Irish Fireball Exodus to Lake Garda is underway

Triple stacker from Monkstown Bay SC ready to head off to Garda © Frank Miller

20 sailors will be competing under the Irish flag at the Fireball World Championship on Lake Garda from this weekend. The Worlds takes place at the Northern end of the lake at Arco hosted by Circolo Vela Arco with measurement checking and practice from Thursday and racing starting on Sunday 24th. Racing continues through to Friday 29th with a reserve day on the Wednesday.

The biggest exodus of Irish Fireballers to a Worlds in many years reflects the renewed interest in the class Nationally and Internationally. The trek to Garda is being undertaken on double and triple stacker trailers because of the cost and difficulty (since the pandemic) of organising mass transport of boats from Ireland. Another reason for the massive fleet, currently totalling 135 entries, heading for Garda is the nature of the venue itself with sunshine and decent winds key to its iconic status. The entry numbers were also boosted by a special reduced entry fee for young sailors.

Irish sailors will be hoping for the famous Ora winds to kick in and give them lively conditions with racing starting around lunchtime. If the Ora doesn't materialise due to duller conditions sailing will take place earlier in the day with the morning Peler winds. You can guess which winds the majority of the fleet will be praying for. There is strength and depth in the Irish fleet but they are facing formidable competition, not least from Tom Gillard who with multiple championship wins under his belt must be hot favourite before the off. There are other extremely strong contenders amongst the UK, Aussie and Swiss fleets.

Here's a video from 2024 showing what to expect...

Of the Irish talent ones to watch include Chris Bateman sailing with Lucy Loughton, currently B14 World Champions. Chris is particularly fast in strong winds so watch that space. Another pair to watch include the very well-practiced Josh Porter & Cara McDowell who are fast and steady in all conditions and the Thompson brothers Daniel & Harry who are rising stars in the fleet. Ewen Barry, usually right at the front of the Irish fleet will be sailing this event with his young daughter Thea and could do very well if winds end up light and flukey. Conor Twohig sailing with Matthew Cotter was very fast and consistent at the recent Irish Nationals, a few points shy of third place, and they are definitely worth watching. Alan Blay will be sailing with Hugh McNally and while the pair didn't quite hit form at the Nationals, they rarely miss a shift. Likewise, Adrian Lee & Ossian Geraghty have a lot of experience and will be aiming for high consistent scores and a placing towards the front of the fleet.

Ed Og Butler & Iso Inan might be considered dark horses for this event. Despite not making it to events this season the pair are well capable of eclipsing the rest of the Irish fleet if they find their groove quickly. Class newbies Bella Waterman & Sean O'Herlihy and veterans Frank Miller & Ed Butler Snr will be giving it their best shot in this highly competitive fleet.

If the famous Ora does indeed materialise each day, it's going the be a dogfight at the committee end of the line to get to the cliffs for maximum pressure and thence a mad kite charge down the first reach. Word has it the fleet may start on one very long start-line with three committee boats keeping things square and honest. With a fleet this size you can expect U flags and black flags.

There will also be a lot of interest in seeing how the latest Fireball design refresh performs against the classic builds by Winder, Weathermark and Duvoisin. The refreshed design, by Windermark (a joint venture between Winder & Weathermark using a new mould) features a cleaner layout, carbon replacing Kevlar, and a shorter aft tank. Innovations now allowed via recent rule change like dynamic rig control and twin poles will be closely watched to see if the benefits justify the increased complexity and cost.

A key benefit of the design refresh is the trickle-down effect as very good second-hand boats become available on the market when some of the top sailors invest in newer boats. That trickle-down of very affordable decent boats is what has boosted the fleets in Ireland, Italy and elsewhere and attracted new young sailors into the fleet.

Overall, this is a key event for a class which is going from strength to strength and whatever way you look at it this is shaping to to be the epic Fireball Worlds of modern times.

Two Fireballs depart from Dun Laoghaire for Garda - photo © Frank Miller