Five between them

Records broken as Howarth and Townend win Holt Fireball Worlds

Chips Howarth and Vyv Townend have won the Holt Fireball Worlds with an impressive 1,(17),3,5,3,7 scoreline in the 176 boat fleet.

This is Howarth’s second World title in the Fireball, having won with Townend in Kenya in 2003. For crew Townend this is his third Fireball World Championship win and this now stands as a new record in the class.

Mid week the Championship suffered from light gradient breezes and weak seabreezes and as a result there was no racing on the Tuesday. Wednesday was a scheduled layday and on Thursday it was not until 6.30pm that the fleet started another race.

This decision to send the fleet out so late in the day was a brave one says Howarth but pivotal in creating a credible Championship. The race was sailed in pre-frontal conditions of 16-18 knots of breeze off the shore. A fifth in this race meant that Howarth and Townend moved to within a couple of points of regatta leader Andy Smith and Jonny Mildred with one more day of racing to go.

Two final races were sailed on Friday - with the fleet getting out early to a planned start time of 10am. In this race Howarth and Townend put in a third place with Smith and Mildred scoring in the twenties.

The final race was one of cat and mouse with the two top boats. Howarth and Townend elected to start in the middle of the line in an uncompromising attempt to control the race.

“We had a good transit and choose to use the sag in the middle of the line,” said Howarth of their last start. “With 20 seconds to go we sheeted in and went for the start and we must have had four boat lengths on everyone around us when the gun went - and I think even then we were a couple of boat lengths back from the line.”

The pair reached the top mark in seventh with Smith and Mildred a few places further back; it was then a case of covering their competitor to the finish.

While elated with the result Howarth was exhausted with the days sailing: “It was *&^%ing hard! It was quite windy and very shifty and was a hard regatta to win today. It was tough all the way to the finish.”

Sailing in a fleet of 176 boats has been the challenge for all the sailors present but one that Howarth thinks they mastered following last week’s European Championship where they finished a distant second to David Edwards and Dan Newman.

“It’s a very different technique of sailing in such a big fleet and only something that clicked with me at the end of last week,” said Howarth. “It was really a case of minimising the leverage the pack have on you, almost ignoring the shifts in favour of where the fleet was in relation to you. I think we could perhaps have won a couple of races, but to do so would have left us too exposed to the leading group.”

The prize giving is underway tonight and this brings to a conclusion two weeks of Fireball sailing on the Devon coast. The World Championships for 2006 are in Canada.

