Fireball World Championship - Perfect postcard conditions in Pattaya!
by Cormac Bradley on 2 Apr 2014
Swiss, Swiss/French and Australian crews contest the Fireball Worlds in perfect Pattaya Fireball International
At the Fireball World Championship, the fleet in Pattaya enjoyed another perfect day in paradise for day three. Fifteen knots of breeze @210 degrees and a three knot tide running across the course – a tactician’s paradise!
The Australian contingent led around the first weather mark in the form of Ben Schulz and Doug Sheppard who came in from the left with better pressure. They were followed by the British 'Bs' – Birrell and Brearey and their compatriots Batchelor and Pascoe. Only a couple of boat lengths separated the leaders. The order remained the same for the triangle-sausage-triangle course and as if tied together by string, at each rounding mark only about six boat-lengths separated first and third.
Allison and Blenkle lost a rudder forcing their retirement while Jaline Thompson-Kambas and Cameron Philcox (AUS 15011) broke a main halyard and Kevin Luff (AUS 14265) went swimming (again)!
The second race of the day was sailed in 'an uncharacteristically mature firm and unstable tropical breeze' which topped out at 20 knots in the gusts. The fleet was split equally left and right before Batchelor and Pascoe gained a significant lift in the last 200m of the beat to round in first place followed by Schulz and Sheppard and Gordon and Fletcher who had come in from the right hand side.
Schulz and Sheppard took over the lead but surrendered it again to Batchelor and Pascoe on the run. There appears to be a trend in this regard with the Aussies faster upwind and the Brits having the upper hand offwind. A peeling gasket slowed Schulz and Sheppard and saw them limp home in third place behind Batchelor and Pascoe and Gordon and Fletcher.
With the first discard kicking in, only five points cover the top three boats and with four races to sail after tomorrow’s lay-day, there is everything to play for.
Results After Six Races
1
|
GBR 15107
|
Christian Birrell, Sam Brearey
|
9.0
|
1
|
1
|
(dsq )
|
1
|
2
|
4
|
2
|
GBR 15087
|
Nathan Batchelor, Sam Pascoe
|
11.0
|
2
|
2
|
(3 )
|
3
|
3
|
1
|
3
|
AUS 15062
|
Ben Schulz, Doug Sheppard
|
14.0
|
(4 )
|
4
|
4
|
2
|
1
|
3
|
4
|
AUS 15048
|
Heather MacFarlane, Chris Payne
|
19.0
|
3
|
(6 )
|
1
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
5
|
AUS 15071
|
Thomas Gordon, Jack Fletcher
|
19.0
|
5
|
3
|
5
|
(8 )
|
4
|
2
|
6
|
AUS 15032
|
Greg Allison, Allen Blenkle
|
24.0
|
7
|
5
|
2
|
5
|
(dnf )
|
5
|
7
|
CAN 15024
|
Joe Jospe, Tom Egli
|
37.0
|
6
|
(11 )
|
6
|
10
|
7
|
8
|
8
|
FRA 14793
|
Erich Moser, Jean-Francois Nouel
|
38.0
|
8
|
(9 )
|
8
|
7
|
6
|
9
|
9
|
GBR 15092
|
Veronica Falat, Ben Falat
|
39.0
|
9
|
7
|
9
|
6
|
8
|
(11)
|
10
|
AUS 14814
|
Steve Goacher, Peter Crossley
|
44.0
|
(10 )
|
8
|
10
|
9
|
10
|
7
|
11
|
AUS 14812
|
Dick McCulloch, Glenn Stewart
|
51.0
|
12
|
10
|
7
|
(dnf )
|
9
|
13
|
12
|
GBR 14887
|
Bryan Sargeant, William Sargeant
|
61.0
|
13
|
12
|
13
|
13
|
(14 )
|
10
|
13
|
SUI 14859
|
Christina Haerdi-Landerer, Cedric Landerer
|
61.0
|
11
|
14
|
12
|
11
|
13
|
(15)
|
14
|
AUS 14510
|
Jim Hughes, Tom Hughes
|
64.0
|
15
|
(19 )
|
11
|
12
|
12
|
14
|
15
|
RSA 14901
|
David Laing, Mark Dee
|
65.0
|
14
|
13
|
(16 )
|
15
|
11
|
12
|
16
|
AUS 15076
|
Tim Ninnes, Taylor Neighbour
|
76.0
|
16
|
15
|
15
|
14
|
16
|
(dnf)
|
17
|
AUS 15011
|
Jaline Thompson-Kambas, Cameron Philcox
|
80.0
|
17
|
18
|
14
|
16
|
15
|
(dns)
|
18
|
SUI 14921
|
Maja Suter, Thomas Boehm
|
86.0
|
19
|
16
|
17
|
17
|
17
|
(dnf)
|
19
|
AUS 14747
|
Daniel Wolch, Alan Schaiars
|
94.0
|
20
|
20
|
19
|
18
|
(dns )
|
17
|
20
|
AUS 14265
|
Kevin Luff, Peta Luff
|
95.0
|
21
|
21
|
18
|
19
|
(dnf )
|
16
|
21
|
THA 10338
|
Jirawat Jodkby, Dylan Whitcraft
|
101.0
|
18
|
17
|
(dnf)
|
dnf
|
dnc
|
dnc
|
Comments (via Facebook):
Peter Crossley (AUS 14814) Great sail today. 20 knots of breeze and our best result in the Worlds – seventh in Race 2. Worked very hard for it!
Chris Payne (AUS 15048) Not a stellar day, fifth and sixth in 14 – 18 knots! Boat is going nicely but the crew made a few mistakes.
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