Fireball News Relaunch Edition

news fireball 2011 open meetings helming in marginal trapezing conditions latest technical innovations Reports from this years sailing events Beautiful Breezy Barbados

Image and cover picture by Fotoboat.com 2 Welcome from the new Chariman 3 News Letter from the editor Dinghy Show Design a Fireball T- shirt Competition New Fireball Calendar 4 UKFA Committee Contacts Letter from the Fireball International Chairman contents 5 Barbados Fireball World 2010 8 Sligo Fireball Worlds 2011 9 Website 10 Fireball Committee Members wanted! 11 News from Allen Brothers New Fireball Mould from Weathermark Sailboats Website Results section 13 Restronguet Fireball Nationals 2010 16 Pentewan Sands Fireball Nationals 2011 17 Club Focus: Shoreham SC French National Championships 19 Draycote Fireball Inland Championships 2010 20 Czech Republic Fireball European Championships 2010 21 Endeavour Trophy Training 2011 22 Introduction to the Open Meeting Circuit 2011 23 Sailing the Fireball: Helming in marginal trapezing conditions Fleet Boat Report 24 Mandurah Fireball Worlds 2012 25 Championship Preparation Designed & printed by Badcat Design: BADCAT DESIGN Contact Lesley Scarff tel: 01273 595253 email: lesley@badcats.co.uk

New Chairmans’ Column As as incoming Chairman it only seems masses. Refined over nearly 50 years, boats kindly agreed to take on the role of collecting right that I should introduce myself to are now competitive for many many years. this information together and uploading it on those of you who don’t know me. Just look at the results of the recent Inland the website. We will be hearing more from Championships at Draycote Water where 44 Chris later. Boats took part and the top five included two of the newest boats in existence and two boats Having taken part in Fireball open meetings of distinction from 20 years ago. 14226, now since 2002 I have certainly noticed a drop in owned by Martyn Lewis, won the 1990 National attendance over the past couple of years, Championships at Lyme Regis in the hands of Ian You can put this down to a number of factors Pinnell and Jarrod Simpson. Dave Hall’s 13684 externally, including recession and the success was one of the original wide bow Delange boat of other classes. But we know there is certainly sailed by three times worlds winner, Australian more that we can do as an association. We have John Dransfield and Andrew Perry to victory a great boat and competitive racing. For 2011 at Paignton in 1989. On the boat building front the Golden Dolphin Series is back. The Golden we have some exciting developments, more Dolphin trophy has been repaired, thanks to news of which later in the magazine. Russell Thorne for sorting this out. We are working hard to bring some some sponsors on So what’s been happening in the past few board to support this and will be making an months since I have taken over as Chairman? announcement on this soon. I will leave Richard This new version of Fireball News is one of the Anderton who took over as Open Meeting first things we have been working on since the Coordinator earlier in the year to tell you more Nationals at Restronguet in August. We have of the details of the series and the scoring. a new editor in Lesley Scarff who has taken on the role previously held by the now married One of these opens will be a 3 day event at Lesley Chesney (Di Fonzo). As you can see we the beginning of the May half term holiday, have gone for a brand new format in A4 and hopefully this will allow those planning a break full colour which looks really professional. This with their Families to get in a little sailing time. I have been crewing Fireballs since 2002. Since new format allows us to make best use of some For others it will be a great way to spend the then I have competed at many fantastic events excellent photography from the the 2010 season bank holiday. The 2011 Bank Holiday 3 dayer all around the country, including some stupidly and for Lesley to use her graphic design skills. will be at Rock Sailing Club on the North windy ones (seemingly always at Grafham or For those of you who haven’t met our ‘new’ Cornwall coast. For those who have not been, Paignton) and some drifters. A quick bit of Lesley she crews for husband Stewart and is Rock offers several sailing areas; at high water maths revealed I have competed in 8 UK based at Shoreham SC, you can normally find in the Camel Estuary or at low water in Padstow Nationals all of which have been brilliant fun, them in the bar! Bay or even further out for the brave. Rock with a best overall placing of 5th. It’s always the is a favourite with a number of Fireballers not first event on the holiday calendar and its my One of the other key tasks has been to bring in just for the sailing, but also because it has an hope that this will be the case for many more some new faces to the committee. New people excellent Clubhouse which juts out over the people over the next few years. At club level bring new ideas and enthusiasm and make my water. The now famous local brew, Doom Bar I was fleet captain at Staunton Harold SC for job easier! Nothing happens without people is brewed just up the hill by award winning several years before joining the UKFA committee and as a volunteer association we are always Sharps Brewery and is capable of firing many to take on external PR and then developing the in need of your help to undertake various tasks. a good evening out. There are excellent sandy current website. Having been on the committee This could simply be assisting with an event like beaches for swimming, kite surfing and wind since 2006 and always having loads of ideas is the dinghy show or at a training event or surfing and the renowned surfing beach at the sort of thing that lands you up as Chairman, a few hours or for a day. Perhaps you have some Polzeath. Apparently some bloke called Rick can so here I am! fantastic ideas for a social at the Nationals. You knock up some decent grub in Padstow on the might take on the role of fleet captain at your other side of the Estuary too. For me one great attraction of the Fireball club or have particular skills that the committee is the chance to take part in International sailing could put to good use? We need your support, Finally, I look forward to seeing you on events, some serious, some not so. I have your ideas and your energy! the water over the winter, or perhaps at an been fortunate to be able to sail at events in open meeting or at next years National France, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Ireland and Since I have no longer been able to juggle both Championships. If not then enjoy some great Barbados over the past seasons and hopefully PR and website we have a new Web Team. sailing in the Fireball wherever you sail! there will be many more to to come. These Nick Hurst is taking on the role of website events are more than just opportunities to sail administrator. Nick who is a member of at some of the best venues across Europe and Shoreham Sailing Club is already getting stuck beyond, but they are also the chance to meet in! Pete Slack is also joining us asset with web UKFA Key priorities in 2010 Fireballers from all around the globe indulging and multimedia content. So if you have some in their passion for sailing the Fireball. This interesting video content Pete would be Introduce as many people to Fireball year has been another successful one at interested in getting hold of it. Jeremy Hurst Sailing at all levels! International level with 30 UK entrants at the has agreed to take on the role of Nationals Worlds in Barbados, with Chips Howarth and Co-ordinator with the sole task of making sure Revive the Golden Dolphin open Vyv Townend taking a record breaking fourth every Fireball Nationals is better than the last meeting series supported by regional world title. Whilst unfortunately it was only one! Not an easy job and well done to Jeremy series. a small UK contingent that travelled to the Czech for taking it on. But Jeremy can’t do all the work Republic for the European Championships, by himself, he will need assistance with the Run a series of excellent training it was a successful trip with Tom Gillard and Sam extremely important job of running social events events around the country. Brearey taking the title with an excellent series during the evenings at the Nationals. If you have of results from 2008 winner Tom Jeffcoate some creative ideas along these lines please Maximise attendance at the National sailing with Andy Thompson. Congratulations get in touch with Jeremy at Championships, making it an event for to both our International winning teams and nationals@fireballsailing.org.uk all Fireballers. also to our 2010 National Champions Dave Wade and Ben McGrane. With the 50th Anniversary of the Fireball Class Provide resources for Fireballers of in 2012 approaching fast we are working hard all ages and abilities. The Fireball was The Fireball is still one of the very best dinghy to build up the results archive on the website. Chris Turner, owner of Fireball number 6, has the original performance boat for the designs, the original performance boat for the masses and long may it remain so. 2

from the Editor... A Date Welcome to the first Fireball News for... well at least a couple of years! for your Diary Stunning 2011 Fireball It really is a fantastic issue full of useful information about upcoming events and calendar write ups of al this years most important Fireball competitions. There’s plenty to read about new Fireball The 2011 Fotoboat Fireball technology coming up next year and calendar, which is now on sale, some interesting stuff about how to sail is a showcase for Tom Gruitt’s them better! sparkling shots from the 2010 Fireball Don’t forget the 60th annual RYA Volvo Worlds in Barbados. Fotoboat very Dinghy Show held at the magnificent kindly also supplied many of the images We also, really want to hear from you Alexandra Palace in London over the used elsewhere in this magazine. all, we need your articles and photos, weekend of 5-6 March 2011 we look and want to include more about you forward to seeing you there! “warm turquoise water, sunshine all in this magazine. We would love images (particularly), from the social events. day, warm breezes and For further information visit Whether you take part in the events a good chop creating plenty or you attend with a sailor and just enjoy www.dinghyshow.org.uk of spray makes Barbados a sailing the locations, we want to hear from you! photographer’s dream location”. You can send your copy and pictures directly (word files , text files and jpegs If you were there, this calendar will be a great please), to me at Lesley@scarff.demon. Barbados memento but even if you were not it’s worth having co.uk. I’m looking forward to hearing Prime as a collection of great dinghy sailing photographs. It’s from you Minister also packed with quotes from the Worlds sailors and interesting snippets of trivia about Barbados. David We want to encourage you all to register on the Fireball website too. This is a Thompson The calendar, which is A4 format with a wire hanger, is dies of cancer on sale now at www.fotoboat.com. Price depends on great source of information for you quantity: £9.95 each for 1 to 4, £8.95 for 5 to 9 and and for us The forum is a great place to David Thompson died at his home in £7.95 if you order 10 or more. answer any questions and if you register St Philip on the Caribbean island. He we can keep in touch and make sure that had been ill since March with pancreatic Visit the Fotoboat website to order the dalendar or any you recieve your next copy of the Fireball cancer. Mr Thompson was elected prime of Tom’s fantastic images: www.fotoboat.com News as soon as it is ready! minister in January 2008. We really hope that you enjoy this issue and are hoping to produce another one early in the New Year, so send in those articles and images, and let us know Send us your Articles and Pictures! what you want to see in the Fireball Please, please, please send us any articles or ideas you may have for articles you would like to see in future News next Year. editons of the Fireball News. We are always interested and may include them in the next issue! Pictures too are welcome, serious or funny! Normally Fireball news is a UKFA The deadline for articles and images to be included in the next issue of the Fireball News is 31st January 2011, members only publication but this so get writing. Please email them direct to Lesley Scarff at Lesley@scarff.demon.co.uk or to Tim Saunders or special relaunch issue has been made myself from the committee contacts page of the UKFA website. freely available to all. We have sent copies to all those who have been members since 2005 and have also made Design a TShirt Competition the magazine available electronically. If you wish to receive future issues of Fireball News you will need to the a member of the Class Association. We are looking for a new design to feature on clothing and other items this To join either use the membership year representing the UKFA. You have seen, (and some of you bought), the t-shirts, sweatshirts and other items that we have produced each form enclosed or download one from year for the Nationals. These are usually produced for us by the supplier. the membership section of the This year we want to be different and so.. website. Regular email updates are of course available to all registered website users. we want you to Have a great Christmas design our 2011 logo! and New Year Anyone can enter all you need to do is come up with a design and send it to the editor before January 31st 2011. Email or post it to us and you could find yourself the winner of a bag of fireball goodies and a free Lesley Scarff t-shirt with your design. Who knows? At this years Nationals everyone could be wearing a logo designed by you! If you want to enter please send your designs as jpegs or pdfs to the editor, these should be no larger than A3 in size. email to Lesley Scarff: Lesley@scarff.demon.co.uk 3