		Helm	Fleet	Crew	Pts	Race 1	Race 2	Race 3	Race 4	Race 5	Race 6
1	GBR	Chips Howarth	G	Vyv Townend	19	1	17	3	5	3	7
2	GBR	Andy Smith	G	Jonny Mildred	32	13	1	7	1	23	10
3	GBR	Guy Tipton	G	Chriss Tattersall	34	6	19	2	59	5	2
4	GBR	Richard Estaugh	G	Rob Gardner	38	24	4	18	7	4	5
5	GBR	David Edwards	G	Dan Newman	42	25	2	4	18	17	1
6	CZE	Tomas Musil	G	Jan Stantejsky	45	3	3	11	25	42	3
7	GBR	Shane MacCarthy	G	Andy Thompson	47	5	15	26	4	12	11
8	GBR	David Wade	G	Richard Wagstaff	48	32	5	14	19	2	8
9	GBR	Paul Cullen	G	Jonathon Ching	54	12	88	25	2	11	4
10	GBR	Malcolm Davies	G	Ian Cadwallader	68	4	52	23	26	1	14
11	GBR	Vince Horey	G	Gavin Tillson	68	11	16	17	9	26	15
12	GBR	Angus Hemmings	G	Steve Chesney	69	20	14	12	21	14	9
13	GBR	Sam Mettam	G	Richard Anderton	75	2	26	31	10	6	35
14	FRA	Ludovic Alleaume	G	Etienne Perdon	84	26	11	13	27	7	33
15	CZE	Martin Kubovy	G	Roman Rocek	85	21	28	15	RAF177	15	6
16	SUI	Frédéric Duvoisin	G	Laurent Grob	87	33	6	32	8	9	32
17	GBR	Steve Goacher	G	Tim Edlund	87	22	9	37	15	22	19
18	GBR	Penny Gibbs	G	Ian Gibbs	95	42	7	35	3	8	49
19	GBR	Kevin Hope	G	Russell Thorne	98	7	57	44	6	13	28
20	GBR	John Curzon	G	Pete Elver	105	8	55	28	14	30	25
21	GBR	Donald Smith	G	Matthew Richardson	112	14	12	70	12	52	22
22	GBR	Andy Pearce	G	Adam Broughton	127	16	18	6	38	49	55
23	GBR	Chris Gill	G	Jonathan Bale	130	10	32	42	28	18	42
24	GBR	Veronica Falat	G	Ben Falat	133	31	24	48	30	21	27
25	IRE	Noel Butler	G	Hugh Butler	135	47	75	16	13	19	40
26	GBR	Becky Priest	G	Tim Saunders	136	35	25	43	16	34	26
27	SHE	Brydon Leask	G	Ewan Stirling	141	19	8	30	62	40	44
28	AUS	John Heywood	G	Brett Littledike	144	28	27	36	35	20	34
29	GBR	Phil Popple	G	Andy Scott	154	72	48	41	17	24	24
30	FRA	Tim Rush	G	Fred Sotteau	155	52	46	1	20	75	36
31	AUS	Robin Inns	G	Phillip Bowley	156	15	53	57	29	28	31
32	GBR	Mark Jarred	S	Nick Collins	156	18	51	67	39	25	23
33	CZE	Petr Koran	G	Pavel Winkler	163	44	10	55	36	61	18
34	GBR	Martin Cooney	G	David Cooney	166	29	35	10	51	54	41
35	GBR	Adam Whitehouse	G	Mike Woodward	166	37	30	DSQ177	55	32	12
36	GBR	Euan Sellar	G	Matt Summers	167	53	65	50	11	16	37
37	RSA	Justin Clark	G	David Wertheim Aymes	175	40	RAF177	5	58	51	21
38	FRA	Franck Juin	G	Pierre Perdon	175	9	13	83	31	44	78
39	FRA	Frederic Mouches	G	Jean-Francois Nouel	175	BFD177	31	73	32	10	29
40	GBR	Simon Maskell	G	Jon Watkins	175	17	49	93	48	31	30
41	GBR	Derian Chandler	G	Olly Goldsmith	179	23	42	52	24	38	69
42	GBR	Keith Escritt	G	John Wade	193	BFD177	67	22	64	27	13
43	GBR	Alex Piggott	G	John Rowell	195	46	29	34	43	43	63
44	SUI	Kurt Venhoda	G	Sonja Zaugg	204	27	23	29	63	63	62
45	GBR	Mike Deane	S	Paul Disney	207	30	63	65	49	48	17
46	GBR	Tristan Jacques	G	Keith Bundy	210	45	56	9	33	71	67
47	SHE	Roger Tait	G	Bob Yeamans	230	50	86	38	47	41	54
48	GBR	Gary Russam	G	Andy Beston	231	49	58	49	37	57	39
