Last weekend saw the 1st Golden Dolphin open meeting of the 2014 Fireball calendar, held at the excellent Hayling Island SC.
The club welcomed 15 Fireballs along with the Merlin Rockets and the Scorpions who were having their own respective open meetings.
The weather was too fruity for the planned open water event and a prompt decision was made for all 3 fleets to sail within the confines of Chichester harbor.
With the Merlins off 1st, the Fireball Fleet got underway in a strong ebbing tide under an immediate black flag. The newly formed, formidable partnership of Tom Gillard & Richard Anderton got off to the best start in the testing conditions, with Matt Burge & Richard Wagstaff hot on their heels. Tom & Richard led round the 1st lap and went on to win with Matt & Waggers coming home second and Dave Hall & Paul Constable in 3rd. Best placed local team was David Sayce & Nick Rees who came home 4th.
Race 2 podium was an exact replica of race 1 with the notable inclusion of Mariah Richards & Class Chairman Jez White, scoring an excellent 4th and Anthony & James Willcocks coming in 5th after an epic battle between the 2 boats.
The Last Race of the day proved interesting with a huge squall and a 45 degree shift hitting the fleet at the top of the 1st beat. Most boats were flattened apart from Tom & Richard who had just rounded the top mark. They disappeared into the distance down the reach that had become a run. The Willcocks twins Anthony & James took full advantage by recovering from their capsize quickly to get a well deserved 3rd place. The strong winds and ever narrowing, crowded channel took its toll, with only 8 boats finishing the race. The race again proved the form of Tom & Richard and another bullet was recorded, making it 3 from 3 with over 4 minutes between them and the second placed boat of Matt & Waggers.
Day 1 had proven to be a baptism of fire for the 1st event of the season and after a quick shower and refresh, the decision was taken that a curry was needed! The local curry house did a great job of catering for 15 at short notice and a great meal was followed by a warm welcome in HISC bar, leading to a sound nights sleep for those not partying the night away.
Day two dawned dull and grey with winds equal to day 1 but accompanied by lashings of rain from the South East, again making it impossible to sail in the bay. The fleet raced in the harbour, only this time at the top of the tide, making for some exiting open water sailing – for the first two races anyway. As the sun came out, Tom & Richard showed the fleet the way home in all three races with Matt & Waggers and Dave & Paul pushing them hard and battling for the runner up spot again, split occasionally by Dave Wade & Tim Hartley who only raced the second day. Local crew David & Nick also pushed their way to the front showing that a bit of local tide knowledge goes a long way and a steady performance from Mariah & Jez gave them 5th overall.
All in all an excellent weekends racing with the HISC race team making the best of the conditions and getting all six races in
The Fleet are off to Brightlingsea on the 17th and 18th of May for what promises to be a fantastic round 2. Game on!
1st 15081 Thomas Gillard & Richard Anderton HISC
2nd 15093 Matt Burge & Richard Wagstaff Poole
3rd 15100 David Hall & Paul Constable Blackwater
4th 15112 David Sayce & Nick Rees HISC
5th 15041 Maria Richards & Jez White Blackwater
6th 14928 Anthony Willcocks & James Willcocks Portishead YC
7th 15045 Christine Slater & Graham Slater Paighton SC
8th 15091 Dave Wade & Tim Hartley
9th 15099 Simon Kings & Alistair Weatherill HISC
10th 1508 Richard Cornes & James Goodfellow MKSC
11th 14430 Barry Smith & Olivia Thornbury SC
12th 14791 Angus Hemmings & Steve Chesney HISC
13th 14991 Andy Robinson & Fiona Gray Datchet SC
14th 14976 Nick Copsey & Andrew Clark Hunts
15th 12910 Geoff Johns & Nick Stimpson Shustoke SC
