P&B and Zhik Fireball National Championships 2025 at Looe Sailing Club - Day 2
by Adam Whitehouse 26 May 09:04 UTC
24-27 May 2025
A Day from the Sublime to the Ridiculous and Back Again
The fleet was all planning for war at sea, but by the time we were going down the first run of race 3, we were frantically pulling out the fast pins. Race 3 was won by the championship leaders, Tom Gillard & Andy Thompson, followed by Peter Grey & Richard Pepperdine, who picked up their best result so far. In third place were Dave Hall & Paul Constable, also achieving their best result so far in their new design boat.
The wind seemed like it was going to build, but then literally 3 minutes before the start, it dropped off again significantly, resulting in yet more panicked adjustment of the rake. I really must get that inboard system.
Pathfinders Vince & Rob headed all the way into the shore, so there was plenty on the table for the boats that started early. By now, the breeze was starting to build again and move around a lot as we neared the windward mark.
In the end, this race had it all - huge backers, epic full-send two-sail reaches at 20 mph, scary three-sail reaches over minimal swell, and plenty of opportunities to make big gains up the beats.
Vyv & DJ pretty much led from the first mark to really heat up the championship at the midway point, with the leaders Tom & Andy just 1 point ahead and coming in second. Dave & Paul secured another podium finish, wrapping up their tidy day of results.
Tomorrow we go again, but this time we have to survive three races as the final day looks under threat. Everything hurts, and as Danny Glover said, "I'm getting too old for this," but like the rest of the Fireball fleet, I will never stop!
Results after Day 2:
Pos | Fleet | Sail No | Helm | Crew | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Pts |
1st | Gold | 15122 | Thomas Gillard | Shandy | ‑2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
2nd | Gold | 15144 | DJ Edwards | Vyv Townend | 1 | 3 | ‑4 | 1 | 5 |
3rd | Gold | 15172 | David Hall | Paul Constable | ‑10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
4th | Gold | 14940 | Georgia Booth | Oliver Davenport | ‑18 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 13 |
5th | Gold | 15091 | Graham Cook | William Cook | 4 | 6 | ‑9 | 5 | 15 |
6th | Gold | 15120 | Vincent Horey | Robert Gardiner | 3 | 8 | 5 | ‑9 | 16 |
7th | Gold | 15147 | Paul Cullen | Simon Forbes | 5 | 5 | 6 | ‑10 | 16 |
8th | Gold | 15118 | Peter Gray | Rich Pepperdine | ‑14 | 13 | 2 | 8 | 23 |
9th | Silver | 14754 | Simon Evans | Matthew Sharman | ‑19 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 28 |
10th | Gold | 15151 | Martyn Lewis | Daniel Lewis | 6 | 7 | (BFD) | 18 | 31 |
11th | Gold | 14801 | Oliver Rayner | Ben Rayner | 12 | 16 | ‑22 | 6 | 34 |
12th | Silver | 15073 | Joe Warwicker | Tim Saunders | ‑25 | 14 | 8 | 14 | 36 |
13th | Silver | 14991 | Alex Piggott | Simon Hibbert | 13 | ‑23 | 13 | 11 | 37 |
14th | Gold | 15133 | Kevin Hope | Andrew stewart | 8 | 12 | 18 | ‑19 | 38 |
15th | Gold | 15145 | Steve Goacher | Tom Goacher | 7 | 19 | 16 | ‑28 | 42 |
16th | Gold | 14928 | Anthony Willcocks | James Willcocks | 11 | ‑21 | 11 | 21 | 43 |
17th | Silver | 15114 | Daniel Thompson | Henry Thompson | 23 | 10 | 12 | (RET) | 45 |
18th | Gold | 15042 | peter wood | Richard Bailey | 20 | 9 | 17 | (DNF) | 46 |
19th | Silver | 14750 | Chris Bateman | Lucy Loughton | ‑29 | 20 | 14 | 13 | 47 |
20th | Gold | 15102 | Imogen Wade | Dave Wade | 21 | 17 | ‑24 | 15 | 53 |
21st | Silver | 15113 | Craig Burlton | Hennie Burlton | ‑24 | 22 | 15 | 17 | 54 |
22nd | Silver | 15045 | Christine Willcocks | Graham Slater | ‑33 | 25 | 19 | 12 | 56 |
23rd | Silver | 15075 | Andy Willcocks | Andrea Willcocks | 9 | 27 | ‑30 | 23 | 59 |
24th | Gold | 15127 | Mike Deane | Richard Botting | 17 | 24 | ‑26 | 20 | 61 |
25th | Gold | 15096 | Adam Whitehouse | Mike Hanson | ‑30 | 26 | 21 | 16 | 63 |
26th | Silver | 14624 | Duncan Gregor | Jasmine Williams | 15 | ‑28 | 25 | 26 | 66 |
27th | Gold | 15173 | Ben Schulz | Iain Blake | 16 | (DNF) | 20 | RET | 73 |
28th | Gold | 15174 | Simon Kings | Jono Loe | 22 | 15 | (RET) | DNS | 74 |
29th | Gold | 15046 | Philip Popple | Andy Phillips | 31 | 18 | 28 | (DNS) | 77 |
30th | Silver | 14391 | Jemima Line | Jo Line | 27 | ‑32 | 29 | 25 | 81 |
31st | Silver | 14836 | Matt Potter | Jake willars | (RET) | DNC | 23 | 22 | 82 |
32nd | Silver | 14889 | Barry Smith | Rick Spring | 32 | ‑33 | 27 | 24 | 83 |
33rd | Silver | 14797 | Chris Hampshire | Niel Peters | ‑34 | 29 | 31 | 27 | 87 |
34th | Silver | 15087 | Dave Poore | Dave Orrell | 28 | 30 | 32 | (RET) | 90 |
35th | Gold | 14837 | Russ Cormack | Ali Cormack | 26 | 31 | (DNS) | DNS | 94 |
36th | Silver | 14876 | Jason Cahill | Kerry Webb | 35 | 34 | (RET) | RET | 106 |