49	BEL	Kristof Woutters	G	Deca Jan	233	36	38	72	45	68	46
50	GBR	Mark Maskell	G	Vic Gomes	237	54	47	40	66	53	43
51	SHE	Scott Nicolson	G	Roger Goudie	246	63	20	79	65	50	48
52	SUI	Adrian Huber	G	Brigitte Mauchle	247	BFD177	39	27	56	72	53
53	GBR	Pete Badham	G	John Rohde	251	55	22	64	71	39	DSQ177
54	SLO	Marko Kocjancie	G	Klara Maucec	253	90	40	24	42	83	64
55	FRA	Pascal Anselmo	S	Jean Robillard	257	73	21	149	60	37	66
56	GBR	Andy Willcocks	G	Andrea Willcocks	259	38	34	78	50	66	71
57	GBR	Ben Baxter	S	Alyson Bowring	259	34	41	47	110	86	51
58	GBR	Martin Scarth	G	Nigel Sheppard	265	BFD177	71	69	44	29	52
59	AUS	Ben Schulz	G	Doug Shore	267	60	69	68	23	47	RET177
60	GBR	Andy Foskett	G	Howard Jones	267	DSQ177	37	54	80	58	38
61	CZE	Petr Sklenar	G	Petr Janacek	270	RAF177	RAF177	19	22	36	16
62	CAN	Joe Jospe	G	Thomas Egli	272	84	59	66	53	35	59
63	FRA	Jenny Green	S	Malcolm Green	276	65	60	21	83	90	47
64	GBR	Tom Foskett	S	Tim Needham	290	RET177	33	60	46	78	73
65	GBR	Edwin Sadd	G	Steve Kuhl	292	39	73	92	54	81	45
66	GBR	Elaine Tudor	G	Warren Tudor	292	74	43	53	72	123	50
67	GBR	Keryn Henwood-Fox	S	Gary Henwood-Fox	305	67	84	114	52	45	57
68	GBR	Russ Cormack	G	Ali McLeod	311	57	36	8	RET177	33	DSQ177
69	CAN	Jamie Cox	S	Simon Pearson	315	48	80	103	57	55	75
70	GBR	Ian Priest	S	Mike Stoddart	320	51	74	46	81	103	68
71	GBR	Jenny Thompson	G	Nick Thompson	322	41	44	20	40	RET177	DNC177
72	GBR	Elspeth George	S	Alan Fraser	327	59	54	61	70	85	83
73	GBR	D.J.Pannell	S	Drostan O'Reilly	335	62	72	87	76	65	60
74	IRL	Will Moody	G	Milan Kolacech	338	RET177	62	33	RET177	46	20
75	GBR	Rhys Lankester	S	Chris Bishop	370	56	85	101	68	60	140
76	FRA	Martin Péculier	G	Thomas Le Seac'h	378	DSQ177	DNC177	39	34	70	58
77	IRL	Alastair Court	S	John Dunne	378	79	102	88	74	56	81
78	GBR	Colin Ladd	S	Mark Hudson	382	64	93	62	86	77	106
79	GBR	Mike Rayner	G	Ben Rayner	388	93	77	56	78	117	84
80	IRL	Mick Creighton	S	Ed Butler	389	61	94	74	90	96	70
81	IRL	Frank Miller	S	Ismail Inan	391	66	79	98	108	69	79
82	GBR	Damian Abbatt	B	Stephen Digby	394	94	45	97	128	82	76
83	GBR	Debi Gibson	S	Simon Forbes	401	RDG77.5	RDG77.5	71	84	94	91
84	GBR	Jeremy White	G	Ed Ayres	408	77	50	90	132	59	RET177
85	GBR	Alison Goodall	B	Rosco Hayes	409	43	76	128	69	122	99
86	IRL	Cally Donaghy	S	Sarah Donaghy	409	68	89	58	121	101	93
87	GBR	Jo Line	S	Alex Shaw	414	114	90	99	67	64	94
88	GBR	Johnny Limebear	B	Abi Morgan	417	83	66	156	82	100	86
89	CAN	Mark Atkins	G	Robert Thompson	419	70	106	76	41	126	DNC177
90	GBR	Jonathan Carter	B	Gary Hodkinson	419	124	121	95	75	67	61
91	IRL	Louis Smyth	G	Joe O'Reilly	420	76	BFD177	94	77	108	65
92	GBR	Daniel Hare	S	Jamie Hare	422	81	68	104	85	84	104
93	GBR	Andy Bines	G	Dawn Jasper	426	BFD177	82	81	61	95	107
94	GBR	David Rush	B	Wayne Southall	426	111	64	86	120	91	74