contacts UKFA Committee Technical Representative (Sail measurement Chairman & Trophies) Tim Saunders Training Officer Vince Horey 0115 846 9205 Treasurer Ian Priest 01920 877474 07966 298477 Wendy Wood 01249 443602 07740816611 Racing Coordinator Technical Rep Honorary Fireball (Fleet Boat) Richard Anderton Secretary International Rep Dave Wade 01243527545 Becky Partridge Gavin Tilson 01604 592808 07966331325 07816 596512 Nationals Archivist Membership Fireball News Co-ordinator Chris Turner Sectretary Lesley Scarff Jeremy Hurst 0208 460 2161 Bob Southworth 01273 595253 01258 817567 10 Fry Close Hamble (Please send any historic results, reports and photos!) Southampton S031 4PF Webmaster 02380 456977 Technical Nick Hurst 01730 892662 Representative © 2010 United Kingdom 07775 708381 Richard Wagstaff Fireball Association Fireball for ever? Speed has always The Fireball community is a friendly family of sailors who can trust each other. There is no skipper fascinated man (and like-minded people who enjoy fighting on the water dictating and shouting what needs to be done at woman). Time and and having fun off it. Since you are reading this, you any given moment. A good crew works together money have been spent to be the fastest runner, to are probably well aware of what it means to be a part to maintain the balance of the boat, make it fast, have the fastest horse, or boat, or car or whatever of the fireball sailing community. check the competition, the wind and the water. can be moved. During the 20th century, one man One Fireball might be a little bit faster than another constantly tried to be the fastest man on the water. How can a sailing boat have so much success and one but it is really the skill of the crew that makes His name: Malcolm Campbell. He set the world last for so long? The fact that it could, at the the boat go fast. There are no secrets in a club. record for “immersed and semi-immersed beginning, be built by anybody who could read Everybody knows what everybody does. Sailors propeller-driven crafts” four times from 1937 to 1939 blueprints and saw and glue wood was probably help each other with tips and material. Club sailors (latest record set at 141.74 mph). In the 50s, his a big factor. But once the fun of putting the boat are, in my mind, the key to the success story of a son, Donald Campbell, turned to jet propelled boats together was over, it was the joy one could great boat. In the UK, you have wonderful clubs with and asked the engineer company of Norris Brothers experience while flying over the waves which active members. They encourage newcomers to (Ken and Lewis) to design the Bluebird K7. This boat become the main reason people kept sailing their join the fleet. It is always a pleasure, at a major was so fast that he ultimately sets 7 worlds records fireballs. All around the world, groups of people built championship, to see groups wearing the same between 1955 (202.32 mph) and 1964 (276.33 mph). and sailed their Fireballs, talked together about the t-shirts, proudly flying the colours of their club. It The team formed by Norris Brothers and Donald improvements they made within the limits of the shows that the Fireball lives and prospers in your clubs. Campbell then designed the Bluebird car. In 1964, rules and sailed against each other in their clubs. Donald Campbell succeeded in setting both a new Today, most boats are built by professionals but New classes have been and will continue to be World Land Speed Record (403.10 mph) for wheel there are still quite a few wooden boats constructed created, with many fancy bells and whistles, with driven vehicles and the fastest single run on the in garages by amateurs. The international Fireball wonderful looking sails and great designs. We have water with the Bluebird K7 attaining the speed sailors meet regularly to compete in continental and seen them come and slowly disappear because they of 276.33 mph. intercontinental races. weren’t really fancied by their sailors. It is thanks to you, dear Fireball sailors at club level, that the At this time, Norris Brothers was employing a young Fireball International is the organization representing creation of Peter Milne keeps going strong and engineer named Peter Milne. It is not clear if Peter the world wide Fireball community. Its members provides so much pleasure to so many people. ever worked on the Bluebirds. What is certain is that are the national associations of Fireball sailors called he designed some 40 sailing boats during his life NCA (National Class Association). The triangle formed We, at Fireball International, will keep trying to (1934 – 2008). In 1962, he built the prototype of our by the sailors, the NCAs and FI is strong because its organize exciting championships in attractive boat, the Fireball and showed it to Bill Smart, the base is quite wide. Fireball sailors (past and presents) locations. But no matter how great those events editor of Yachts and Yachting, who was so impressed, love the boat even if they don’t regularly go out on will turn out to be and how many sponsors they that he asked him to become assistant editor of the water. I have been surprised by the amount will attract, I am convinced that they are only the the magazine. Since 1962, more than 15’000 of people who, once they learn that I am the FI showcases of the class. In my mind, there is no Fireballs have been built all around the world. Commodore: say “I sailed this boat when I was discussion: The future of Fireball lies within the clubs. The International Fireball can be built by dedicated younger. It was great”. amateurs as well as by professional boats builders. Fireball For Ever! It is fast on the water, easy to launch and a lot of I am convinced that the people sailing Fireballs are fun to sail. special people. The Fireball requires a crew of two François Schluchter 6

Barbados FIREBALL WORLDS 2010 a warm welcome, white sand, clear water, fantastic sailing and rum punch. what more could you want! Images by Fotoboat.com 5

The leaderboard was filled with teams from Barbados to kick off the 2010 championship regatta. top three spots in individual races with Australian Great Britain on day 1 of the 2010 Fireball World Winds peaked at 22 knots during the end of Race 1 boats claiming 2nd and 3rd in Race 6. Championships. Chips Howarth and Vyv Townend and the start of Race 2, with sunny skies and warm were first in Race 1, while their compatriots Matt temperatures both in and out of the water. Chips Howarth & Vyv Townend won both races, Findlay and Richard Anderton won Race 2. In fact, and won the Fireball World Championships for the British teams held down the top 7 spots in Race 1. Chips Howarth and Vyv Townend continued to second year running. There were still two races lead the 2010 Fireball Worlds after day 2 of racing. scheduled to be sailed on Friday, but Chips and Vyv As of Race 2, Chips Howarth and Vyv Townend were Matt Burge and Richard Wagstaff were 2nd place, were so commanding in their performance that it 1st, Matt Burge and Richard Wagstaff 2nd, while David Wade and Tim Saunders climbed up was impossible for any other boats to catch them. and Matt Findlay and Richard Anderton 3rd. the rankings to sit in 3rd. Of the eight races sailed, the British duo won six of them, finishing third in the other two. Even with a deep field of accomplished entries Barbados served up another beautiful sailing day from 15 countries including a number of past world with sunny skies and warm winds. Two races were Two races were sailed on Friday under sunny champions, Matt Findlay was not surprised at the held in shifty conditions with breeze ranging from skies and winds starting at 14 knots for Race 7, strength of the British entries: 13 – 18 knots. diminishing to 12 knots for Race 8. After 8 races, Matt Burge and Richard Wagstaff were in 2nd place, Lighter winds made no difference to Chips Howarth and Matt Findlay and Richard Anderton in 3rd. “We have a lot of very and Vyv Townend as they continued to dominate on day 3. Two races were held off Carlisle Bay. There On the final day of the Worlds the race was on for good teams from the UK. were a few small showers and otherwise mostly 2nd and 3rd place, and several teams were in the sunny skies with winds at 12-14 knots throughout running to reach the remaining podium spots. We love to sail in the breeze. the day. One race was held, under sunny skies and winds If it’s sunny and not Fellow Brits, Matt Findlay and Richard Anderton kept ranging from 14 to 18 knots. It took five attempts, it a closer finish for Race 5 battling through to the three of them under a black flag, before the fleet much wind, we don’t go finish with Howarth and Townend, but then Chips finally got off to a clean start. With a delay in the and Vyv pulled away from the fleet to finish well day’s first race, it was not possible to start a tenth out. If it’s windy, we love ahead in Race 6. and final race for the series since the start time limit had expired. to go out and sail.” After 6 races, Matt Burge and Richard Wagstaff were in 2nd place, followed by Matt Findlay and In the end, nine races were completed for the year’s Richard Anderton Boats with sail numbers not championship, allowing the competitors to discard Evidently, the training in breezy conditions pays off. starting with GBR had still not managed to crack the their worst 2 races from the score sheet. Competitors enjoyed another picture perfect day in overall podium, but they are starting to reach the Fireball International Week Chips Howarth & Vyv Townend won the 2010 today after leading the regatta, and ended up in The Turnout for GBR in the 2010 Fireball International Week regatta with 2 first 2nd place, while Kevin Hope and Russell Thorne Fireball World Championships was place finishes on the final day of racing. took 3rd place. In fourth were David Wade and Chips described the racing as picture perfect Tim Saunders. In fifth place Ben Shulz and Phillip fantastic and a further 20 Brits conditions – a strong breeze, warm water, nice Bowley from Australia. finished in the following positions waves, sunshine, and enough shifts to make the racing tactically challenging. The wind and seas were a joy for competitors 16th 14941-DERIAN SCOTT & ANDY SCOTT to sail in, with wind strength at 18 – 20 knots. Boats from Great Britain took all three spots In total 60 boats took part in International 18th 14628-SIMON LOMAS-CLARKE & TIM RILEY on the podium, plus fourth place, to completely Week as a warm up to the 2010 Fireball 20th 14949-MIKE SENIOR & ANDY THOMPSON dominate the first week of racing. David Edwards World Championships. 23rd 14791-ANDREW PEARCE & STEVE CHESNEY & Simon Potts were narrowly edged out of first 24th 14805-MARK MASKELL & CHRIS PROFFITT 25th 15004-PETER GRAY & ROBIN TOOZS-HOBSON Top 15 in the Fireball World Championships 2010 29th 14982-MARTIN SCARTH & TONY KING 32nd 14682-JONATHAN CARTER & GARETH WILKINSON Pos Nat Sail No Helm Crew Pts 33rd 14864-IAN KELLY & PETER ELVER 1st GBR 15013 CHIPS HOWARTH VYV TOWNEND 9 43rd 14789-RHYS LANKESTER & BARRY SMITH 2nd GBR 15036 MATT BURGE RICHARD WAGSTAFF 23 3rd GBR 14924 DAVID EDWARDS SIMON POTTS 27 44th 14798-MARIA RICHARDS & GRAHAM HOY 4th GBR 15031 MATT FINDLAY RICHARD ANDERTON 29 48th 14755-DAVID RYDER & MICHELLE RYDER 5th AUS 15027 BEN SCHULZ PHILLIP BOWLEY 36 51st 14964-MATT GREENFIELD & LUCY FOULDS 6th GBR 15032 DAVID WADE TIM SAUNDERS 39 53rd 14821-NICK HURST & ALEX DOWNING 7th AUS 15025 ROBIN INNS JOEL COULTAS 39 8th GBR 14807 TIM RUSH RUSS CLARK 48 54th 14873-STEVE PATTEN & BRIAN ALDGATE 9th CZE 15019 MARTIN KUBOVY MILAN CAP 56 58th 14556-DEBBIE KIRKBY & PAUL DOWNING 10th GBR 14950 KEVIN HOPE RUSSELL THORNE 60 59th 15038-STEWART SCARFF & LESLEY SCARFF 11th GBR 15020 VINCE HOREY SAM BREAREY 67 12th AUS 15026 PETER INNS EDWARD ALDER 83 61st 14999-DAVID FESTING & KAREN FESTING 13th GBR 14977 PHILIP POPPLE GAVIN TILLSON 83 63rd 14621-JEREMY HURST & JANE MILLMAN 14th AUS 15011 NATHAN STOCKLEY ALLAN BLENKLE 91 66th 14872-BARBARA NEWSON & GUY NEWSON 15th GBR 14628 SIMON LOMAS-CLARKE TIM RILEY 103 8

