Worlds Gear Report

With the highly successful 2008 World Championship over, it is time to review some of the gear used by the top salors. 21 year old Matt Mee was sailing a standard hull from Winder Boats with Pinnell and Bax sails on a Selden Cumulus rig, setup by Richard Wagstaff (the crew) from Winder Boats'. David Wade/Ben McGrane were sailing a very similar setup, put together by David who works for Pinnell & Bax. The other 21 year olds in the top 3, Nathan Stockley and Sam Muirhead, were sailing a 10 year old boat from Young Marine with a standard John Clifton Sails setup on a SuperSpar M7+.

Pinnell & Bax dominated the selection of sails in the top 10, but there were 5 different boat builders from 4 different countries, including Singapore. This shows the strenght of the class's one design rules.

It was also great to see a full range of ages of competitors from 20 to 70 sailing the fireball, and a with a strong mix of women throughout the fleet.

Gear used by the top 10:

Pos	Helm	Crew	Helm Weight (kg)	Crew Weight (kg)	Hull	Mast	Sails	Foils
1	Matt Mee	Richard Wagstaff	64	80	Winder	Selden - Cumulus	Pinnell & Bax	Winder
2	David Wade	Ben McGrane	69	80	Winder	Selden - Cumulus	Pinnell & Bax	Winder
3	Nathan Stockley	Sam Muirhead	67	84	YMS	Superspar - M7+	Clifton Sails	YMS
4	Greg Allison	Richard Watson	65	80	AFM/Kelly Marine	Selden - Cumulus	Clifton/Pinnell & Bax(Mainsail)	YMS
5	Tomas Musil	Jan Stantejsky	68	80	Xtreme Sailing Products	Superspar - M7+	Pinnell & Bax	Xtreme Sailing Products
6	Heather Macfarlane	Chris Payne	57	77	AFM/Kelly Marine	Goldspar	Irwin Sails/North(Spinnaker)	YMS/Kelly Marine(rudder)
7	Richard Estaugh	Rob Gardener	74	80	Winder	Superspar - M7+	Speed Sails	Winder
8	Eric Moser	Ruedi Moser	74	76	Duvoisin	Selden - Cumulus	Pinnell & Bax/Speed Sails(Spinnaker)	Duvoisin/Winder(rudder)
9	Vince Horey	Andrew Thompson	68	82	Winder	Selden - Cumulus	Pinnell & Bax	Winder
10	Richard Mason	Simon Hextall	78	79	Winder	Selden - Cumulus	Pinnell & Bax	Winder

Up coming events for Fireball International include the 2008 European Championship, to be held in Nieuwpoort - Belgium from the 6th to the 11th July 2008 and the 2009 Worlds will be held in August in La Rochelle - France. Check out the details at www.fireball-international.com

Day 5 - 2008 Fireball Worlds - Thailand

Day 5 2008 Fireball International –World Championship – Thailand

Another fantastic day sailing at Royal Varuna Yacht Club at Pattaya in Thailand.

The day started with Matt Mee/Richard Wagstaff(GBR) having a 4 point lead over Nathan Stockley/Sam Muirhead(AUS) and 12 points ahead of David Wade/Ben McCrane(GBR).

In the first race Mee/Wagstaff decided to take matters into their own hands and luffed Stockley/Muirhead at the start putting them under pressure. Both boats were back in the pack on the first beat, which allowed Tomas Musil/Jan Stantejsky(CZE), 2006 European Champion to get ahead of Greg Allison/Richard Watson(AUS) and Richard Estaugh/Rob Gardener(GBR), 2007 World Champions. On the second beat, Mee/Wsagstaff caught up to the leaders, but Heather Macfarlane/Chris Payne(AUS) got past Estaugh/Gardener for 3rd. Musil/Stantejsky beat Allison/Watson to the finish, and Mee/Wagstaff pipped Macfarlane/Payne on the line. This gave Mee/Wagstaff the world championship with Stockley/Muirhead back in 17th and Wade/McCrane in 6th.

As per normal the second race was slightly windier than the 1st, but with the championship in the bag, Mee/Wagstaff sat it out. Wade/McCrane led around the first mark with Stockley/Muirhead only just in the top ten. On the last mark rounding Eric Moser/Ruedi Moser(SUI), 2006 World Champions just led from Robin Inns/Joel Coultas(AUS), Wade/McCrane and Richard Mason/Simon Hextall(GBR). At the finish .Inns/Coultas managed to get ahead of Mason/Hextall and Wade/McCrane. Stockley/Muirhead had a disastrous race including a swim which put them back to 3rd overall. Allison/Watson finished a consistent series to finish a strong 4th ahead of Musil/ Stantejsky, who were probably let down by minor gear failure. The final placings between 6th and 9th couldn’t have been closer with 4 boats being separated by 1 point, with Macfarlane/Payne beating Estaugh/Gardener on countback for 6th and Moser/Moser beating Vince Horey/Andrew Thompson(GBR) on countback for 8th.

