Thank heaven for the sea breeze

News from day five of the Fireball Nationals

Yet again an absence of wind greeted the competitors when they arrived at the boat park, but a sea breeze soon started to build. All looked to be in vain as the boats were held on shore as the sea breeze started to fail. After a short delay the fleet put to sea and headed for the race area.

Eventually the wind settled out on the course and the race officer was able to set a line for the start. First start was under flag “Z” – a 20% penalty for anyone over the line. A general recall was sounded but who had been caught over the line? Second start was under a black flag and this time the fleet were a little more line-shy.

At the windward mark it was Simon Payne and Vyv Townend in the lead, followed by Paul Cullen and Gavin Tillson in second. Third was Vince Horey and Jon Milldred closely followed by the husband and wife pairing of Penny and Ian Gibbs.

The places remained the same until the second beat when the majority of the fleet went left up the beat. It was another husband and wife pairing of Malcolm and Fiona Davies who went out the right and gained third spot by the windward mark.

Down the run the top boats all went down the middle, but Shane MacCarthy and Andy Thompson went hard right and took nine boats.

In the dying wind the race officer shortened the course at the end of the run. At the finish it was Simon Payne and Vyv Townend, who crossed first, followed by Paul Cullen and Gavin Tillson in second and the newly weds of Malcolm and Fiona Davies in third.

For Simon and Vyv though it was a short lived success as they discovered on shore they were one of the victims of the 20% rule from the first start. Their response was unprintable!

At this point, the race officer decided the wind had now all but gone for the day and abandoned any further racing.

Tonight it’s Pimms night, thanks to the United Kingdom Fireball Association and The Wychwood Brewery. There may be sore heads in the morning.