Barbados My FIRSt WORLDS by Hannah Showell Well, my story begins with an ambition and goal in life, to sail a dinghy in a World event. My choice was made for me when I found out the Fireballs were going to a faraway place, not in Europe but a bonkers long way away, in that sunny hot place, where swimming in the same sea as the sailing, live flying fish and turtles.... Barbados. Yeah! I get to do a Worlds Event, sail a fireball and go to the Caribbean. Only one slight hesitation and problem was solved... although I guess I could have gone without a boat or crew just for the crack. So my learning curve in a Fireball and the fleet started with a German crew, strong winds and big seas but with warm water, Mount Gay Rum, socials I will never forget and meeting lots of lovely people. On reflection, compared to sailing in a lark or a solo my thoughts so far when in a fireball have been...wow! Fantastic, how stable, no need to hike out! And Aaaarrrrrhhhh! As the boat takes off with the spinnaker up and the crew hanging out on a tiny piece of wire, going at ridiculous speeds and having to wedge yourself under toe straps to keep the boat with a helm. My heart has been in my throat as I have seen my crew take a mini flying lesson around the front of the jib or dropped into water like a big fish on a line being dragged alongside. The fun of being a crew must be endless and the fun the helm has is priceless. Waves are the best fun. The fireball manages this very well and seems to be like a glider going through air and very stable. The only bad thing about a fireball is it doesn’t go dead down wind and you have to know your angles if you want to reach to reach! Since sailing in the Worlds, I have sailed in Ireland, at an amazing place called Dunmore East, the Nationals at Falmouth and the Inlands at Draycote, as well as some opens. All nationalities of fireballer’s I have met (so far) have been hospitable and very forthcoming with their knowledge and tips to help with a crisis or trimming advice. I would like to say thanks to Andrew, the fireball website, Martina Michels (my Barbadian crew and forever friend), the Irish Fireballer’s for making me laugh and making me dance, and all the assistance I had with my very heavily packed suitcase in and out of Barbados. 7

Sligo FIREBALL WORLDS 2011 International Week 11th - 17th June World Championships 18th - 24th June Following consultations with Sligo Yacht Club, and the iamge by ob2photography.com The number of races scheduled are: International Week Championship - 8 races (2 per day) . World Championship - 10 races(2 per day). One extra race per day may be sailed if races are not completed as s Irish Fireball Class Association, Fireball International cheduled. (On the last day of the World Championship has awarded the 2011 Worlds and International Week no warning signal will be made after 14.00.) to the west coast Club and the Irish Fireball Class As- sociation. The awarding of the event is in Boats are expected to travel from Europe, Canada, recognition of the local class association’s commitment Australia and possibly South Africa. The Irish fleet, al- to the Worlds in other locations across the World. ready committed travellers on the international circuit, are also expected to feature strongly on the entry list. Proposed Schedule International Championship Ireland (National Yacht Club) hosted the 1995 World Measurement & Registration Championship, which was won by John Lavery and Saturday 11th June - 09:00 to 12:30 and 14:00 - 18:00 David O’Brien and the 2000 European Championships Sunday 12th June - 09:00 to 12:30 and 14:00 - 18:00 were sailed in Skerries. 19:30 Opening Ceremony Situated in an area of outstanding natural beauty on Monday 13th June - 13:00 Races the north-western Atlantic coastline, Sligo Yacht Club Tuesday 14th June - 13:00 Races is a fantastic venue at which to hold an event of this Wednesday 15th June - Lay Day type. The sailing area offers the prospect of good Thursday 16th June - 13:00 Races breezes and nice wave conditions for big fleet racing. Friday 17th June - 13:00 Races A brand new clubhouse and extended slips were brought on stream for the GP 14 Worlds, which World Championship were hosted by the club in 2006. There is also access Measurement & Registration available to undercover facilities for the weighing and Sunday 19th June - 09:00 to 12:30 and 14:00 - 18:00 measuring of boats. Despite its west coast location, 19:30 Opening Ceremony Sligo can be easily accessed within a day from all Irish Monday 20th June - 13:00 Races ferry ports and airports so trailing the boat to the Tuesday 21st June - 13:00 Races event is a viable option for entries from Ireland, the UK Wednesday 22nd June - Lay Day and the western fringes of mainland Europe. Air travel Thursday 23rd June - 13:00 Races would be through Dublin and Sligo or Knock Airports. Friday 24th June - 13:00 Races & 19:30 - Prize Giving Further Information: More information and the notice of race are available at Sligo Yacht Club’s website is www.sligoyachtclub.org A wide range of accommodation is available nearby. Check the website www.Fireball-Worlds.com Contact Details: Class Chairman: Cormac Bradley 086 814 3618. Fireball International Andrew Davies Prospect House Pickhill, Thirsk Commodore Sligo Yacht Club: Brendan McCormack 087 915 2371 North Yorkshire Y07 4JG UK Sligo YC, Deadmans Point, Rosses Point, Co.Sligo. Ireland E-mail: Skype :+44 (0) 1845 567 064 Andrew.davies@fireball.onyxnet.co.uk Club office: +353719177168 10

take another look at the fireball website! Registered users have access to a great range of services: you can post adverts, take part in forum discussions, join the mailing list to keep up with all things Fireball. There’s also loads of useful information on the site, from club information to technical, rigging and tuning guides, information about future open meetings, National, European and World Championships, reports and results from past events large and small. The new class website Whilst not all of those boats are still in “Your class www.fireballsailing.org.uk has now existence, our target is to get 1000 or so on the register. The challenge is set. Fleet association can only been running for about years and captains can be a great help in this. All the Fireball register has been set you have to do is encourage every Fireball provide what you want up to record details about as many owner in your club to register their boat. if you tell us. Fireballs as we can find. Whilst the whereabouts of many recent It takes about two minutes, costs nothing and there’s no catch! Post flyers to them all Please register if you boats are known older Fireballs or copy this article for your club newsletter. Nick Hurst may have changed hands a few It’s really important that people register haven’t already done so Webmaster times over the years and sadly not their boats otherwise we can’t contact new and tell us about your all now survive. Already Fireballs owners when boats are sold on. from number 6 to 15000+ can be boat. So if you own a Fireball then now is found on the register. We know the time to register. To do so simply visit there are many, many boats out http://www.fireballsailing.org.uk/register/ If you have questions there. Help us to find them and boat_register.php and follow the fill in the gaps! instructions. Its really easy and only takes or suggestions, please a couple of minutes. By registering on the site you also have the option to join the let me know by email to Many of you have already taken time to register, so thank-you for that. We mailing list to keep up with all things Webmaster@Fireball- have about 700 users and 340 Fireballs Fireball and get updates on how the registered, but with over 15000 boats built register progresses. The boat register even sailing.org.uk.” and the huge majority of these in the UK includes the ability to store a photo of your there’s a bit of a shortfall! pride & joy, under sail or sitting pretty in There’s loads of useful information on the the boat park. You choose! site, from clubs where Fireballs are sailed, to technical, rigging and tuning guides, Registered users also have access to the information about future open meetings, full range of web services: the ability National, European and World Champion to post adverts, whether you want to buy ships, reports and results from past or sell, from boats to odds and ends. You events large and small. The discussion will also be able to take part in forum forum where (almost) anything goes, the discussions – providing feedback on events, classifieds for buying and selling all things maybe, asking questions or answering Fireball. We’re in the process of building those posted by others. Registration allows an archive of older material so if you have UKFA - with your opt-in - to send email anything which might be of use or ideas notices and reports from important events, and suggestions, please get in touch. Don’t such as the fabulous 2011 calendar of forget the gallery where you can find pho- photos from the Barbados Worlds by Tom tos of Fireballs old and new, fast & faster, at Gruitt of Fotoboat. home and away. If your club has an event this winter To register simply visit http://www.fireballsailing.org.uk/register/boat_register. which is even remotely connected to php and follow the instructions. Its really easy and only takes a couple of minutes. Fireballs I want to know so I can tell the wider Fireball community. 9 www.fireballsailing.org.uk

