International Fireball World Championship : Brits and Aussies battle it out on ...
Hosted by Mandurah Offshore Fishing & Sailing Club the Fireball class enjoys its 50th anniversary this year and 65 boats from 7 countries took to the waters of Comet Bay in Mandurah, Western Australia for the opening day of the 2012 International Fireball Worlds. Two races were held under partly cloudy skies but ideal 10 – 16 knot breezes, building later in the afternoon with gusts to 18 knots. Race 1 begun on time at 1300 hrs local with a clean start in around 12 knots from the S/SE. Tom Gillard and Sam Brearey (GBR) led round the windward mark ahead of two Adelaide boats, Greg Allison and Richard Watson.(AUS) and new Australian National Champions, John Heywood and Brett Littledike. The Brits managed to hold off the challenge of the chasing Australians flying down the tight reaches but the battle for second and third remained all the way to the final reach to the turning mark for the finish. Another clean start saw John Heywood and Brett Littledike leading the chasing Adelaide gaggle of Greg Allison and Richard Watson, and fellow club members, Nathan Stockley and Dave Kemp. The Australian champions gained on every leg showing superior boat speed to open up at least a 200m lead by the last wing mark. The chase for second however was all on for the two Aussie boats, neck and neck all the way down the final reach. John Heywood and Brett Littledike showed a clean pair of heals scoring their first bullet of the 2012 Worlds and on the final hitch to the finish, Greg Allison and Richard Watson prevailed from club chums, Robert Inns and Joel Coultas. The British pair of Tom Gillard and Sam Brearey climbed to fourth to finish day one with a three point lead in the championship. Heywood/Littledike and Inns/Coultas share 8pts with Britain’s Dave Wade and Tim Saxton on 9pts. British and Australian boats make up the top 9 places overall, Martin Korbovy and Pavel Winkler from the Czech Republic lie in 10th. Meanwhile the new International Fireball Week champions, Chips Howarth and Vyv Townend of Great Britain had a mediocre start to their Worlds, (by their standards!) scoring a sixth and ninth to sit in 8th place overall.Windward Boats Inc - News
It will be a very tactical race on the nose as the fleet battle to windward in a tacking duel between the current and the headlands. In one of the most competitive fleets assembled in years there will be keen eyes watching both Line Honours and
Tom Gillard and Sam Brearey (GBR) led round the windward mark ahead of two Adelaide boats, Greg Allison and Richard Watson.(AUS) and new Australian National Champions, John Heywood and Brett Littledike. The Brits managed to hold off the challenge of
For a Rule 14 situation to come into play Camper would have to show that she had good reason to believe, or sometimes even an apprehension, that the windward boat was not keeping clear. As a defence the windward yacht would have to show that she was
In the history of ocean racing there have been signature boats, designs and events that have reverberated through the sport. Think of Windward Passage II, the first carbon fibre maxi that in one season rendered aluminium maxis obsolete and led directly
Nicholas said the first three boats were making less than 2 knots to windward down the Tasman Peninsula. He estimated that Helsal 3 was less than five miles ahead of War Games and Mr Kite, which were tacking boat for boat down the coast.