Congratulations to Matt Mee/Richard Wagstaff who won the championship in superb style and class, and showed that they had a little extra when required over the other seventy boats.

Day 4 2008 Fireball International –World Championship – Thailand

Even the locals are saying “its not normally like this” as we have the 4^th day of racing with perfect conditions. The concern is that there is only one day to go and none of us are looking forward to leaving this fantastic spot at Royal Varuna Yacht Club..

The first race of the day started on the first attempt, with the tide pushing the fleet back. The over night leaders Matt Mee/Richard Wagstaff(GBR) again showed why they are the boat to beat, by getting around the first mark first, closely followed by Nathan Stockley/Sam Muirhead(AUS) and David Wade/Ben McGrane(GBR). Mee/Wagstaff stayed low on the reaches to get a gap over the others and was able to stay in the lead until the finish. Greg Allison/Richard Watson(AUS) got into third on the second beat, and 2006 World Champions, Eric Moser/Ruedi Moser(SUI) sailed past Wade/McGrane on the beat to the finish.

As per the norm, the second race had a little more wind, and again the fleet got away first start. This time Stockley/Muirhead led around the top mark from Mee/Wagstaff, showing that these two young guns have a little more speed that the rest. Wade/McGrane were third around the mark. The racing was very close between all the front runners, but the placing’s didn’t change to the finish.

Tomas Musil/Jan Stantejsky (CZE) and Heather Macfarlane/Chris Payne(AUS) both had minor gear failure and were unable to finish the race.

With one more day of racing to go, the top three are clear ahead and only 4 points separate the top 2. Mee/Wagstaff are still in the prime position and one more solid race should could seal it.. Some of the Europeans are finally coming to grips with sailing their boats in the conditions and starting to push the Australians out of the top 10. Three of the top 5 are still from the land “down under”.

Check out full results at

www.fireball-international.com

Fireball Worlds - Day 3 - Thailand

Day 3 2008 Fireball International –World Championship – Thailand

An unbelievable third day of beautiful conditions at Royal Varuna Yacht Club. The conditions for a world championship couldn’t be better with wind, warm water, fantastic food, beautiful location and free beer.

The first race of the day started under a black flag on the second attempt with four boats being disqualified for being over the line. Tomis Musil/Jan Stantejsky (CZE) came out of the left hand corner to lead at the first mark, with John Heyward/Brett Littledike(AUS) second and David Wade/Ben McGrane(GBR) third. Matt Mee/Richard Wagstaff(GBR) was further back but caught up ground on the second reach when the front boats sailed too high for the mark. Musil/Stantejsky had a technical issue with their spinnaker sheets and pulled out of the race. Mee/Wagstaff were able to get to the left side of the course first on the second beat and got around the front runners to lead at the top of the second beat, and went on to win the race. Nathan Stockley/Sam Muirhead(AUS) also climbed through the front runners to climb into third behind Heywood/Littledike. British national champion Tom Jeffcoate/Mark Hogan were black flagged.

The second race was again a little windier getting up to 15 knots at times, and a lot more from the left hand side, which put the gybe mark close to shore for the spectators to watch the excitement. Frank Miller/Marguerite O’Rouke(IRL) were over the line for the second time in the day and were recorded disqualified for both races.

The left hand side of the course again paid off and the usual suspects were at the front in a tight bunch, this included Mee/Wagstaff, Wade/McGrane, Stockley/Muirhead, Musil/Stantejsky and joined by current world champion ZRichard Estaugh/Rob Gardener(GBR). The sailing was great and Mee/Wagstaff stamped their authority on the regatta with another 1^st, but this time with Stockley/Muirhead 2^nd ahead of Wade/McGrane.

This puts Mee/Wagstaff in a very strong position ahead of Stockley/Muirhead and Wade/McGrane, who all have a substantial lead of the next boats.

Tonight the sailors are enjoying the traditional French night to promote the World Championships in La Rochelle in France and tomorrow is a lay day, so there will be plenty of sleeping and Thai Massage to recover from the hard three days of sailing.

Check out full results at

www.fireball-international.com

and check out

http://www.adelaidesailingclub.com.au/Fireball%20Worlds%202008.html

for Australian news and photos

2008 - Fireball Words Day 2 - Thailand

Day 2 2008 Fireball International –World Championship – Thailand

After the first days perfect conditions, day 2 was even better with slightly more wind for the second race, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the sailing at the Royal Varune Yacht Club.