Do you want to see YOU CAN ALSO an improving Fireball KEEP UP WITH ALL Class in the UK? If your answer is yes than now THINGS FIREBALL more than ever is the time to get involved! AT THE FOLLOWING: A volunteer run class such as the Fireball can only function with the support of its members. We have exciting plans for the class over the next few years, but it is vital we secure your help to put them into action. We are currently looking to complete our line up on the Fireball Committee and begin to really build some momentum as a class. It’s really important that people come forward to fill these positions so that we can provide a better Fireballing experience for everyone. Your hard work will make a difference! You won’t be expected to attend hundreds of meetings and not all the roles need to be classified as a full committee position, we have no particular hard and fast rules. What you will be able to do is contribute in area where you have particular experience or an interest in or where you think the class association needs to improve what it offers. Below is a very brief summary of the each of the roles. Some could be combined and we are flexible about this. It is likely we will end up with a series of teams of people who report to the committee. Training/Racing, Nationals/Socials, Communications/Media etc. If you are interested please speak to any member of the committee or please contact me directly at: chairman@fireballsailing.org.uk http://www.facebook.com/UKFireballClass or by phone on 07966 298477/0115 846 9205 many thanks Tim Saunders - Chairman UKFA Publicity/External Officer A really important and fun role. Your job is to; keep the class in the sailing media, to Coordinate event reports and contribute event previews, liaise with FI over reporting for International events, organise photographers and video coverage of key events. Fireball News Reporters A new magazine means that we need more content! So we will be looking for people to contribute on a regular or one off basis. This could be as simple as sending an embarrassing photo of your mate or providing some thoughts on a event. Sponsorship Co-ordinator Your role would be to help attract and maintain sponsorship to the class for the open meeting circuit and the national championships and other events. The results of your work will be will visible for all to see! Social Secretary http://www.youtube.com/user/SailFireball Do you have a special talent for causing chaos. If the answer is yes, then you will be perfect for the role. Liaising with Nationals Co-ordinator and open meeting co-ordinator to organise social events at events. We are also looking for regular Nationals attendees who might be able to run one of the evening social at the Nationals. Classic Fleet Representative Be the voice of the Classic Fireballers and help provide events that meet their needs. Assist with website content specific to the needs of Classic Fireball Sailors. Regional Fleet Representatives Even in the current age of up to the minute digital communications its important to have people on the ground around the country. Regional representatives will assist with organising regional racing and training events in conjunction with the Open Meeting - Coordinator and Training officer. Supporting and developing club fleets. We are particularly interested in having people involved who are based in the: South West, Wales, and Scotland to represent people in those areas. http://twitter.com/#!/ukfireball 2012 Worlds Liaison Liaise with the Australian Fireball Association and Fireball International. Organise UK Containers for 2012 Worlds in Mandurah, Western Australia. 12

Lets get technical . . . Simon Potts presents the Latest update from Allen Brothers. Well known fireballer Simon Potts is now working for Allen Brothers. Simon was most recently seen crewing for DJ Edwards in Barbados and La Rochelle. Simon Introduces some of Allens’ latest innovations designed for the Fireball. A2026M high load carrying turning block This block is not quite what it looks at first site. Although functionally similar to other 20mm turning blocks, the axle is stainless steel turned to produce an upside down mushroom shape. There are two major advantages to this over other designs. Firstly, the solid axle means you can tighten the fixing down very positively without distorting the bearings. Secondly, the wide mushroom base (which is hidden behind the base moulding) gives a very wide load carrying footprint preventing any angular loads from capsizing the block. A new boat from new moulds Fireball News from Weathermark Sailboats Dave Hall will be a name familiar As an old hand in the Fireball, Dave has put his years of experience and thoughts into the hull, to those sailors that have sat at the deck and internal design. back of their Fireball longer than they can remember. Dave sailed The hull whilst being the current ‘wide bow’ Fireballs back in the mid 80s to the thinking has a slightly more vee’d entry making the boat kinder through the water, the water line late 90s while at Hyde Sails. length has also been maximised. The aft rocker is Since then Dave was at Ovington Boats sailing as flat as the rules permit. all sorts of boats and skiffs until the beginning of this year when he needed a change and set up Inside, the forward part of the centreboard case Weathermark Sailboats. will be a low as practical to save those shins, the substantial jib bars will go from the front of the The Fireball has always been his passion and his case to the side tanks in line with the shrouds enthusiasm was re-ignited 2 years ago after he forming a rigid frame and negating the need for The new mould bought the famous Delange that beat him at the an extra bulkhead. 89 worlds. Dave decided he needed a new boat and after being at Ovi Boats for 12 years would The centre board case rises after the thwart onto do it himself. This led to conversations with Fireball a flat table to allow owners a free hand in the way International who he discovered were keen for they like their controls. another builder to provide more exposure and promotion for the class. The deck has been made functional as well and aesthetically pleasing. The aft tank has the recess So new moulds have been made and the first for the spinnaker sheets and the coming is de- boat should be ready for Dave to sail in November. signed for function and comfort without looking After testing, 2 new boats will be built – one for a too imposing. The foredeck comes back just far customer and one to be at the Dinghy Show enough to add extra strength and rigidity to the in March. mast area without fouling the kicker. Both hull and deck moulds have been made to enable them to be laminated using the ‘Infusion’ You can contact Dave for the latest method which requires a wide flange to attach up dates and prices. and seal the vacuum bag. A large oven has been constructed to post cure the hull and deck, Picture of the deck mould being prepared E mail internal and construction details are under for the infusion system dave@weathermarksailboats.com wraps at the moment but look out for some mobile 07802 611599 very different thinking! By Dave Hall 15

Fireball bespoke jib car Investment in the latest software by Allen Fittings means that they can design small volume bespoke cars for various applications. In this case ... they asked Simon Potts if it was possible to produce a car specific for the Fireball Jib system. This means that you don’t have to take a standard car and retro-fit other components to the basic body. It’s already done! The geometry also means that the system has full articulation from inboard to outboard. Double control mainsheet swivel Launched at METS this November, the family of aluminium mainsheet swivels have been given a complete overhaul. A company decision to produce higher quality products for discerning customers this range, along with many others, has had a complete new bearing system added to a rope snag proof under cleat mounting. It has produced what is probably a market leading product. The cleat now has almost no movement either up and down or backwards and forwards. It just swivels effortlessly. Take a look and you might be impressed! Resurrecting The picture was taken during the IYRU Single-handed trials in, I believe, 1965 and around the time the trapeze was introduced. Bill was a founding father of the class and a real driving force behind Fireball’s exponential growth during the 1960s and early 1970s. Before their Fireball days Bill and his wife, Rosie, were the Past well known Hornet sailors – perhaps the reason why he was experimenting with the sliding seat. Now that you’ve read this far I’ll broach the subject of UKFA’s historic results records. Let’s just say they’re not the best! For a little while now, Tim Saunders has been building (re-building may be a more appropriate word) the association’s championship records. Potentially, it is quite a big task and he has asked me to lend a hand. In turn, I would like to enlist the assistance of the UKFA membership. I am about to commence a trawl through past copies of Fireball News and International Fireball to populate the ‘Results’ section of the website as far as I can. No doubt gaps will emerge and I will try to fill those on a piecemeal basis. I can’t promise that everything sent will be posted but it will certainly be retained for future information! Meanwhile I will be delighted to hear from members who have copies of old championship reports, articles on Fireball and photographs of interest since I plan to broaden Hopefully this photo will grab your attention! the scope of the records section. It shows Bill Kempner, Fireball Association’s first Some of you may have noticed a new UKFA e-mail address on the Committee Secretary, sailing a Fireball single handed... and with page entitled ‘Archivist’. Messages sent using that address will end up with me the benefit of a sliding seat. but please feel free to e-mail me direct (preferably with attached scans of photos, reports etc!) on cdwt9538@btinternet.com. email Chris direct (preferably with attached scans I think I always knew I’d regret throwing away so much Fireball of photos, reports etc!) on cdwt9538@btinternet. stuff 20 years ago… com. By Chris Turner Or use the link on the Fireball website . Fireballs 6 & 66 16

Image by Fotoboat.com Restronguet FIREBALL NAtIONALS 2010 Sponsored by: Harken, GUL, Peak Dinghy Spares, Rooster Sailing, Animal, Pinnell and Bax and North Sails Dave Wade and Ben McGrane in from Burge and Wagstaff and Sam Mettam & Richard Anderton. Race 4 (the Contac Trophy) saw Becky Priest and ‘Sleep Terrorist’ claim their second Tim Saunders lead for much of the race with Dave Wade nationals title on final day of racing. and Ben McGrane only taking the lead on the final leg of the course. Behind there were lots of place changes as a number Saturday saw the arrival of competitors at Restronguet of leading boats went for a swim at some stage, as the shifty Sailing Club for what looked like being a windy week’s racing. conditions made the reaches tight on occasions. Lewis and Registration and measurement checks were completed Byne were again consistent with a 3rd. This was definitely with the last competitors arriving on the ferry from the a two pasty day with many a hungry competitor seen French Nationals, which had been held the week before. chomping at the galley after sailing. There were some In the evening an excellent spread was laid on for the tired looking people at Monday evening’s AGM, where Commodore’s reception at RSC. presentations about the forthcoming 2010 Europeans and the 2011 Nationals were delivered. Sunday dawned with little wind to speak of. After a postponement, it was decided to race in the Carrick Roads Tuesday was another day of excellent racing in Falmouth as this was where the most wind was to be found. The wind bay. Race 5 ( the Rondar trophy) saw Mettam and Anderton eventually filled in allowing two races (for the Norris Fireball charge off with Wade and McGrane in close pursuit to finish Trophy and the Hunstanton Town Salver) to be held and in that order with Burge and Wagstaff keeping the pressure some very tight racing took place. Martyn Lewis and Richard on with a 3rd. Race 6 ( the Peter Milne Trophy) saw Wade Byne, who were sailing this year in a borrowed boat, were and McGrane score another win and take the lead into the the stars of the day posting two bullets in the tidal and shifty layday. Vince Horey and Sam Breary took 2nd. conditions. Reigning champions Matt Burge and Richard Wagstaff also had an excellent day posting two seconds. Tuesday evening was time for the boat trip along the River Fal and around Carrick Roads with a stop a St. Mawes for With the course set as a sausage triangle for the first day, food and further refreshments. With no need to get up racing was very tight particularly on the first lap with lots for racing the next days some competitors were looking of place changes. Sunday night was buddy night with decidedly relaxed by the end of the evening as they competitors paired up throughout the fleet, so that persuaded the Ferry to drop them in Falmouth for a night out. everyone has an expert on hand to help out. Buddy Night speed dating then went in to overdrive with a little Wednesday was the layday, many competitors took the competition to find out who had undertaken a variety of sins opportunity to see the original Fireball which is currently such as have you ever had sailing a miracle or have you ever on display at the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth. lied in a protest to protect a friend? hmmm. Not quite as many fittings on it as a modern Fireball! Monday brought a complete change of conditions. A strong Thursday. Race 7 (The Yachts and Yachting Trophy) was held westerly was blowing in but with the racing held in Falmouth in Falmouth bay in marginal trapezing conditions. Wade won Bay close in, the sea conditions were very manageable. from Lewis, with Russ and Ali Cormack 3rd. An attempt was Two windy races were held with the wind reaching 28 knots made to start the 8th race of the series but the wind died during the 2nd race of the day. Lewis and Byne took the before a clean start could be made, but not before some early lead in race 3 (the Chippendale Hull) but eventually controversy over who was black flagged and who wasn’t. fell back to 4th, with Dave Wade and Ben McGrane winning Friday saw 3 races out in Falmouth Bay, making for a long 11 Image by Fotoboat.com

