2024 – What a Year for the Fireball
by UK Fireball Association 7 Jan 22:22 UTC
Fireball UK Nationals Rock © Malcolm Lewin
In any normal year you would see the Fireballs dominating the windy winter handicap events in the first few months of the year. However, 2024 wasn’t a normal year. With a Worlds in Geelong, Australia in the February, the boats of the main protagonists had been packed up in a container the previous November and sent on their way Downunder. What could go wrong? Well, lots really.
The UK container was enroute via the Mediterranean when the security issues in the Red Sea kicked off with the result that the ship had to turnaround, retrace its steps back through the Med and take the long way round. The extra time taken, coupled with the general chaos in the Worldwide shipping market, meant that the container arriving on time for the event was going to be marginal and, with a week to go, it was pretty clear it certainly wouldn’t be there in time for the Pre-Worlds and probably the Worlds itself.
Sometimes a bit of adversity brings out the best in people. The Australian fleet galvanised into action and somehow managed to get 13 additional charter boats to Geelong to provide cover for the UK and Czech fleets whose container had also not arrived in time, with some guys making at least 2 delivery trips between Adelaide and Melbourne, a round trip of some 900 miles and 16 hours.
So, an event that so nearly wasn’t, started with a day’s delay but with a full fleet on the start line. The pre-Worlds which doubled as the Australian Nationals was won by the UK team of Dave Hall and Paul Constable, popular winners as this was the first time they had won an international event in over a thousand years of Fireball sailing. Second boat, but first Australian and therefore Australian National Champion, was Ben Schulz with his young ninja crew Alex Higgins. They say good things happen to good people and, in Ben’s case, it was apt that he won his first national title as he had been so instrumental in getting the extra boats to Geelong.
For the Worlds itself, the early running was made by local legends Brendan Garner and Ben O’Brien who tore up the form book by winning the first two races in big breeze. However, it was reigning champions Tom Gillard and Andy Thompson from the UK who showed they had the consistency across the wind range to win the event by two points from fellow Brits DJ Edwards and Vyv Townend, with Garner and O’Brien coming in third.
Looking back on the event one of the UK competitors commented: “Normally you put lots of planning into an event like this, bring lots of spares etc. But we haven’t got anything. Some people didn’t even have a trapeze harness as everything is in the container. The Aussies have been brilliant. Getting all the spare boats here, offering their toolboxes, spare sailing gear and the like. This could have been a disaster, but it’s actually created a really good vibe around the event.”
Fast forwarding to the summer, the big event in the UK calendar was the Nationals hosted by Rock Sailing and Waterski Club in North Cornwall. Rock is one of the few places you can launch a dinghy in North Cornwall, and after a sail up the River Camel and avoiding the notorious Doombar after which the beer is named, you are out in big wave territory which was perfect for the Fireball. Gillard and Thompson dominated the event by counting six bullets with Georgia Booth and Ollie Davenport runners-up and Dave Wade and Jono Loe third.
The final big event of the year was the Europeans held on the picturesque Lake Maggiore in Northern Italy. After the 2023 event in nearby Slovenia attracted 70 entries, this was even more popular with 72 entries. After the first day of racing it was clear that it was a challenging place to sail, with some big names slotting in early discards including Gillard and Thompson and serial European winners the Swiss team of Claude Mermod and Ruedi Moser. It was remarked in the bar that evening that, at some point, everyone was going to have a visit to the back of the fleet. The one boat that bucked the trend for the first few days was Edwards and Townend who went into the final day with a healthy lead. However, it was that last day that was to be their bogey day. Mermod and Moser, meanwhile slotted in a first and second which catapulted them up the leader board to win the champs, with Edwards and Townend having to be content with second and Martyn and Daniel Lewis taking third.
So, what does 2025 hold for the Fireball? The Nationals are going to be in the popular Cornish resort of Looe in late May with the Worlds in Lake Garda at the end of August. After the success of the recent Continental events, it is hoped there will be a bumper Worlds entry of 80-100 boats. However, before that, there are some exciting announcements to be made in early 2025. Watch this space!
Further details can be found at Fireball in the UK and also Fireball International