95	GBR	Alan Davis	S	Mike Davis	429	105	61	127	88	119	56
96	GBR	Graham Wilson	B	Steve White	431	100	81	80	98	92	80
97	GBR	Mike Whitehouse	S	Karen Whitehouse	439	69	103	96	91	80	129
98	GBR	Chris Panting	S	Andy Marsh	439	71	87	115	133	76	90
99	SLO	Miran Gustin	S	Domen Kansky	444	85	108	118	104	62	85
100	GBR	Dave Mason	G	Wendy Wood	444	138	130	63	106	73	72
101	SUI	Richard Scheller	S	Gery Sauer	459	91	109	100	94	87	87
102	FRA	Alain Botrel	S	Carolyn Jenkins	467	96	83	139	100	106	82
103	ITA	Giorgio Leone	S	Luca Campati	476	103	DSQ177	51	122	98	102
104	GBR	Anthony Procter	G	Alan Goule	478	99	98	45	RAF177	113	123
105	GBR	John Lang	S	Malcolm Clack	478	125	96	89	95	93	105
106	GBR	Elaine Slater	S	Graham Slater	484	92	RET177	106	111	74	101
107	IRL	Jonathan Evans	S	Aidian Caulfield	484	89	78	126	102	112	103
108	GBR	Rob Watson	B	S J Kelsall	498	107	91	102	118	110	88
109	IRL	Seamus Moore	S	Andrew Boyle	502	88	97	121	89	116	112
110	GBR	Peter Mason	S	Amanda De Montjoie	509	109	92	120	99	99	110
111	GBR	Paul Leavers	G	Kerrie Forster	518	75	RET177	91	DNC177	79	96
112	GBR	Helen Salisbury	S	Mike Shreeve	520	97	107	155	107	109	100
113	GBR	Samantha Bunn	S	Jane Stanley	522	110	129	75	119	107	111
114	FRA	Denis Lucet	S	Francoise Lucet	522	119	99	82	130	133	92
115	GBR	Melanie Parsonage	B	Mike Ford	538	115	123	122	101	130	77
116	KEN	Graham Bush	S	Charles Bush	542	134	104	119	115	88	116
117	GBR	Tim Cross	S	Rachel Keeling	542	112	117	110	92	111	RET177
118	GBR	Iain Christie	B	Adam Smith	554	130	100	144	97	102	125
119	GBR	Nick Cameron	B	Cara Cameron	556	121	119	112	96	127	108
120	GBR	Jeremy Hurst	B	Abigail Hurst	558	120	DNC177	109	127	104	98
121	GBR	Mark Dinwoodie	B	Helen Dinwoodie	563	98	120	116	129	115	114
122	GBR	Nick Hurst	B	Caroline Still	564	80	DNC177	137	131	121	95
123	GBR	Helen Carroll	S	Simon Lomas-Clarke	564	87	128	130	114	118	117
124	FRA	Jean-Yves Renon	S	Lechene	574	101	DNC177	RET177	79	97	120
125	SUI	Maja Suter	S	François Schluchter	576	118	124	123	151	114	97
126	GBR	Bob Morris	S	Paul Butler	586	102	111	136	117	129	127
127	GBR	Colin Snowdon	B	Paul Melhuish	589	104	118	124	123	120	126
128	GBR	Eugene Jordan	S	Mary Jordan	592	135	101	84	137	135	RET177
129	AUS	Andrew Crossley	B	Peter Crossley	595	86	95	132	105	RET177	DNC177
130	GBR	Robert Fisk-Moore	B	Mel Wolsey	595	116	125	117	116	138	121
131	GBR	Paula Symons	S	Simon Roberts	599	113	105	142	147	124	115
132	FRA	Philippe Barbier	S	Thibault Barbier	601	129	126	107	126	137	113
133	SHE	John Manson	B	Ivan Fraser	604	108	133	145	103	136	124
134	GBR	Terry Forbes	B	Dee Flemming	604	123	RET177	133	124	105	119
135	GBR	Peter Gifford	B	David Nash	619	106	114	134	136	134	131
136	GBR	Richard Mansfield	S	Graham Sandison	631	82	70	125	DNC177	DNC177	DNC177
137	GBR	Ray Newman	B	Charlie Higgins	633	95	116	111	134	DNC177	DNC177