Restronguet Nationals Results and Gear Guide Top Ten at Restronguet Nationals Pos Sail No Boat Name Helm Crew Club Pts 1 15045 Sleep terroist David Wade Ben McGrane Northampton 14 2 14994 Martyn Lewis Richard Byne Draycote Water 23 3 15036 Kevlar Footprint Matt Burge Richard Wagstaff Poole 23 4 15020 Winston/Gill Race Team Vince Horey Sam Bearey King George 28 5 15031 Sam Mettam Richard Anderton RNSA 34 6 14954 The New Bossy Becky Priest Tim Saunders Staunton Harold 60 7 14807 Older Better Faster Stronger Tim Rush Russell Thorne RYA 60 8 14917 Originelles Remy Thuillier Loic Berthelot LS Vigneux 67 9 14837 Russ Cormack Ali Cormack Budworth 78 10 14977 JRNee Too Philip Popple Gavin Tillson Shoreham 78 Gear Guides Pos Helm Crew Mast Boom Spinaker Main Jib Spinaker Rudder Centre Hull Pole Board 1st Dave Wade(72kg) Ben McGrane(78kg) Seldén Seldén Seldén P&B P&B P&B Winder Winder Winder 2nd Martyn Lewis(78kg) Richard Byne(80kg) Seldén Seldén Super Spars North Sails North Sails North Sails Winder Winder Winder 5th Sam Mettam(59kg) Richard Anderton(88kg) Seldén Seldén Seldén North Sails North Sails North Sails Winder Winder Winder 6th Becky Priest(68kg) Tim Saunders(90kg) Seldén Seldén Seldén P&B P&B P&B Winder Winder Winder 8th Remy Thuillier(65kg) Loic Berthelot(80kg) Super Spars Super Spars Super Spars North Sails North Sails North Sails Duvoisin Duvoisin Duvoisin 10th Phil Popple(75kg) Gavin Tillson(90kg) Super Spars Super Spars Seldén North Sails North Sails North Sails Winder Redneck Winder Racing day on the water. The relative extremes of weather had disappeared. The wind built throughout the day from marginal trapezing in race 8 to planing upwind on the sail in. Wade and McGrane were leading going into the final day and they were the most consistent boat again winning the final race (The Stanstead Abbotts Trophy) to secure the title ahead of Martyn Lewis and Richard Byne ahead of the 2009 Champions Matt Burge and Richard Wagstaff (who won the 9th race for the Fat Harry White Trophy). Vince Horey and Sam Breary had a solid final day with a 1 (Anya Charlotte Trophy), 3, 2 securing 4th place overall, with Sam Mettam and Richard Anderton in 5th. Becky Priest crewed by Tim Saunders claimed 6th overall and first lady helm. 7th Overall and wheelchair trophy winner (over 50 helm) was Tim Rush with Russell Thorne (1st over 50 crew). There were lots of potential winners of the unluckiest competitor of the week competition. Plenty of boats broke masts - but one mishap wasn’t really enough with two days of windy conditions testing the quality of boat preparation to the limit. Niki Birrell and Bevis Field somehow managed to break everything but their mast. Slot Gasket, various sheets, fittings all broke, helm and crew were intact though! As always with the Fireball it was a case of ‘If you can sail anything in these conditions, you can sail a Fireball.’ This spirit is rewarded with the typhoon perservence trophy for the last placed boat to complete all the races. This year son and father team of Peter and Richard Clayton from Scaling Dam were the winners. Silver Fleet winners were lightweight pairing of the Willcocks brothers who were competitive across the wind range despite their lightweight status. They also took home the Brixham Trophy. Bronze Fleet winners were the David and Michelle Ryder from Blackwater Sailing club. 1st Lady crew went to outgoing class secretary Ali Cormack. Thanks go to the host club Restronguet Sailing Club and to the event sponsors for supporting a great event. By Tim Saunders. Images courtesy of Photolounge.co.uk Image by Fotoboat.com 12

Restronguet FIRSt tIMERS NAtIONALS! By Rebecca Partridge (with input from Lucy Alice Hoyte) Being new to the Fireball circuit I was extremely excited about the 2010 nationals to see if the competition lived up to its fervent reputation! This is the brief and hopefully compelling story of how a first time Fireball national’s team got on. Preparation The campaign started slightly off tune when I discovered my usual crew, Geoff, could not attend. Fortunately at this year’s Abersoch Week I bumped into fellow university friend, Lucy who was crewing a fireball that week for the first time. With much persuasion from Ali Cormack we decided that we should compete in Restronguet. Being an exceptionally light combination at just 106kg and highly inexperienced in the class our aim was to have fun and to pray for light winds every day. After an extremely welcoming reception from Restronguet Sailing Club we set about rigging up for the week, starting off with a good old polishing session. Despite many comments from several hilarious members of the class that we were perhaps a little keen we were thanking god that we had turned the boat over as we discovered a very definite hole in the bottom. Having a very basic knowledge of how to overcome such an issue, which mainly comprised of duct taping it up, we questioned many occupants of the dinghy park for advice. We found our saviours in Vince Horey and John Piatt who fixed it for the small price of a cup of tea. Thank you very much men! The well-advertised boat trip up the river on Tuesday evening was a sure way to get our spirits up. Not only was it a great chance to get to know other competitors and pick up a few tips, but also a chance to experience the Falmouth “night life” which has something to be desired! Wednesdays lay day was wet, windy and foggy and, thankful that we weren’t sailing, we took to the streets of Falmouth to bolster the economy with a bit of window shopping bumping into many Fireball families on the way. On day five the wind had blown itself out and was refusing to give us much to play with at all. Although this was a positive matter for us, as it was exactly what we needed to shed some of our points, several general recalls preceeded the first and only race of the day and several more followed so no more races were possible. The final day arrived with the question of whether we would be able to get 3 races in. Not only was it nerve racking as the wind was freshening as we sailed out and we wondering if we should remain on 22”6 or not but I had woken up with a very swollen eye that was rather uncomfortable. In between the next races we juggled with the question of whether we should adjust our rake as Racing and Socialising the wind decreased and then increased heavily, tipping fresh water into my eye which, by now, was becoming unbearable. By the time the third race came I was Day one and our prayers had been answered – light winds! We made the most sailing blind. Desperate not to get a DNF Lucy urged me not to retire and assured of this weather, actually being able to have our rake on a similar setting to other me she could talk me round the course. Amazingly we still managed to come teams and not being stupidly overpowered, however Lucy was often the first about mid-fleet in that race but the tow home was incredibly welcome. Leaving out on the wire while most other crews were sat to leeward. Being that it was Luce to pack up the boat I was rushed to minor injuries where I was told I had our first time sailing together we were happy to get a 14th and a 5th to kick a corneal abrasion affecting a quarter of my iris and was given aesthetic, an eye start the week. patch and eye drops. Just back in time for the wonderful array of curry’s being served that night, the prize giving was worth it. Like many first time campaigns however not everything went entirely to plan. Days two and three presented us with winds on the other end of the scale The End Of It All blowing from 25 to 28 knots. Braving it to the racing area, and even a fair way Having started the week with a hole in the boat and collecting a few mishaps into the starting sequence on one occasion, was all we could do. Despite having through the week we thought our misfortune was over. Oh no, as we loaded our a heavy wind set up on the rig that looked extreme compared to other boats, boat on to the trailer, there, low and behold, were two blisters the size of tennis our 21”11 rake meant the boom lay much lower and touched the water sooner. balls on one of the wheels. Luckily, being the organised keen beans that we were Needless to say the set up was not forgiving of any cowboy gybes that we we had a spare! attempted. Having to present a bow of defeat to the wind we sailed precariously in on the second day past many upturned boats that made Mylor Harbour look Despite the wind not playing into our hands and the few issues with our boat like a Fireball grave yard. On the third day we were forced to tie up on the com- we had an absolutely fantastic week. The class is so friendly and everything was mittee boat where we were able to watch some fantastic racing and were looked organised brilliantly. The socials that were held every evening were fantastic for after very well. We were especially thankful for the cups of tea and coffee that bringing everyone together and the competition in the fleet really does live up to kept us warm – Thank you committee team. all expectations. We found the class to be very helpful and encouraging to sailors of all abilities. Thank you! 13

Pentewan Sands FIREBALL NAtIONALS 2011 Pentewan Sands SC 20th - 27th August 2011Au The 2011 National Championships will be held at Pentewan Sands Sailing Club in Cornwall. This is an exciting new venue for the class which should combine a great family holiday venue with an easily accessed large south east facing bay for excellent racing. The sailing club are no strangers to hosting large events, having run national and international championships for many of the big cat classes in the recent past, as well as hosting the Fireflies back in 1999. The Notice of Race for the event, along with entry fees, will be on the website shortly. We will also be offering an “early bird” extra discount for anyone who enters before the 31st March 2011. If you’ve booked your accommodation by then, why not get yourself a substantial discount on the entry fee by entering too. Even if you don’t know who you’ll be sailing with, that’s fine – unlike budget airlines, you can change the name of either helm or crew up to the start date of the event at no extra cost. Proposed Schedule Friday 19th Bar Open Evening Saturday 20th Registration and Measurement Commodore’s reception at PSSC Sunday 21st 2 races Buddy Night at PSSC Monday 22nd 2 races UKFA AGM at PSSC Tuesday 23rd 2 races Party Night at PSSC Wednesday 24th Lay day Thursday 25th 2 races Beach Games Friday 26th 2 races Supper followed by the Prizegiving and Party! To find out more visit www.fireballnationals.org.uk 18

