P&B and Zhik Fireball National Championships 2025 at Looe Sailing Club - 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 & Andy Thompson, followed by Peter Grey & Richard Pepperdine, who picked up their best result so far. In third place were Dave Hall & Paul Constable, also achieving their best result so far in their new design boat.

The wind seemed like it was going to build, but then literally 3 minutes before the start, it dropped off again significantly, resulting in yet more panicked adjustment of the rake. I really must get that inboard system.

Pathfinders Vince & Rob headed all the way into the shore, so there was plenty on the table for the boats that started early. By now, the breeze was starting to build again and move around a lot as we neared the windward mark.

In the end, this race had it all - huge backers, epic full-send two-sail reaches at 20 mph, scary three-sail reaches over minimal swell, and plenty of opportunities to make big gains up the beats.

Vyv & DJ pretty much led from the first mark to really heat up the championship at the midway point, with the leaders Tom & Andy just 1 point ahead and coming in second. Dave & Paul secured another podium finish, wrapping up their tidy day of results.

Tomorrow we go again, but this time we have to survive three races as the final day looks under threat. Everything hurts, and as Danny Glover said, "I'm getting too old for this," but like the rest of the Fireball fleet, I will never stop!

Rig callibration - P&B and Zhik Fireball National Championship at Looe - photo © LSC

Results after Day 2: