Not on course for 1,000 points

TheDailySail speaks to two young crews who are performing well at the Holt Fireball Worlds

One of the features of the Holt Fireball Worlds currently under way in Teignmouth, Devon, is that the fleet of 176 boats is split into three - bronze, silver and gold divisions - on paper, from the off. Each national Fireball association has seeded each entrant based on their experience and performance and so within the overall Championship there are plenty of other battles going too.

Two young crews are the ones taking up the charge in the silver and bronze fleets, giving some of their older and perhaps wiser competitors a run for their money.

Performing well at last week’s Nationals, and currently in the top ten of silver fleet are 17 year old Tim Needham and 18 year old Tom Foskett. The pair have been sailing together in the Fireball for 18 months and previous to that sailed 405s and 29ers before switching to the conventional rigged Fireball.

“It’s just as fast and it’s really competitive,” says Foskett when comparing his current sailing to that of the 29er. “It’s a lot friendlier and much more tactical.”

A broken outhaul on the first race means the pair are carrying a RTD on their scorecard currently, but Needham is optimistic about the weeks prospects: “We get a discard after six races, so we currently lying sixth or seventh in the silver fleet, but when we get a discard we should shoot right up.”

Leading the bronze fleet are 14 year old twins Jamie and Daniel Hare. The brothers have moved on from 420 sailing and are enjoying the competition in the Fireball. “We enjoy the big championship; there are a lot of people to race against,” says Jamie Hare. As a lighter crew they are also finding the Fireball is letting them compete in the breeze he says: “You can de-power the boat really well, so even in the windier races you can keep up with the heavier guys.”

With plenty of prizes going round, these two young crews will be looking to win their respective fleets.

As things currently stand they will not be in the running for one of the rarer championship prizes on offer. A bottle of champagne awaits the first boat to notch up 1,000 points. Six deep races in the 160 plus bracket will be enough to get you in the frame, although it would be disappointing to miss out on such an award because your discard lifts you into the 900 point group!