Fireball training

Iain Christie enthuses about a training weekend PLUS a round-up of the top gear used at the Worlds in Kenya

"Come along and learn, whatever your ability," read the United Kingdom Fireball Association flyers and they were not wrong.

Draycote Water welcomed 80 Fireballers, whose abilities ranged from regular Nationals top 10 finishers, to newcomers to the class who had yet to get the spinnaker out of its bag. Boats ranged from the very latest Winder all-kevlar boats sporting newly allowed laminate ply sails and electronic compasses to 30-year-old woodies bought and lovingly maintained on a shoestring budget. It really brought home the appeal of the class across such a wide spectrum of sailors and it's easy to see why the class, now in its 41st year, is stronger now than ever before.

Our weekend 'guru' was 1997 Fireball World Champion and RYA Olympic Coach Adam Bowers (ably assisted by Dave Wade, Richard Wagstaff, Andy Smith and Jane Jones) and Adam's infectious enthusiasm for the class and sailing in general was only nearly matched by his enthusiasm for beer and kebabs from Draycote's local pubs and eateries. The weekend's events kicked off with an informal gathering of local and visiting sailors in the Dun Cow in Dunchurch, resulting in a few sore heads for the start of Saturday morning's training.

The 40 boats were divided into 2 fleets, with a series of short races being run while being videoed and coached by the training team. Emphasis was put on start lines, mark rounding, as well as for the more novice crews clean spinnaker hoists and drops. A very light breeze helped avoid any problems and built up a lot of confidence for the newer crews.

All the sailors then had the chance to grimace at their sailing skills on a huge projector screen whilst eating their lunch in the recently refitted Draycote wet bar. Some top tips from Adam ensured that mark roundings after lunch were going to be much tighter and start lines a much busier place! The wind built to a shifty F3 after lunch, and after a few more short races, the fleets were brought together for a final 40 boat mini open meeting. Again, for the newer crews, this was the first time they had sailed a Fireball in the company of so many others, and the ear-to-ear grins as they came ashore confirmed that the bug had bitten badly!

Adam delivered a fascinating and highly amusing presentation on rig theory and sail shape on Saturday evening before dinner. He soon had 80 Fireballers chanting and waving their arms around in the air in some kind of bizarre ritual whilst learning about such things as Johnny's Perfect Hill and the 20 unit theory. Oh, and if you were under the impression that your jib has 3 corners - think again. There are four. No really...go on - count them this weekend...

Sunday morning saw us gathered round a rigged Fireball whilst Adam showed us the full effects on the rig of kickers, mainsheets, outhauls, cunninghams and struts, as well as exploding some myths on spinnaker hoists and drops. All the crews were also able to pick up some simple improvements to make to their boats to save those vital seconds whilst tacking and gybing, as well as the best place to have those all-important tell tales
and how to really use them.

The boats then took to the water to put the new skills into practice, although for a lot of the crews, including the experienced guys and girls, the gusty, shifty F4 was making staying upright more of a priority than slick spinny work. All the boats then joined together for a final two very exciting races, and it was clear to see from all angles what had been achieved over the course of the weekend. The UKFA and Draycote Water have both gained new members, and more importantly several crews are going to be attending their first National Championships in Paignton in August.

Excellent stuff all round.

For more information on future Fireball training events go to www.fireball-dinghy.org.uk or contact the Fleet Training Officer Rachel Keeling on 020 7831 8068

Top gear

For those interested in the gear used by the top 10 boats at the Fireball Worlds in Kenya this year...The new development for this year was the introduction of laminate sail cloth for the first time. There were three boat builders, two mast manufacturers and four sailmakers represented in the top 10.

Pos	Helm	Kg	Crew	Kg	Hull	Mast	Jib	Main	Kite
1	Chips Howarth	68	Vyv Townend	81	Winder	Proctor, Cumulus	P&B, Dacron	P&B, Kevlar	P&B
2	Dave Wade	68	Richard Wagstaff	85	Winder	Proctor, Cumulus	P&B, Dacron	P&B, Kevlar	P&B
3	Vincent Horey	67	Jim Turner	98	Winder	Proctor, Cumulus	P&B, Dacron	P&B, Kevlar	P&B
4	Paul Cullen	70	Gavin Tillson	87	Winder	Proctor, Cumulus	Alverbank, Dacron	Alverbank, Kevlar	Alverbank
5	Franck Juin	68	Bertrand Loyal	95	Home Built	Proctor, Stratos	Speed, Dacron	Speed, Kevlar	Speed
6	Frederic Mouches	75	Jean-Francois Nouel	82	Duvoisin	Proctor, Cumulus	North, Kevlar	North, Kevlar	P&B
7	Angus Hemmings	75	Steve Chesney	80	Winder	Super Spar, M7	North, Kevlar	North, Kevlar	North
8	Kurt Venhoda	72	Sonja Zaugg	62	Duvoisin	Super Spar, M7	P&B, Dacron	P&B, Dacron	P&B