Such was the enthusiasm of the Fireball fleet to get to their first sea open of the year even storm Hannah could not stop them arriving on Saturday morning. It was obvious racing would be cancelled for the day but still they came. It did however give the chance for some boat bumbling and catching up with friends after the winter break.
Everyone stayed on and with a better forecast for Sunday a few more teams turned up. The efficient race team at HISC got the fleet out on time and turned around 3 great races in the bay in a wind that was quite lively to start with but became weaker and more unstable through the day. Add to that a confusing sea left from the previous day made keeping the boat going a challenge for many of the teams.
In race one Christian Birrell & Vyv Townsend were straight out of the blocks leading at the first mark, a lead they extended down the first run while the pack behind them tussled with each other. At the finish it was Christian & Vyv followed in by Peter &Tom Kyne and Isaac Marsh & Ollie Davenport.
After some initial gear failure in their borrowed boat in the first race Ian Dobson & Richard Wagstaff took an early lead in race 2 ahead of Christian & Vyv. They both stayed ahead of the fleet having a tight battle between them. An error at the leeward mark let Christian & Vyv through giving them another first. Third place was taken by Dave Hall & Paul Constable.
For the final race of the day the wind had eased considerably and with the strong tide made decisions on current verses wind bends a difficult choice. It was the 2 usual suspects at the front of the fleet with Christian & Vyv getting the better of Ian & Richard to take the gun. The young team of Matthew Currell & Harry Odling sailed into 3rd place - their best result of the day.
In the end it was a clear victory for Christian& Vyv ahead of Ian & Richard. With the ever consistent Dave & Paul completing the top 3.
A big thanks to the team at Hayling (and the reduced entry fee) and of course to Gul for the supper prizes.
