Fireball Open Meeting at Shoreham Sailing Club

by Tim Saunders on 2 Jul 2009 The conditions that greeted the 27 Fireballs at the Open Meeting hosted by Shoreham Sailing Club over the weekend of 27th and 28th June were nothing short of perfect – 12 knots of breeze and glorious sunshine.

One person who was not destined to enjoy the conditions was Chips Howarth, who, due to a major diary malfunction, was on a ferry in mid-Channel just as the gun for the first race was being fired. However, Vince Horey stepped in as a last minute replacement to helm for Vyv Townend. Howarth’s are big shoes to fill but Horey pulled it off with aplomb. He came off the line stormed up the beat and rounded the first mark ahead of Andy Smith and Jonny Mildred and extended his lead throughout. At the last leeward mark he even had time to stop and retrieve the spinnaker pole that an exuberant Townend had thrown overboard during the drop – luckily the new Twaron poles float better than the traditional Kevlar wrapped alloy versions! At the finish it was Horey first, with Smith second and recently crowned National Champions Matt Burge and Richard Wagstaff third.

In the second race, Phil Popple and Gavin Tillson led around the first mark, closely followed by Smith, Dave Wade and Ben McGrane, and Horey. During the hoist Popple managed to nearly decapitate Mildred with his spinnaker. Wade emerged best from the ensuing chaos to lead from Horey and Burge. These three boats had a great ding-dong around the next two laps. Down the last run, Wade and Burge got into a match race allowing Horey to slip through and take his second bullet.

For Saturday night, Shoreham SC put on their usual hospitality and the fleet was able to enjoy a few beers and a spit roast.

Sunday dawned with sea mist and a distinct lack of breeze. The fleet launched only to drift around in the tide. Eventually five knots of breeze kicked in – hardly the stuff for exhilarating high performance sailing but enough to get over the start line....just. Peter Gray and Simon Forbes led around the first mark closely followed by Howarth who had finally made it back to the UK. Gray maintained the lead for two laps but eventually Wade got through both Gray and Howarth and at the finish the order was Wade, Howarth and Gray.

In the second race the fleet managed to complete two laps and the Race Officer took the wise position to shorten course before the wind disappeared completely. Howarth led from start to finish with Wade second and Smith third.

A big thank you must go to SYC for once again putting on an excellent event.

Results are final as of 17:01 on June 28, 2009

Overall

Sailed:4, Discards:1, To count:3, Entries:27, Scoring system:Appendix A

Rank	Boat	Class	SailNo	Club	HelmName	CrewName	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total	Nett
1st		Fireball	15013	Bewl Valley SC	Wally Howarth	Vyv Townend	1.0	1.0	(2.0)	1.0	5.0	3.0
2nd	P/B / Selden / Gul	Fireball	14993	Northampton	Dave Wade	Ben McGrane	(28.0 DNC)	3.0	1.0	2.0	34.0	6.0
3rd	Lickin' On Both Sides	Fireball	14994	Pool YC	Matt Burge	Richard Wagstaff	3.0	2.0	4.0	(28.0 DNC)	37.0	9.0
4th	Gul	Fireball	14895	Notts County SC	Andy Smith	Jonny Mildred	2.0	5.0	(8.0)	3.0	18.0	10.0
5th		Fireball	15004	SHSC	Peter Gray	Simon Forbes	(11.0)	9.0	3.0	4.0	27.0	16.0
6th		Fireball	14980	SHSC	Tom Foskett	Tim Needham	6.0	4.0	(12.0)	7.0	29.0	17.0
7th		Fireball	14899	Weston SC	Matt Findlay	Richard Anderton	5.0	(13.0)	5.0	10.0	33.0	20.0
8th	The New Bossy	Fireball	14954	Staunton Harold SC	Becky Priest	Tim Saunders	7.0	6.0	7.0	(11.0)	31.0	20.0
9th		Fireball	14976	Sheffield Viking SC	Tom Gillard	Francis Rowan	(8.0)	7.0	6.0	8.0	29.0	21.0
10th	J R Nee Too	Fireball	14977	Shoreham SC	Philip Popple	Gavin Tillson	4.0	8.0	(13.0)	12.0	37.0	24.0
11th	Southpaws	Fireball	14941	Chew Valley SC	Derian Scott	Andy Scott	(10.0)	10.0	9.0	6.0	35.0	25.0
12th		Fireball	14820	PYSC	Andy Pearce	Marisa Foster	(14.0)	14.0	10.0	5.0	43.0	29.0
13th		Fireball	14628	Hill Head SC	Simon Lomas-Clarke	John Piatt	12.0	11.0	11.0	(13.0)	47.0	34.0
14th	Mashed Potato	Fireball	14909	Aberdeen & Stonehaven	Ian Piest	Lucy Linggard	(15.0)	15.0	15.0	9.0	54.0	39.0
15th		Fireball	14946	HISC	Keith Walker	Rhys Pickett	13.0	12.0	(16.0)	15.0	56.0	40.0
16th	Wifebeater	Fireball	14755	Blackwater SC	Dave Ryder	Michelle Ryder	17.0	(21.0)	17.0	16.0	71.0	50.0
17th	Indefiaball	Fireball	14621	Parkstone YC	Laurel Cottage	Andrew Hurst	(19.0)	18.0	19.0	14.0	70.0	51.0
18th	May Contain Nuts	Fireball	15016	Staunton Harold	Pete Slack	David Slack	(23.0)	20.0	14.0	18.0	75.0	52.0
19th	Flying Pigs	Fireball	14789	Bristol Corinthian YC	Rhys Lankester	Jason Rickards	16.0	16.0	(21.0)	20.0	73.0	52.0
20th	Second Wind	Fireball	14266	Notts County SC	Bob Tuckwood	Debbie Tuckwood	(20.0)	19.0	20.0	17.0	76.0	56.0
21st	Dragens Breath	Fireball	14268	Shoreham SC	Nick Hurst	Ben Fjaerem	18.0	(22.0)	18.0	21.0	79.0	57.0
22nd	The Bow Street Runner	Fireball	14999	Shoreham SC	David Festing	Karen Festing	21.0	17.0	(24.0)	24.0	86.0	62.0
23rd	Chop Chop	Fireball	14135	Shoreham SC	Stewart Scarff	Lesley Scarff	22.0	(25.0)	22.0	19.0	88.0	63.0
24th	Balti King	Fireball	14888	KG SC	Al Fry	Andy Thompson	9.0	(28.0 DNC)	28.0 DNC	28.0 DNS	93.0	65.0
25th		Fireball	14579	Shoreham SC	Martin Walker	Suzi Capey	(25.0)	23.0	23.0	22.0	93.0	68.0
26th	D:Ream	Fireball	14387	Shoreham SC	Wendy Wood	Helen Bedford	24.0	(28.0 DNC)	25.0	23.0	100.0	72.0
27th	Queen of Pain	Fireball	14674	Shoreham SC	Caroline Still	Martin Atkinson	(28.0 DNC)	24.0	26.0	25.0	103.0	75.0

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