24 Fireballs contested the 2010 Irish Fireball Nationals, hosted by Baltimore Sailing Club over the last weekend of August. 23 visitors and one local boat completed a nine-race series that was r e solved on the outcome of the last race.
In a regatta where the winner’s enclosure was dominated by two combinations, Noel Butler and Brian Flahive and Kenny Rumball and Seamus Moore, nobody else got a look in and the outcome of the regatta was determined on the last race result. Both combinations suffered a DSQ, Butler/Flahive on a black flag and Rumball/Moore on a protest, but in each instance the other combination got the first place on the scorecard.
Baltimore’s Race Officer, and Rear-Commodore, David O’Brien must have a direct contact with the wind gods because over the three days of the event there was something for everyone. Friday was light and somewhat fickle and saw three races completed after an initial delay to let the wind fill in. Saturday saw four races sailed in good trapezing conditions that left the fleet tired but satisfied. Sunday saw the final two races completed in wind that had gone up a notch in the wind strength gauge. Crews were seen adjusting their rigs as the breeze built during the morning.
Butler/Flahive took three bullets on the Friday only to have the middle race consigned to a black flag infringement. They weren’t the only transgressors as almost every successful start was conducted using “El Negro” leaving a sprinkling of DSQs across the fleet scorecard. Some people even managed to acquire two infringements of this type. Rumball/Moore had a quieter start to proceedings picking up a 7, 1, 3, which allowed them to lead the regatta overnight.
In the Silver fleet, Cearbhall Daly & Martina Michels led, followed by Jim Ryan & Pat Culloo, with Emma Geary/Jack Hogan and Brian O’Neill/Owen Synnott tied in third.
Saturday belonged to Rumball/Moore who dominated proceedings on the water with 4 bullets. They would later lose one of these to the aforementioned protest. Butler/Flahive kept the pressure on with a 7,2,1,2 but they admitted that in the stronger breeze they were at a disadvantage. Creighton/Kinsella consolidated their good first day with four top ten finishes, 6, 6, 4, 5, while Neil Colin & Margaret Casey got back to their normal position in the fleet with four top ten results, including a 2nd in Race 4.
The fleet enjoyed a sit down dinner in the club on Saturday evening before adjourning, once again, to the delights of beer drinking in the village square.
Sunday saw the weather forecast correct for the third day in a row. Butler took the first race of the day with Downey second and Rumball third. Creighton slipped off the pace with a 12th which for some neutral observers seemed to spell the end of his challenge for a podium finish. Murphy/Voye continued their good form with a 4th and Byrne got a fifth to stay in contention for a low place finish overall. Colin/Casey came unstuck with a black flag, while Laverty/Butler continued their run of very low scores that had begun in race 5.
Race 9 saw Murphy/Voye lead the charge to the first weather mark and onward round the first triangular lap. They would eventually finish 3rd to Rumball who won again and Butler who finished second. Creighton pulled out a 5th place to re-ignite his challenge for a podium finish and Laverty/Butler continued to undo the damage of two black flags earlier in the regatta to finish 4th.
Thus Butler/Flahive took the regatta with a single point margin from Rumball/Moore with Creighton/Kinsella in third overall. In the Silver fleet, the local heroes won with Daly/Michels second and O’Neill/Synott in third overall.
The final regatta of the Irish domestic regatta scene is in Dunmore East under the burgee of Waterford Harbour Sailing Club, a favoured venue of the fleet, over the weekend of 18/19 September.
With the absentees from the Nationals back in the saddle for September, and our new recruits to the fleet who have contested single regattas also in place, this has the potential to be a mega-fleet to conclude the regatta schedule.