138	GBR	Tim Morgan	B	Morag Aiken	641	137	132	165	109	128	135
139	GBR	Jonny Mcgovern	G	Adam Bowers	648	RDG117.5	RDG117.5	59	DNC177	DNC177	DNC177
140	GBR	Jonathan Cowper	B	Lucy Lingard	648	117	122	164	113	153	143
141	IRL	Brian Nolan	S	Tim Leonard	649	RET177	DNC177	113	138	132	89
142	GBR	Ian Johnson	B	Maria Richards	653	DNC177	DNC177	138	140	89	109
143	IRL	Louise McKenna	S	Mark Dunne	662	126	112	135	112	RET177	DNC177
144	GBR	John Hobson	B	Mick Smith	662	122	127	140	139	149	134
145	GBR	Michael Sutcliffe	B	Martin Cox	666	133	113	152	145	142	133
146	GER	Anna Troetschler	S	Christoph Troetschler	668	BFD177	DNC177	105	143	125	118
147	GBR	Don White	G	Bill Chard	681	DNC177	DNC177	77	73	DNC177	DNC177
148	GBR	Barbara Newson	B	Guy Newson	688	128	131	172	154	143	132
149	GBR	Pete Cianchi	B	Anne Cianchi	697	139	137	158	149	150	122
150	GBR	Jonathan Cooper	B	Cheryl Jessop	699	131	115	141	135	DNC177	DNC177
151	GBR	David Festing	B	Karen Festing	701	127	110	146	141	RET177	DNC177
152	GBR	Barrie Winship	S	Rose Winship	703	DNC177	DNC177	85	87	DNC177	DNC177
153	GBR	Steve Greenhalgh	B	James Terry	707	142	RDG147	143	156	147	128
154	GBR	Roger Etherington	B	James Robertson	710	132	DNC177	131	93	DNC177	DNC177
155	GBR	Tim Cox	B	Kingsley Cox	722	DNC177	134	160	142	145	141
156	SHE	Darren Forrest	B	Graham Forrest	723	136	138	157	157	144	148
157	GBR	Lyndon Bird	B	Jason Milner	729	143	DNC177	162	148	139	137
158	IRL	Derval O Carroll	B	Siobhan Hayes	732	146	139	150	160	152	145
159	GBR	Stephen Duncan	S	Samantha Duncan	738	RET177	DNC177	RDG150	150	131	130
160	IRL	Alan Murnane	B	Paul Flannery	741	145	136	166	158	155	147
161	GBR	Simon Ford	B	Russell Clay	746	140	135	163	152	156	DNC177
162	GBR	Neal Gibson	B	David Graham	751	RET177	DNC177	147	144	141	142
163	GBR	Dave Bevan	B	Sarah Stirman	767	RET177	DNC177	161	153	140	136
164	GBR	Ian Elkington	B	Nicky Elkington	777	DNC177	DNC177	168	146	148	138
165	GBR	Peter Muggleton	B	Nigel Bennett	782	141	DNC177	159	159	146	DNC177
166	GBR	Richard White	B	Matthew White	799	DNC177	DNC177	167	155	154	146
167	GBR	Tony King	B	Chaz Gay	800	DNC177	DNC177	151	DNC177	151	144
168	GBR	Iain Dennison	B	Riaan Van Schoor	804	DNC177	DNC177	148	125	DNC177	DNC177
169	GBR	Hayley Smith	B	Mark Burton	814	DNC177	DNC177	170	161	157	149
170	GBR	Christine Slater	B	Nigel Williams	816	DNC177	DNC177	108	RET177	DNC177	DNC177
171	GBR	Peter Slack	B	Paul Broxham	824	DNC177	DNC177	154	DNC177	DNC177	139
172	GBR	Neil Burden	B	Suzy Capey	828	144	RET177	153	DNC177	DNC177	DNC177
173	GBR	Nick McLeod	S	Kate McLeod	837	DNC177	DNC177	129	RET177	DNC177	DNC177
174	GBR	Sue Smith	B	Ian Smith	877	RET177	DNC177	169	RET177	DNC177	DNC177
175	GBR	Ana Ladd	B	James Whitaker	879	RET177	DNC177	171	RET177	DNC177	DNC177
176	GBR	Matt Butler	S	Marisa Foster	885	DNC177	DNC177	DNC177	DNC177	DNC177	DNC177