Club focus By Stewart Scarff Shoreham Sailing Club sits inside the entrance to Shoreham Harbour which The prevailing South Westerly breeze is partly formed by the mouth of the River Adur in West Sussex. From this sheltered location it is possible to launch boats at all states of the tide and brings waves and great Fireball in all sea conditions from the club’s private slipway. surfing whilst breeze from the North The club is formed of about 250 members and nearly all of the focussed activity revolves around the racing programme. There are starts for fast and medium will arrive on flat water which makes handicap fleets with class results being extracted for Fireballs, Wayfarers, Phantoms and Merlin Rockets. Racing takes place on Sundays between March for some very fast sailing. Easterlies and November and on Wednesday evenings during the summer months. Sunday racing is high quality with current and past national champions lining up will test your ability to spot the alongside the rest of us. To be first around the windward mark at the weekend is no mean feat. Evening racing however, is a more relaxed affair. The race is shifts and play the tide. often followed by a beer and a takeaway together with a portion of the usual banter that goes with armchair re-runs of the event. Finally, the membership There are 12 Fireballs in the boat park with between 3 and 7 turning out to do is completed by a small but solid band of cruisers who enjoy trips up the coast battle on the weekend in conditions like those in the picture above taken by Tim toward Brighton in the East or Worthing in the West, often with their mackerel Rush. Generally we lay on a couple of 1 day dedicated Fireball training or tuning feathers trailing behind. sessions during the year. The de-brief usually takes place over the barbecue with a couple of cold beers. If you still aren’t sure about coming to see Over the last 3 years or so the members have been upgrading the facilities. us then just ask one of the 50 or so Fireballists that come to our open meeting On the water there are new safety boats and a new engine on the support boat. each year. Better still, come and join in on the 7th and 8th of August 2011. Even the racing marks have been replaced. Ashore, we have had a galley re-fit, a new club room floor and a complete refurbishment of the changing rooms and New members are welcome and if you want to try us out then please bring your showers. With the new windows and cladding, the final touch is the new, grand boat down on a Sunday and you can race as our guest. metal staircase leading down to the lawns from the balcony. The club is looking good and the members are rightly proud of it. What really makes the place If you would like to know more about SSC, please get in touch. special though is what lies just outside the harbour entrance – one of the very best dinghy sailing playgrounds in Britain. It is the uninterrupted, wide open Fireball fleet captain - Nick Hurst email: nick@willowmead.org.uk or Phone: 07775 708381 sea of the Sussex Coast, half way between Beachy Head and Selsey Bill. SSC newsletter editor - Stewart Scarff We race on triangle / sausage courses with big long reaches so that we can email: stewart.scarff@akzonobel.com or Phone: 07850 450077 www.shorehamsailing.org really wind the boats up to full speed. If you would like to have your club featured in the club focus email us your article and some images and we will arrange an article for you in the next possible issue. Email articles to the editor. Lesley@scarff.demon.co.uk FRenCh nAtionAl ChAmPionshiPs The Grand National was created in 1999 to give European sailors another opportunity to meet and compete beside the European championship. The Eurocommodore des- ignates, every year, one national championship of three or more days as the Fireball Grand National. For the 2011 season the week long French National Championships at Val Andre on the Brittany Coast near Saint-Brieuc have been selected. Dates are 14th - 19th August, which is the week before the UK Nationals. Its quite possible to take a Ferry from Roscoff to Plymouth on Saturday morning and be at Pentewan Sands for mid afternoon for the UK Nationals combining two excellent weeks of Fireball Sailing. For more information see http://www.fireball-france.org. We will endeavour to bring you further information when its available. 17

A cold weekend in October was the beginning of winter and also the Fireball Inland Championships at Draycote Water. There was a good turnout of 44 boats. The entry list included current European Champions Tom Gillard and Sam Brearey, Martyn Lewis, the lottery funded pair of Niki Birrell and Chris Grube (twiggy) and the return of David Hall to the Fireball class. Draycote Water was well represented with 15 entries. Saturday morning was sunny with the wind building to 12 – 15 knots of breeze from the North West – a perfect day for sailing. Reigning European Champions Gillard and Brearey continued their impressive streak winning the opening 2 races with a 3rd in the last race of the day. Lewis after a 13th in race 1 (after having to do some spins) recovered well to come 2nd in race 2 and win race 3 on his home waters, showing it was going to be a tight tussle at the top. Throughout the fleet the racing was tight with much place changing. There was the occasional big gust which often caused some interesting mark roundings and the requirement to dodge the occasional capsized boat always seemingly at a mark. Draycote INLAND ChAMpIONShIp 2010 Saturday evening saw the fleet enjoy some excellent grub at the club followed by some refreshments of the type that make you fall over. Those who had scrounged campervan space were particularly grateful as it turned out to be quite a cold night. A few of the youngsters travelled further afield for their entertainment. No one is quite sure where they went! Sunday mirrored Saturday in many ways although there was a bit more sunshine. The first race of the day saw another victory for Gillard/Brearey, Dave Hall secured his second top 3 finish, followed by Lewis in 3rd. The middle race of the day was the start of the business end of the competition. It did not go well for the current leaders who were Black Flagged (not ideal). Niki Birrell secured his 1st race win, Jon Ibbotson and Andy Thompson came 2nd with Lewis in 3rd. For the final race Lewis/Byne had to put places between them and Gillard. Birrell lead round mark 1 followed by Gillard with Lewis in 5th. With positions constantly changing it was all up for grabs. In the end Gillard/Brearey did enough, winning the final race and winning the Inland National Championships with 4 race wins. Lewis/Byne finished 2nd, North Sails man Tim Rush crewed by Richard Bailey in 3rd. Dave Hall/Paul Constable in 4th, with another home boat, Peter Wood completing the top 5. Thanks to the generous support of the sponsors and the class association some great prizes were handed out, weighted towards those in the bronze and silver fleets. These included a number of free and discounted entries to next years National Championships at Pentewan Sands Sailing Club. The young Portishead pair of Anthony Willcocks and James Willcocks took Silver fleet honours. The Bronze fleet was won by new class webmaster, Nick Hurst from Shoreham Sailing Club, crewed by Ben Fjaerem. Thanks go to the race officer and his team and all those at Draycote Water who made the weekend a success on and off the water. It was great to see some new faces and some old faces of which we expect to see more of in 2011. By Sam Brearey. Photos by Mike@fotoboat.com 19 Images by Fotoboat.com

Czech Republic EuROpEAN ChAMpIONShIp 2010 Top Ten in the Czech Republic 49 boats from 9 countries Pos Sail No Helm Crew 16 - 20 knots north-westerly breeze allowed the PRO to hold three races on the 1. GBR 15041 Gillard Thomas Brearey Sam 3rd day, to get the racing back on schedule. It was a Jeffcoate – Thompson’s day 2. GBR 15045 Jeffcoate Tom Thompson Andy as they scored a 1st, 2nd, 1st. Gillard and Brearey though were still overall leaders 3. CZE 14809 Verner Jaroslav Winkler Pavel at this stage as their consistency was almost as good with a 2nd,1st, 3rd. Verner- 4. CZE 15019 Kubový Martin Roček Roman Winkler in third. Although there were three races, sailors had enough energy to 5. GBR 14807 Rush Tim Lewis Martyn enjoy the mid week party. After the barbecue and three kegs of free beer, music 6. CZE 15040 Hájek Milan Preibischová Michaela band FIREBALLS started to play. Six guys in red coats made sailors dance in the 7. CZE 14879 Koutná Martina Adam Zdeněk rhythm of rock’n’roll. The party continued until early morning. 8. CZE 14827 Kořan Petr Kvasnik Milan Day 4 and the Sun finally made an appearance; the competitors looked a little 9. CZE 14794 Sklenář Petr Kuthan Martin tired this morning after the Midweek Party, with a 10 – 12 knots north-westerly 10. CZE 14979 Skořepová Eva Tkadlec Viktor blowing. Ideal sailing conditions at Nové Mlýny. The Race Committee started the seventh race almost on schedule. It was to be Gillard and Brearey’s day though as they dominated the racing with 2 bullets. Rush – Lewis sailed well for Competitors journeyed from many parts of Europe to the area of Nové Mlýny a 2nd in race 7 but was a little over egger in race 8 and got a BFD. Things didn’t in the Czech Republic to sail at YC Dyje Breclav. happen for Jeffcoate – Thompson as they struggled in the lighter winds with a 13th and a 7th. A strong west wind, intensive rain and the cold greeted the sailors for the practice race and measurement. Just keeping things dry was the main problem This meant that Tom Gillard and Sam Brearey had won the Fireball European for the British guys who were camping at the venue, as autumn had come early Championships with a day to spare. As it turned out the final day was a day to this part of the Czech Republic. of no wind and no racing. Amazingly somebody switched the tap off for Day 1 and the first race started at By Alan Gillard 12:00 as scheduled in ideal sailing conditions. The race was won by Tom Gillard and Sam Brearey in there new boat 15041. 2nd was the Czech pair Verner and With regards to the Czech Republic you can quote me on this: Winkler. The second race was started but abandoned due to a 90 degree wind “I apologise for the distinct lact of gossip shift shortly after the start. The restarted race finally got away at 15:30 after the PRO shifted marks in the shifting breeze. Gillard and Brearey won again this and stories from the Czech Republic, time pursued by Tim Rush and Martyn Lewis. however the 8 members of Team GBR are sworn under the oldest law in existance of: Straight after the 1st days prize giving and a draw for prizes such as free beer or ‘what happens on tour stays on tour’ wine, a strong wind kicked in. The breeze got even stronger 20 – 25 knots during therefore any antics that were carried out the 2nd day with more rain. At 12:00 the third race was started although just managing to get to the start line was difficult in the conditions for some. on foreign soil shall remain in the heads Only a third of the fleet finished the first race, eventful for spectacular capsizes. of those present only.” Sam Brearey Tom Jeffcoate and Andy Thompson won with Verner and Winkler taking another 2nd. The PRO sent the teams ashore postponing race 4 for the next day. 20

