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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:

PosFleetSail NoHelmCrewR1R2R3R4Pts
1stGold15122Thomas GillardShandy‑21124
2ndGold15144DJ EdwardsVyv Townend13‑415
3rdGold15172David HallPaul Constable‑1043310
4thGold14940Georgia BoothOliver Davenport‑1827413
5thGold15091Graham CookWilliam Cook46‑9515
6thGold15120Vincent HoreyRobert Gardiner385‑916
7thGold15147Paul CullenSimon Forbes556‑1016
8thGold15118Peter GrayRich Pepperdine‑14132823
9thSilver14754Simon EvansMatthew Sharman‑191110728
10thGold15151Martyn LewisDaniel Lewis67(BFD)1831
11thGold14801Oliver RaynerBen Rayner1216‑22634
12thSilver15073Joe WarwickerTim Saunders‑251481436
13thSilver14991Alex PiggottSimon Hibbert13‑23131137
14thGold15133Kevin HopeAndrew stewart81218‑1938
15thGold15145Steve GoacherTom Goacher71916‑2842
16thGold14928Anthony WillcocksJames Willcocks11‑21112143
17thSilver15114Daniel ThompsonHenry Thompson231012(RET)45
18thGold15042peter woodRichard Bailey20917(DNF)46
19thSilver14750Chris BatemanLucy Loughton‑2920141347
20thGold15102Imogen WadeDave Wade2117‑241553
21stSilver15113Craig BurltonHennie Burlton‑2422151754
22ndSilver15045Christine WillcocksGraham Slater‑3325191256
23rdSilver15075Andy WillcocksAndrea Willcocks927‑302359
24thGold15127Mike DeaneRichard Botting1724‑262061
25thGold15096Adam WhitehouseMike Hanson‑3026211663
26thSilver14624Duncan GregorJasmine Williams15‑28252666
27thGold15173Ben SchulzIain Blake16(DNF)20RET73
28thGold15174Simon KingsJono Loe2215(RET)DNS74
29thGold15046Philip PoppleAndy Phillips311828(DNS)77
30thSilver14391Jemima LineJo Line27‑32292581
31stSilver14836Matt PotterJake willars(RET)DNC232282
32ndSilver14889Barry SmithRick Spring32‑33272483
33rdSilver14797Chris HampshireNiel Peters‑3429312787
34thSilver15087Dave PooreDave Orrell283032(RET)90
35thGold14837Russ CormackAli Cormack2631(DNS)DNS94
36thSilver14876Jason CahillKerry Webb3534(RET)RET106

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