Please select your home edition
Edition
Sea Sure 2025

2024 Fireball Worlds at Royal Geelong Yacht Club - Day 5

by Harry Fisher 15 Feb 2024 22:14 AEDT 5-16 Februay 2024

British Fireball duo Tom Gillard and Andy Thompson will take a seven-point lead into the final two races of the 2024 Fireball Worlds in Geelong tomorrow, as they look to be crowned world champions for another time.

The pair have so far sailed a near flawless regatta with an 18th in Race 3 the only result outside the top four.

Sitting in second overall with an outside chance of claiming the title on the last day is fellow Britons DJ Edwards and Vyv Townend on Mondo, who are now dropping a 13th from today.

With a pair of good results tomorrow, the Mondo team could use a sixth as their second discard, shaving some solid points off their scorecard.

In third overall after an 8,1 scorecard today is Brendan Garner and Ben O'Brien on Black Pearl, who turned a poor position into a Race 8 win in an extremely shifty final work, keeping them in the hunt.

Garner said it was a challenging day and that it had set up an exciting battle for the final day.

"In the first race we got caught out a couple of times being a little too confident with what might happen up the track, so then we decided our plan was just sail the higher number and sail towards pressure," he said.

"We'll have a crack, I think what's fantastic for the regatta and for the class is that it's wide open going into tomorrow, there's a few boats that can still win.

"They're not our conditions (tomorrow) but neither was today and we still came out with a good result so we'll just see what happens."

There are some great battles being set up for the final day to make up the remainder of the top 10 with a number of teams having great regattas so far and looking for a good final result.

Ben Schulz and Angus Higgins in Riptide are sitting fourth and could sneak onto the podium with a good final day, while David Hall and Paul Constable on Sunsets, Tom Gordon and Jack Fletcher on Cletus, and Ben Knoop and James Belton on Fierce Creature are all in a close fight for the last spot in the top five.

Sophie Jackson, who is sailing with Josh Galland on Zig Zag and currently sits 11th overall, said the racing in this regatta had been incredibly tight.

"I think with the lighter breeze the fleet was a lot more condensed and boats that are sometimes further back made their way up to the front, so there was a lot of congestion coming in around the marks and the fleet was a lot denser," she said.

"Fireballs sail very similarly to the 470, so it's a really great boat to cross-train in and get that extra racing practice."

The final day tomorrow is expected to be tricky, which sets up massive opportunities for teams looking to move up the standings, and big risks for those that need to defend their spot.

For up-to-date results, head to bit.ly/2024FireballWorldsResults

For more information about the event, head to 2024.fireballworlds.com

Related Articles

Fireball Youth Take Flight at Lake Bullen Merri
For the first-ever Fireball Australian Youth Championship The Fireball class continues to inspire the next generation of sailors, with the first-ever Fireball Australian Youth Championship delivering a spectacular debut over three days at Lake Bullen Merri, Victoria. Posted on 28 Apr
Fireball Nationals Early Bird Entry about to close
Save money by entering by 21st April To take advantage of the early bird entry fee of £270, your entry fee needs to be paid by 23:59 on 21st April (this coming Monday!). Posted on 17 Apr
Fireball Spring Championship at Draycote Water
Exciting times for the class and a great entry of 36 boats Exciting times in the Fireball dinghy class following the successful launch of the new design at the dinghy show in March. A world championship in Garda, Italy in 2025, followed by a home Worlds in Torquay in 2026, has created a real buzz in the class. Posted on 16 Apr
Fireball Open Championship at Lough Ree
Porter and McDowell triumph as the summer season blazes into action The Fireball summer season got off to an early start last weekend at Lough Ree Yacht Club where eighteen Fireballs and over twenty 420s joined forces for their Open Championship and Ulster Championship respectively. Posted on 8 Apr
Fireball training day at Draycote preview
Adam Bowers' unique style means that his sessions are fun as well as informative The Fireball Class are running a training day with the renowned Adam Bowers at Draycote Water Sailing Club on Friday 11th April. Adam's unique style means that his sessions are fun as well as informative. Posted on 28 Mar
Sign up now for the first Fireball events of 2025
Class training, Spring Championships and even look ahead to the Nationals The Fireball Class have organised a training day with the renowned Adam Bowers, the day before the first event of the season on 11th April, 2025, at Draycote Water Sailing Club, near Rugby. Posted on 18 Mar
The Big Reveal of the new Fireball design
Make sure you don't miss the cover being whipped away The UKFA are excited to unveil the all-new design of the legendary Fireball dinghy, a true icon in the world of high-performance sailing. Posted on 21 Feb
2025 Fireball Worlds to be held at Lake Garda
Hosted by Circolo Vela Arco this August For their 2025 Worlds the Fireballs are heading to the premier sailing venue of Lake Garda in Italy. Although the Fireballs have been to Lake Garda for their Europeans a number of times, it is the first time that the Worlds have been on the Lake. Posted on 10 Feb
Fireball Nationals at Looe preview
All previous visits have produced epic big wave sailing For their 2025 Nationals the Fireballs are returning to the popular Cornish resort of Looe. The Fireballs have been to Looe twice before: in 1998 and 2013, and both times have produced epic big wave sailing which is perfect for the Fireball. Posted on 3 Feb
Inaugural Fireball Australian Youth Championships
Set to make waves at Bullen Merri over Easter Sailing enthusiasts and young competitors are gearing up for an exciting new addition to the Fireball sailing calendar—the Inaugural Fireball Australian Youth Championships. Posted on 31 Jan
Henri-Lloyd Dynamic RangeAllen Dynamic 40 FooterX-Yachts X4.0