Royal Corinthian Yacht Club 1-3 October 2010 Endeavour trophy Excerpts from article by Sue Pelling Twenty-four-year-old Hollingworth Lake Sailing Club member Stuart Bithell and his 21-year-old crew, Christian Birrel, representing the Merlin Rocket class, have won the 50th Endeavour Trophy Champion of Champions event at Burnham-on-Crouch. my Cadet at Bolton Sailing Club, I idolised the likes of Southy [Ian Southworth] and Alan Gillard. I used to really look up to these guys, so to be racing against Going into the last race of the series there was still a chance of throwing it all them 25 years later, is fantastic. away, however, the big winds that prevailed throughout the day played into their hands with their nearest rivals coming in with a 23rd. Over a hundred visitors turned out at the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club in the afternoon where Stuart Munro the Commodore was joined by Robin Judah – Four time Endeavour Trophy Champion Nick Craig, and crewman Toby Lewis the man behind the creation of the Endeavour Trophy 50 years ago – to present representing the Enterprise class had a set of mixed results in the penultimate the prizes. day’s light winds but the pair really showed their true colours by winning both raceson the final day. In the first race of the day they were initially led round the At the prizegiving ceremony, special thanks were given to the event sponsors course by Chips Howarth and Simon Potts (Fireball), and Bruce Keen and Penny including Topper, Musto, Hyde Sails, English Braids, Selden, Noble Marine and Clark (Musto Skiff) but in the strong, full-on conditions, team Howarth/Potts Petticrows. capsized shortly after the bear away on the first run, leaving a battle royal to continue at the head of the fleet. By the second run, Craig/Lewis had gained the lead and managed to cross the finish line just ahead of Keen/Clark. Legendary Fireballers, Howarth and Potts made a speedy recovery to secure third place in the race giving the 5th overall. Endeavour Championships Results: Pos Class Represented Helm Crew 1 MERLIN ROCKET Stuart Bithell Christian Birrel 50th Endeavour Masters 2 ENTERPRISE Nick Craig Toby Lewis With the wind showing no sign of abating in the afternoon, the race committee decided to run the special 50th anniversary Masters Championship 3 RS200 David Hivey Jane Hivey immediately after the final race of the Endeavour series. The 13-strong fleet made 4 NATIONAL 12 Graham Camm Zoe Ballantyne up of former Endeavour Champions from the last 50 years was, not surprisingly, 5 FIREBALL Chips Howarth Simon Potts extremely competitive particularly with the likes of Ian Southworth/David Hayes, Alan Gillard/Graham Machon, Bob Suggitt, Steve Tylecote, and Nick and Caroline Endeavour Masters 2010 Martin returning to Burnham specifically for this historic occasion. Pos Class Represented Helm Crew Craig, like several other Masters in the fleet had been competing in this year’s 1 FIREBALL Chips Howarth Simon Potts Endeavour Trophy, so was obviously race-tuned for this one-off, one-race event. 2 MERLIN ROCKET Stuart Bithell Christian Birrel In the end though, Fireball world champion Chips Howarth and Simon Potts sailed 3 TOPPER Nick Craig ? a faultless downwind leg and once in the lead had control to the finish. 4 LASER 2000 Steve Tylecote Toby Lewis 5 LARK Ian Southworth David Hayes Howarth commenting on the Masters’ event explained how important it was to be racing: “It was fantastic for me because from a young age when I was sailing Training 2011 We will be trying a new format to the training for the 2011 season. In an effort to get training events closer to (or even at) your local club, we hope to offer a number of one day training events across the country. The intention is for as many of these as possible to be combined with a one day open meeting scheduled for the other day in the weekend at the same venue. Dates and locations are currently being organised and we hope these will be confirmed when the complete open meeting programme is published early next year. Keep an eye on the website for more details. If you would like a training event at your club combined with an open meeting like this, and you don’t hear from me first, please do get in touch. Also I’d love to hear from anyone who would be interested in helping with coaching. Ian Priest - UKFA Training Officer email: training@fireballsailing.org.uk 21

2011 Introduction to the Open Meeting Season League System Hello, and welcome A lot of you have expressed interest in a league system over the last few months. A lot of work has been done over the last couple of months to look to the introduction at different systems. Having worked the results for the last 2 years through several models, the current recommendation is as follows: to the 2011 open 1. Each type of open is weighted – a worlds, Europeans or Nationals would carry a maximum meeting season. score of 600 points, the Golden Dolphin opens and the inlands would each carry a weight of 400 points, and local opens would carry a weight of 100 points. By Richard Anderton 2. The events and criteria for counting results are still open for discussion! 3. The points awarded means that the more boats at an event, the better the scoring is for The Golden Dolphin everyone – except the winner. The Golden Dolphin, which has not been awarded Position Score in a 100 boat fleet Score in a 10 boat fleet 4.Example based on a Golden Dolphin event in for a couple of years will form the back-bone of the 1 400 400 2011 – weight = 400 season, with 7 events planned and 4 to count. 2 392 320 We will re-introduce a league system, and try to 3 384 255 nail out a ‘definition’ of what exactly is ‘Gold’, ‘Silver’, 4 377 201 or ‘Bronze’ fleet. We will see if we’re successful at 5 369 154 the nationals! 6 362 115 While 2010 has seen some major disruption from 7 354 81 the worlds in Barbados, and a late-planned 8 347 51 nationals, we are looking to re-group and promote the 2011 Fireball season as the one to be part of. 9 340 24 10 334 1 We have 3 major events this year – the Worlds in Sligo, the Nationals in Pentewan Sands, and then 5. The calculation is as follows: eating into the end of the season we have the total competitors - your place Worlds in Australia, which while they are in early Points = 1 + weight × total competitors - your place - 2 January 2012, we expect the boats to be shipping towards the end of October. See you on the water! The 7 Golden Dolphin events have been spread around the country to try and make them accessible 2011 calendar to all, and timed to offer support for anyone wishing to practice for any of the major events. As you can see, there are one or two new venues, and some old favorites. We have approached a couple of the clubs about running socials, and this has Worlds Warm-up and start of season gone down well – we will be combining with another 26-27 March Northampton Season opener fleet on several occasions, and with the backing of 7-8 May Brightlingsea Social planned the club will hopefully be able to organize some 28-30 May Rock Holiday venue entertainments. 11th – 24th June: Worlds – Sligo, Ireland Nationals Preparation Local Events 16-17 July Yorkshire Dales Inlands Running parallel to the Golden Dolphin events 6-7 August Shoreham Social planned willbe a couple of local series events. I hope to have North, East, South, West, and possibly a Midlands 20th – 27th August: Nationals – Pentewan Sands series. The intention is that there will be at least one Golden Dolphin event in each series. The remainder Australia warm up / End of Season of the series will be organized by local clubs, and may 1-2 October Parkstone Sailing in the bay take a slightly different form – one day opens on 15-16 October Staunton Harold Year end dinner & Prize giving Saturday, and some of these may be designated sprint series (6+ races in a day!) – if you can offer 27th Dec – 7th Jan 2012 – Mandurah, Australia a hand organizing any of the local series, then that would be much appreciated! 22

Sailing the in marginal trapezing conditions Helming By Becky Priest Fireball When I offered to write a contribution to Fireball News about sailing the Fireball, I was hoping someone would suggest writing about something that I was a bit more confident about than this. So I’ll write the disclaimer now - if this doesn’t make you go any faster, please don’t complain. Let’s start on the shore. Boat set up - upright, 22 eight or whatever you set up at for your rig/sails. Secure mast in the neutral position with either the strut or chocks. Easy. Hoist mainsail, launch boat, get in. Still easy. Now let’s go upwind. Marginal trapezing means just that, sometimes the crew is out, sometimes they’re not. This is where the problems start. Can’t see tell tales, can’t see waves, grrrrr, no boat speed. After putting much effort into getting the crew to move (polite hints etc.) I realised this is not the thing to do. Let the crew do what they want to do - then you have more right to complain when the boat’s not perfectly flat - and move so you can see what you need to see. Problem solved. Next important step is to sort the leech tension (back of the mainsail). As soon as the crew puts weight on the wire the mast starts to bend, consequently the distance between the top of the mast and the end of the boom decreases, and so Decide where you’re going to sit and sit there - windward if it’s a bit more wind, the leech needs to be tightened - solution - pull mainsheet on tighter. Kicker? Hold leeward if it’s not. Let the crew balance the boat. If you decide leeward is the way on a minute. Up to now you should be controlling leech tension by the mainsheet. to go, try to use gusts to soak down low rather than coming up to windward to Take up the slack in the kicker but no more. You won’t need to use kicker to tighten keep the boat flat. the leech / bend the mast until you need to start easing the main because of being overpowered. Finally we get to the run, aahhhh bliss! Sit to leeward, let the kicker off, board up as far as you dare, kite to windward and soak down whenever you can. Trapeze not If you’re sailing in marginal trapezing conditions therefore you will need to be needed, the only leg of a course in marginal trapezing conditions when the crew’s constantly adjusting the mainsheet tension to gain maximum upwind speed. Keep not faffing around! looking at the top tell tale, it should be flying 80% of the time. Finally, top tip for these conditions. If you’re out all day on the sea, ensure you Windward mark reached - aaahhhh, easier job now… or maybe not. Once on the give your crew time to go to the toilet in between races. If you don’t and they reach the crew will probably still be on and off the trapeze a fair bit, and it’s likely decide wetsuit = nappy you’ll get a nasty smell as you pull the main in on the start you’ll be sat to leeward. Same principal applies with leech tension and the trapeze, of the next race and they take to the wire to windward of your nose! except you’ll need to use the kicker to tighten it up rather than the mainsheet. Fleet Boat In the summer of 2009 when the Fireball Nationals were at Weymouth I was floating around the academy not by Niki Birrell We really enjoyed the very competitive racing in big fleets and found the fleet to be very friendly and we both doing much. Talking to DJ and Vince, they told me about a enjoyed the socials very much. The fireball scene is a fleet boat and suggested I tried to do the worlds. I looked perfect blend of competitive racing and good socialising. at my calendar. I thought it would be great to some do dinghy sailing and some HELMING and there was a one Sam and myself were having a great event inside the top week gap just for the worlds so I decided to try to do it. 10 until I forgot to put the rudder pin in and it came flying off on the 1st reach on the last day a disappointing end After lots of phone calls and a bit of organising it was agreed I could use the fleet boat and I would like to thank to a fantastic week of sailing. Thanks again to the fireball the UKFA and in particular Dave Festing for his help in all fleet!! this. Tim rush of North Sails was also very helpful and agreed to lend me some sails for the event and tow the Roll forward a year and Tim, Sam and I were driving out boat out there, if he could use the boat at the Euros, this to the Czech Republic, a long way, 1 and ½ days drive was a great help and much appreciated. (thanks to Tim again). We arrived in the pitch black and But at this point I had no crew and had never been in pouring rain with just tents to sleep in but the drink was a fireball before (quite big issues). Luckily for me Sam cheap!!! I decided to put the tent up inside the marquee agreed to crew for me and did a first class job all the way and go to bed early. The fireball sailors did not like this through. We did one day out in Weymouth which was fun and kept turning my tent over with me in it!! then the boat got packed of to the worlds. The Euros did not go to plan for me, with lots of break- On the flight out and on the morning of the 1st race I was ages including a snapped mast and a broken trapeze hook Are you interested in using the thinking “I am a little under prepared for this” (110 meaning we had to count a maximum. But that aside I UKFA Fireball in for the 2011 Season? fireballs rigging up). But the boat the association thought it was a great event with lots of competitive rac- GBR 14636 “Black Magic” is available! Register provided for me was in full working order and seemed to ing and lots of drinking done by all. your interest now. be going quick!! The British contingent set up tents with Sam as the main Sam and I both had a fantastic experience at the Fireball chief. We are looking for a keen team under 25, who Worlds. (We both now have a boat of our own and Sam is would like to sail the boat. We envisage that the winning everything!!). I thought the spirit of the Fireball Fleet came through chosen team will sail the boat whenever possible when we snapped our rig in race 1, (on the day the fleet during the season and in particular take part in got sent ashore due to too much wind), and within 2 a number of open events. We would like the team hours, with the help of the P & B boys (in particular Andy to qualify for the Golden Dolphin Series (4 events Thompson “shandy”) and Tim Rush we had a new mast from 7) and attend the National Championships fully rigged up and ready to go for the next race. Thanks lads!! at Pentewan Sands in August. Sam won the event with Gilly helming, well done boys If you are interested in a year of Fireball Sailing and the other Brits did well too with Shandy and Tom please register your initial interest by sending an second and Tim and Martin also doing well. email to: fleetboat@fireballsailing.org.uk Further details will be available shortly.

