Fireballs in ascent

UK Class Chairman Phil Popple provides a state of the nation on the classic blunt bower...

Following some difficult times, under strong competition from the new classes, the Fireball Class is undergoing somewhat of a resurgence.

New boat sales are soaring with Winder Boats, the main builder in the UK, finding it difficult to keep apace with demand, new club fleets are being established and open and Nationals turnouts are in the ascendancy. However, this growth is not just restricted to the UK.

In the same week that 68 Fireballs were contesting the UK Nationals (more than both the Laser 4000 and RS800 classes), 72 boats were competing at the combined Swiss and Italian Nationals and the preceding week 58 boats had contested the French Nationals.

Of course, things have not always been so rosy. The early and mid-90s saw the introduction of a plethora of new classes such as the ISO, Laser 4000 and 5000 and more recently the RS800, all directly competing with the Fireball in the high performance dinghy market. In some ways, however, rather than being the death knell for the Class, this was to be the catalyst for its re-invention.

Spearheaded by the UK builders, the Class undertook a thorough review of its rules, the objective being to reduce costs but without sacrificing performance or grandfathering existing boats. The results were changes to the internal layout which facilitated the production of a one piece deck moulding, cutting the cost of a new boat by some 25%.

Seven years on, the Class is almost one-design, with a fairly standard hull shape produced by builders around the world and the low maintenance advantages of an all glass boat.

Above the hull, the flexibility of the rig means that even without a weight equalisation system, there is still a level playing field across the sexes and weight ranges. The success of this can be seen from the fact that despite a windy nationals there were three women in the top ten and the winning crew conceded nearly 10 kilos to many of the other top placed boats.

Pos	Helm/Crew	Weight (Kg)	Hull/Year	Mast	Sails
1 st	Chips Howarth	65	Winder	Proctor Cumulus	Pinnell & Bax
	Vyv Townend	81	1999
2 nd	Dave Wade	68	Winder	Proctor Cumulus	Pinnell & Bax
	Richard Wagstaff	87	2001
3 rd	Vince Horey	68	Winder	Proctor Cumulus	Pinnell & Bax
	Jon Mildred	87	2001
4 th	Richard Estaugh	73	Duvoison	Superspar M7+	Speed
	Simon Potts	79	2002
5 th	Andy Smith	73	Winder	Proctor	Pinnell & Bax
	James Meldrum	90	2002	Cumulus
6 th	Kevin Hope	72	Winder	Proctor Cumulus	Rush
	Rob Gardner	85	2001
7 th	Derian Chandler	59	Winder	Proctor Stratos	Pinnell & Bax
	Olly Goldsmith	89	1996
8 th	Penny Gibbs	60	Winder	Proctor Cumulus	Pinnell & Bax
	Ian Gibbs	78	2002
9 th	Jenny McLeod	61	Winder	Superspar M7+	Pinnell & Bax
	Nick Thompson	95	2000
10 th	Paul Cullen	65	Winder	Proctor Cumulus	Alverbank
	Gavin Tillson	95	2001

One of the main attractions of the Class has always been that it provides good racing from handicap racing on the local pond to international sailing at European and World Championships.

At the club level, a 40 year pedigree means there are plenty of second hand boats around to suit all levels and budgets and a good handicap figure means good handicap racing and indeed Fireballs often dominate the major winter handicap events. Internationally, racing is available on a truly global scale.

There are Fireball Associations in more than 20 countries around the World and the international body, Fireball International, organises a World Championship every year. In the last ten years, championships have been hosted in such locations as South Africa, Thailand, Florida, Canada and Italy.

The UK Association organises container transport and potentially any Association member can attend these events. The 2003 competition is being held in Kenya in February and the 2004 in January in Australia. There is currently a bid being put together to bring the Worlds to the UK in 2005.



So where to next?

The Class’s ethos is to embrace new developments but with due consideration to cost and the competitiveness of existing boats. This controlled progression means that the Class can continue to offer a modern boat that is affordable to the mainstream sailor. 2003 sees the introduction of laminate sailcloths (mylar/kevlar etc). This change gives the boat a more up to date look but with the price of these cloths falling and the increased longevity of the sails they should also be cheaper in the long run.

On whether these cloths actually provide any performance advantages over polyester yarns the jury is still out and the picture will be clearer after the Worlds in February. The next large debate will probably be over the use of carbon spars. In the UK these are rapidly becoming more affordable, but the costs do vary significantly from country to country and therefore it is bound to provide some lively discussion around the World.

Changes are not restricted to technical development. The Class has always tried to make things inclusive. Nationals fleets have been spilt into Gold, Silver and Bronze for over ten years which gives those racing at all levels something to compete for. For 2003, the hope is to extend this fleet split to the major open meetings and the Class Association is also looking at defining a 'Classic Fireball' to provide better competition for those with older boats.

2002 was the Fireball’s 40th year. Indications are that the Class is going to be around for many more years to come.

For further details contact the Class secretary Bob Southworth:

10 Fry Close
Hamble
Southampton
S031 4PF
Tel: 023 80456977

Or alternatively look at the Class website.