The first race of the day started under a black flag on the third attempt attempt as there was a following tide. Peter Inns/Chris Went(AUS), rounded the first mark just ahead of Heather Macfarlane/Chris Payne(AUS) with Tom Jeffcote/Mark Hogan (GBR) very close in third. The two Australian boats stretched their lead on the reaches and rounded clear at the leeward mark. The three boats were close in the oscillating breeze, with Macfarlane?Payne just ahead of Inns/Went at the next windward and leeward marks. On the last short beat to the finish Inns/Went got in front to win with Jeffcote/Hogan in third ahead of a fast finishing Robin Inns/Joel Coultas (AUS) and Matt Mee/Richard Wagstaff(GBR).

The second race was a little bit windier and got away on the second start. A large shift to the left on the first beat caught a few out, and made the first reach very tight. David Wade/Ben McGrane(GBR) and Nathan Stockley/Sam Muirhead (AUS) rounded the first mark together and had a great tussle all around the course, with Mee/Wagstaff right behind them all the way. Wade/McGrane took the win, just ahead of Stockley/Muirhead.

After two days of racing, Mee/Wagstaff and Stockley/Muirhead are looking consistent and fast in the current conditions, but Wade/McGrane are close behind particularly if they can drop their 16th place.

Full details at www.fireball-international.com

Australian news and information is at
http://www.adelaidesailingclub.com.au/Fireball%20Worlds%202008.html

2008 World Championship - Day 1

Day 1 2008 Fireball International –World Championship – Thailand

Day 1 of the worlds saw perfect conditions for the Fireball Class, with 12-16 knots and beautiful warm water.

The first race started under a black flag on the third attempt as there was a strong following tide. Matt Mee/Richard Wagstaff(GBR) started well and went left of middle up the first beat to be first to the first mark. Nathan Stockley/Sam Muirhead (AUS) rounded second just ahead of Peter Inns/Chris Went(AUS). Down the reach, Mee/Wagstaff got out to an unbeatable lead and Richard Estaugh/Rob Gardener(GBR), current World Champions, got to third. The top three held their positions until the finish, but the rest of the fleet had a very close race with positions changing all the time. Robin Inns/Joel Coultas, Australian National Champions, and Tom Jeffcote/Mark Hogan, British national Champions were both over the line on the black flag and were disqualified from the race.

The wind had increased during the first race and the conditions for the second race were even more perfect. This time the tide was fairly slack and the fleet got away on the first start. David Giles/David Mason(GBR) had a good first beat and rounded ahead of Gareth Owen/Robert Thompson(CAN) and David Wade/Ben McGrane(GBR). Giles/Mason headed for the wrong wing mark and let Wade/McGrane get ahead with Nathan Stockley/Sam Muirhead(AUS) in second and Mee/Wagstaff in third. Mee/Wagstaff got ahead of Stockley/Muirhead on the run and the three boats finished in these places. Again the minor placings were very close with positions changing frequently.



Full details at www.fireball-international.com

Fireball Pre Worlds - Day 4 - Thailand

Day 4 2008 Fireball International Pre-Worlds – Thailand

The fourth day of sailing for the pre worlds was another beautiful day sailed in 13-10 knot for the first race, and down to 7 knots in the second.

Again the tide was running against the wind in the first race, which caused 4 general recalls and eight boats were sent home before the start. Robin Inns/Joel Coultas(AUS) were first to the first mark just ahead of the Tom Jeffcote /Mark Hogan(GBR). These two had a great tussle as the two National Champions of their respective countries, with the Australian getting the win. Richard Estaugh/ Rob Gardener(GBR) hung in behind them to finish third. Overnight leader David Wade/Ben McGrane (GBR) had their worst race of the series and finished in 18^th. This meant the final points were very close between, Wade/McGrane, Matt Mee/Richard Wagstaff(GBR), R.Inns/Coultas and Tomas Musil/Jan Stantejsky(CZE).

The final race started with a black flag on the first start with the tide turning during the race. Peter Inns/Chris Went(AUS) got around the first mark just ahead of Heather Macfarlane/Chris Payne(AUS) with Greg Allison/Richard Watson (AUS) just behind, showing that the Australians can still perform in the light conditions. The race became a very close between P.Inns/Went, Macfarlane/Payne, Musil/Stantejsky, and John Heywood/Brett LittleDyke (AUS) with the four boats finishing overlapped with Macfarlane/Payne just ahead of Musil/Stantejsky. With Wade/McGrane in 5^th, Mee/Wagstaff in 9^th and R.Inns/Coultas back in sixteenth, Musil/Stantejsky won the regatta.

It was good to see the new boat builder, Xtreme Sailing Products, based in Singapore win their first regatta with the newly launched boat.

Now all the sailors are looking forward to the actual World Championship starting on the 16^th March.