise other competitors.

• Mark Jarred / Glenn Stewart - Long term sailing partners from NSW are continuing their quest for excitement and success on the waters of Lake Garda. The conditions sound promising for this pair who revel in stronger breezes.

• Heather Macfarlane / Chris Payne - having sailed in many Fireball World Championships together since their inaugural participation in 1990, this duo loves the camaraderie and international friendships built over those years. They've had some great results with 1st in International Week in Durban and some 2nd and 3rd places at the World Championships.

• Ben Schulz / Rachel Gray - Ben has sailed in many Fireball World Championships, with two third place finishes being the best results so far. He recently launched one of the newly designed fireballs. At Lake Garda he is teaming up with Rachel Gray, a very well decorated sailor in her own right with many UK National Championship wins in Scorpions, Merlin Rockets and Larks. A hot team to keep an eye on!

• Ben Garner - Australia's youngest team member has committed to attend the World Championship and is currently seeking to finalise arrangements as his crew could not join due to exams. Ben sailed his first Fireball World Championship at his home club of Geelong in 2024.