Mandurah FIREBALL WORLDS 2012 The format for the regatta will be measuring on the 27th and 28th December followed by a six race Pre-worlds through to New Years Eve. The 10 race worlds will run from the 2nd January through to 7th January 2012 with two races each day and a rest day in the middle. The 2012 Fireball World Championships will be held from the 27th December 2011 to 7th January 2012 at Mandurah Offshore Fishing and Sailing Club, Mandurah, Western Australia. Mandurah is 70km south of Perth, the capital of Mandurah 2012 Worlds will be as much about off Western Australia. Over the last five years the town the water as on. The organisers are planning plenty has changed from a small holiday village to a very of social activities including day trips to the Margaret modern and popular regional centre. As a result there River wine region, tours of Perth and Fremantle, river is the small town relaxed feel while still having all the cruises on the Murray river system, plenty of social nice new facilities. The marina, sailing club, restaurant stuff at the club, restaurant and pub sponsor nights precinct and surrounding accommodation are all Flights to Perth are coming down in price. To further and plenty for children of all ages. less than 5 years old. This is complimented by the help with flight costs the organising committee have older town which surrounds it, providing plenty of done a deal with Malaysian Airlines to access cheap Whether you are coming to sail or just to have a great shopping, restaurants, cafes, pubs and older style flights. For those of you who need another airline holiday Mandurah 2012 Worlds will be an event not accommodation. there will be access to wholesale rates from most to be missed. other carriers. Flights will be available from the end Mandurah like Fremantle has the famous Fremantle of January 2011 and will need to be booked early so Doctor blow each afternoon in summer so expect keep an eye on the Fireball Australia web site for more some good rides. The inner racing area is sheltered by information. a headland while the outer area has more of a rolling swell. This allows racing to be brought in close to There are plenty of accommodation options all listed shore when the Doctor is really calling, and when the on the Fireball Australia web site. Again book early to breeze is moderate racing can be moved further out get something close to the club. to make the most of the breeze and waves. For more information Please visit the Fireball Australia Web Site http://www.fireballaustralia.org There are also plenty of photos, videos and information on the event Face Book page www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=355085121289 Or you can email Ben Schulz – ben@schulz.com.au

Championship PreParation By Vyv Townend I could have started by giving a lecture on the importance of preparation, but I’ve left it to some people who are far more authoritative than me: a “The harder you work, the luckier you get” golfing legend, the bloke who invented the telephone, a wise guy from Gary Player China and a US Secretary of State/4 Star General. Of course one of the problems with preparation is that it takes time and “Before anything else, preparation is the commitment and, to be honest, can be quite a chore. Let’s face it most of key to success” us enjoy sailing because...er, we like going Alexander Graham Bell sailing and particularly racing, not practicing or bimbling over the boat. However, over the years Chips and I have turned the preparation process into a positive experience and view it as much a part of winning a champi- “Success depends upon previous onship as competing in the championship races themselves. We relish the preparation, and without such challenge of setting down a long term strategy and executing it in the lead up to an event, and now have a well-honed approach which starts about 6 preparation there is sure to be failure” months prior to the event. Confucius Our preparation process can be split into 3 areas: “There are no secrets to success. 1. Sailing preparation It is the result of preparation, hard 2. Physical preparation work, and learning from failure” 3. Boat preparation Colin Powell 25

1. Sailing Preparation Our sailing prior to event focuses on the rig (static rig settings and adjustment), sailing technique (sailing the boat smoothly through the water etc), boat handling and racing. winder boats Several months before any event, we decide how many weekends we will sail in the lead up to the event. Typically, this will be about 8 weekends – 4 open buy the best meetings for race practice and 4 other weekends to hone our sailing technique. Getting some racing under our belt prior to Barbados proved a challenge as it was the close season and therefore there were no opens. In the end we reasoned that everyone else (other than the Australians) would be just as ring rusty so we decided to rely on International Week to blow the racing cobwebs away. In the end, our sailing preparation came down to a number of weekends at Hayling in January, February and March - pulling on drysuits, wetsuits and woolly hats didn’t really feel like proper preparation for the Barbados climate! Having at least one other boat to sail against is an absolute imperative as it provides some focus and, to be honest, makes the whole process far more enjoyable. We did a lot of two boat work with Matt Findlay and Richard Anderton. A typical session would start with straight line upwind work, tweaking the settings and, probably more importantly, concentrating on keeping the boat flat and working the waves. We would then bear away onto a run and race back to a fixed mark which would allow us to practice our downwind shift work, and wave and gybing technique. One specific technique we practiced for this year’s Worlds was gybing when reaching the run. With the expected wind speeds in Barbados, we knew we would be reaching most of the runs, and the gybes can be where you gain or lose a lot of distance. • Top quality, 2. Physical Preparation Proven Long Competitive Life There has to be the right blend of fitness, strength and weight management and this is dictated by the venue and the expected conditions. • Proven in International Competitions In 2009, we knew that La Rochelle was likely to be a light wind venue so our physical preparation focussed more on weight management. For me the main • Sensible Prices objective was to get my weight down to 80-81kg which meant plenty of CV work and watching the diet. I even gave up alcohol for the 2 months prior to the event! Sometimes if you want something badly enough you have to make unreasonable • Available in all states of completion sacrifices. from bare hull moulding to ready to race Barbados was predicted to be a windier venue so fortunately no such sacrifices were required. Instead, I concentrated more on strength work, and hitting my • Delivered on time fully race prepared target weight of 85kg just followed. • Top after sales service Chip’s preparation focused on general fitness and keeping his weight down so this involved cycling to work and running up and down lots of hills.....or so he told me. • Top custom combi trailer 3. Boat Preparation The main objective here is to ensure that everything works properly and breakages are minimised so I went over the boat thoroughly before it went in the container checking cordage, halyards, cleats etc. Call David to discuss the 2010 tweaks Just as important and probably something that is overlooked by many is the ability, Contact David on should you sustain gear failure or damage, to be back up and running with the minimum of delay. If you break something in the first race of the day and don’t get 01535604980 yourself back on the course in time for the second race the resultant DNF and DNC Fax 01535605371 could kill your championship. You don’t want to blow your chances just because you can’t find and fit a simple but key fitting. When you need a quick pit stop you email david@winderboats.freeserve.co.uk don’t want to be reliant on having to find and root around in someone else’s tool alternatively come and visit us at box, nor can you expect there to be a well stocked chandlery next to the Yacht Club – I can tell you from experience that South African chandlers don’t sell hatch covers compatible with a Holt Allen hatch and Seasure rudder fittings are a scarce Kensington St, Keighley, West Yorkshire, BD21 1PW commodity in Japan. For this reason, our championship tool box makes us almost self sufficient for an event and, where reasonably possible, gives us the ability to take off broken kit and put on a ready made replacement. It contains a spare of every type of block and cleat on the boat, spare sheets (jib, main and kite), spare halyards (jib, main Builders Also builders of the 2006 National winning Solo and kite), spare kicker, spare pole, spare rudder (and transom fittings), filler (and of the World World Winning Fireball 2010 wet and dry paper), spare hatches (both sizes, spare trap wires....I could go on. Championship Nationals, Worlds and Inlands And upon reflection were there any bases we didn’t have adequately covered? The way I felt on the morning after the prize giving, maybe spending some time build- winning winning Mirror 2009 ing up some tolerance to rum punch may not have been a bad idea. Fireball 2010 All with Winder foils 26

© 2010 United Kingdom Fireball Association Every care is taken to ensure the accuracy of the information in Fireball News, but no responsibility cannot be accepted for errors. Reasonable care is taken when accepting advertising, but no responsibility can be taken for any resulting transactions. The views expressed in this publication are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of the editor or Committee of the United Kingdom Fireball Association or Fireball International.

Fireball News Relaunch Edition

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