Results

Pos	Boat	Cat	Helm	Crew	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Tot
1	Fred		Shane MacCarthy	Andy Thompson	15	1	4	3	6	14
2		M	Kevin Hope	*Rob Gardner	3	15	2	7	7	19
3	All Balls and No Fire	M	Grahame Newton	Mark Stevens	4	2	15	1	17	22
4	Spanman		Paul Cullen	Gavin Tillson	9	7	12	5	2	23
5	Gull		Andy Smith	James Meldrum	12	4	6	4	11	25
6	Whistling Gorilla		Dave Wade	Richard Wagstaff	1	5	10	18	12	28
7	Fat Harry White	M	Vince Horey	Jon Mildred	2	8	9	10	19	29
8	Debbie Does Dallas		Simon Payne	Vyv Townend	10	9	1	13	15	33
9	Lucille		Angus Hemmings	Steve Chesney	20	6	3	6	30	35
10	Flaming Galah		*Clive Goodwin	*Chris Webber	6	10	11	9	16	36
11	Leverage & Cleavage	L	Derian Chandler	+Olly Goldsmith	14	3	8	12	19	37
12	Reginald	l.	Malcolm Davies	+Fiona Davies	13	14	13	8	3	37
13	Flying Pigs	L	Penny Gibbs	Ian Gibbs	18	12	7	21	8	45
14	Destinee'sChild		Philip Popple	Doug Shore	17	27	14	2	13	46
15		Yy	Matt Summers	Ben Summers	11	11	23	17	10	49
16	Screwball	Mm	Andy Foskett	Howard Jones	8	21	18	24	4	51
17		y.	Andy Pearce	Adam Broughton	19	13	16	23	9	57
18		lx	Russ Cormack	*Ali McLeod	25	23	5	16	14	58
19	Poppet	Mmlv	Andy Bines	Dawn Jasper	5	20	25	27	23	73
20	Supi-chischtli	lM	*Kurt Venhoda	*Sonja Zaugg	27	16	20	14	73	77
21	Jambo		Alex Bale	Jon Bale	21	29	19	19	22	81
22	Blew Genes	M	Martin Scarth	Nic Collins	34	18	26	15	40	93
23	Albert	lMmx	Nigel Williams	+Jackie Gater	29	22	17	28	37	96
24		Lx	Elaine Tudor	+Warren Tudor	23	32	22	22	32	99
25			Noel Butler	Andy Price	7	25	73	33	41	106
26	vlad The Impaler	xv	Alan Swinney	+ Steve Howle	24	47	73	11	24	106
27	White Ferret II	M	Tony Proctor	* Ben Proctor	16	37	31	35	25	107
28		L	Jenny Thompson	+Nick Thompson	30	73	24	36	18	108
29		yMxV	Terry Forbes	Simon Forbes	28	24	28	30	28	108
30	Puppie Power	LxV	Ali Ford	Tom Trueman	50	19	34	32	29	114
31		mx	Ian Priest	Tom Lambourne	42	17	27	43	29	115
32	Jumping Jack Flash	Mlx	Alan Goule	*Katina Read	31	34	33	31	20	115
33	Mustang Sally	yMx	Rhys Lankester	+Chris Bishop	39	38	21	20	38	117
34	Which Way Is Up	Mlx	Andy Willcocks	+Andrea Willcocks	33	35	30	34	35	132
35	Riverdance	MmLx	Elaine Slater	+Graham Slater	48	28	32	25	49	133
36	No Fear	LxV	Samantha Bunn	Martin Bunn	26	41	39	37	42	143
37		Ym	*Will Lyon	Nigel Summers	22	40	43	40	61	145
38	Dry White	Lv	Becky Priest	Tim Saunders	36	48	37	26	53	147
39	Ultra Violet	yMlx	Peter Mason	Jo Washington	37	33	35	58	44	149
40	Geniarse	X	Alex Shaw	Andy Scott	43	30	45	42	57	160
41	Got the Sheets	Mmx	Eugene Jordan	Bob Morris	73	26	73	29	33	161
42	Silly Scow	M	Peter Colebank	Gary Colebank	35	42	73	48	36	161
43	Bimbo	Lx	Sandra Davis	+Mike Davis	40	49	56	49	26	164
44	Blue	yLx	Jo Line	Jack Line	54	52	42	39	31	164
45		Mmlx	Barrie Winship	Rosemary Winship	41	43	40	50	43	167
46	African Queen	L	Keryn Henwood-Fox	Gary Henwood-Fox	53	50	38	47	34	169
47		Mmlx	Nick McLeod	+Kate McLeod	55	31	36	54	62	176
48	Twin Peaks	I	Tim Cross	Rachel Keeling	38	53	44	41	72	176
49	LipStick		Euan Sellar	*Mike Murphy	73	39	29	38	73	179
50	Cheek to Cheek	Mmlx	Mike Goldby	Kim Goldby	44	51	46	44	49	183
51	Red Pepper	lVvs	Nick Cameron	*Cara Cameron	52	46	50	62	39	187
52	Eileen of Dunlaogh	MVv	Francis Cassidy	John White	32	55	47	55	73	189
53	Snugglepot	mxVvs	Chris Warren	Nigel Warren	63	57	41	51	41	190
54	Nutty Tart	Mmls	Steve Popple	Suzi Capey	45	45	48	52	73	190
55	Crocodile Jd	Mx	Keith Dolman	Terry Dolman	73	36	73	45	45	199
56	Cracker	Ml	Peter Hitchcock	Samantha Duncan	62	73	49	46	46	203
57	The Great White	MxvL	Terri Sharman	Chris Panting	51	73	53	57	56	217
58	Izitso	Mlxvs	Matt Butler	Marisa Foster	57	44	57	61	62	219
59	Cheezie Dipper	MmLx	Helen Salisbury	Mike Shreeve	49	54	73	73	50	226
60	Justafiaball	Mmx	Peter Muggleton	+Nigel Posnett	47	61	59	63	60	227
61	Apocalypse Now	mxVvsM	Tim Morgan	*Mike Ludgreve	46	73	54	60	68	228
62	The Phoenix	lyxs	Jeremy Hurst	*Debra Gibson	65	56	52	59	61	228
63	D:ream	Lx	Wendy Wood	Caroline Still	58	59	61	56	59	232
64	Horny Devil	lx	David/Karen Festing	+Karen Festing	59	62	63	66	51	235
65	Jessica	xs	Jonathan Cowper	Paul Jefferies	66	73	51	64	55	236
66	Katie-loo	MlxVvs	Ian Elkington	+Nicky Elkington	60	60	64	65	52	236
67	Just For Fun	LVs	Paula Symons	Russell Hayes	64	73	55	53	64	236
68	White Elephant	YyxVv	Anthony King	*Benjamin Kay	61	58	60	67	63	242
69		MmVvs	Simon Ford	John Rowell	67	64	58	68	66	255
70	The Green Genie	Mxsy	Steve Greenhalgh	*Tom Greenhalgh	68	65	62	69	67	262
71	Dipper	MlxVvs	Brian Cudmore	+Imelda Cudmore	73	63	73	73	65	274
72		Mx	Mel Hourigan	+Kyle Hourigan	56	73	73	73	73	275