Please select your home edition
Edition
V-DRY-X

Fireball Gul Golden Dolphin at Poole Yacht Club

by Rick Cornes 25 May 2022 19:11 AEST 21-22 May 2022
Fireball Gul Golden Dolphin at Poole © Ricky Spring

James and I arrived on Saturday at our first Fireball event together since 2017, keen to get any time on the water we could before the Nationals.

We were greeted by a free cuppa, blue skies, a steady 10 knots across Poole Harbour, and a very welcoming Adam and Tracy Deary who introduced themselves as the local talent. The forecast for weekend was to have the best conditions on Saturday and very light winds on Sunday. That being the case, the Poole Race Team advised they'd be aiming for four races on the Saturday with the hope of getting two in on Sunday.

Sailing in the stretch between Brownsea and Round Islands on a flooding tide, protecting the left was key. However, patchy and shifty conditions left anyone the chance of making gains (or losses..) wherever they were on the course.

Race One - we took the pin end and headed out left hand side keeping Derian and Andy on our right-hand side. A lose cover saw the two of us hardly separate for the next 45 minutes!

Race Two - Again we took to the left and thought we were looking strong. D & A took a lovely shift to reach the first windward mark first. A position they held until they realised they'd missed the spreader mark on the run. After a hasty kite drop and beat back up to the mark put them back in the mix with the rest of the fleet.

Race Three - Derian and Andy weren't making the same mistake! They took another lovely shift in the middle of the first beat to lead all the way around.

Race Four- The breeze freshened to a good 15 knots bringing back the memories of how brilliant Fireballs are to sail! We took advantage of the pressure and managed a clean race from the gun.

After free tea and cake, the Fireball & Osprey sailors adjourned to the balcony to sample the local Dorset beers.

Sunday dawned with a 1-hour postponement as we looked over a glassy smooth marina and mist covered bay. Whilst we sat on the balcony bathed in sunshine a boat whispering session was going on in the dinghy park. Like a switch at 10am, the mist lifted and a steady (ish) 9 knots rolled in across the bay. A quick change and we were out for an 11:30 start for two 1-hour races in sun and 10 knots of breeze.

It was a fantastic weekend that made us really realise how much we'd missed sailing in this fleet. Roll on the Nationals Brightlingsea!

A huge thank you to Gul Watersports for sponsoring the Gold, Silver & Bronze fleet winners, and to Poole YC for such a friendly welcome and for running a really great event. We hope to be back next May for more!

1st Gold Fleet - Rick Cornes & James Goodfellow
1st Silver Fleet - Barry Smith & Ricky Spring
1st Bronze Fleet Graham Wilson & Peter Warne

Related Articles

Young Sailors Invited to the 2025 Fireball Worlds
A special discounted entry fee for eligible youth participants for the event at Lake Garda Circolo Vela Arco and Fireball International are inviting young sailors from around the world to take part in the 2025 Fireball World Championship at spectacular Lake Garda, with a special discounted entry fee for eligible youth participants. Posted on 1 Jul
Fireballl Munster Championship at Monkstown Bay
Another spectacular event with warm medium breezes on Saturday and stronger conditions on Sunday Eighteen Fireballs gathered at Monkstown Bay Sailing Club last weekend (21/22 June) for their Munster Championship, kindly sponsored by Doyle Sails. Posted on 24 Jun
Fireball Inland Championship at Chew
Race team did an excellent job of keeping the race track away from weed After a lively Nationals at Looe the fleet were looking to enjoy some freshwater sailing on some flatter water. The forecast was for a moderate breeze on Saturday with and increasing wind on Sunday. Posted on 18 Jun
Fireball World Championship preview
38 entries from the UK and 17 from Australia, going to Lake Garda It's still two months away but entries for the 2025 Fireball Worlds on Lake Garda have already reached 127 boats. Posted on 12 Jun
P&B Zhik Fireball Nationals overall
One big wind race on the final day Day 4 of the P&B Zhik Nationals. With the first two positions already decided, Tom and Shandy, and Vyv and DJ had already packed up their boats by the time the remaining 15 or so hardy souls decided to venture out for one last race. Posted on 31 May
P&B Zhik Fireball Nationals day 2
A day from the sublime to the ridiculous and back again The fleet was all planning for war at sea, but by the time we were going down the first run of race 3, we were frantically pulling out the fast pins. Race 3 was won by the championship leaders, Tom Gillard and Andy Thompson. Posted on 26 May
P&B Zhik Fireball Nationals day 1
36 boats in Looe, fuelled by the biggest Cornish pasty ever baked 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. Posted on 25 May
Fireball Worlds coming to English Riviera in 2026
Royal Torbay YC are pleased to host The Royal Torbay Yacht Club are pleased to announce that the Fireball World Championship will be held in Torquay in July 2026. Posted on 24 May
Enter now for Chichester Harbour Race Week
Last year nearly 600 competitors in 383 boats attended Book your place at the biggest dinghy and keelboat regatta in the UK! With the website open, you can now reserve your place in this year's 'must attend' event. Starting on Monday 11th August, ending on 15th. Posted on 24 May
Final call for event delivery to Looe
The P&B and Zhik Fireball Nationals takes place this weekend The P&B and Zhik Fireball Nationals take place at Looe Sailing Club this weekend, the fleet's looking strong, as are the conditions! If you need an order taking we can arrange that for you. Posted on 22 May
Rolly Tasker Sails 2023 FOOTERCyclops Marine 2023 November - FOOTERSwitch One Design