Opening of the World Championship

After the dhow racing was over on Friday, preparations were made up at the Club for the Opening Ceremony of the Worlds. A Fireball was decked out with Safaricom bunting and put into the hotel pool; a press conference was held during the afternoon, and tables prepared for the opening dinner.

At the Opening Ceremony representatives for Fireball International, for the Kenya Tourist Board and for the title sponsor Safaricom Kenya Ltd. spoke. They were followed by the Guest of Honour the Hon. Mr Sheikh Najib Balala, Minister for Gender, Sports, Culture and Social Services and currently also acting Minister for Labour. In spite of his heavy commitments Mr. Balala made time to come to Kilifi and warmly welcomed the participants: he noted the contrast between the sailors who had been determined to come for the Worlds and the unfortunate cancelling of Kenya's next World Cup cricket match. The new MP for Kilifi the Hon. Mr. Joe Hamisi was also present. At the end of his speech the Minister cut the ribbon holding the Fireball in the pool and it floated slowly away from him down wind. The event was open.

First day of World Championships

The first day of the Fireball Worlds got off to a fine start in what have become the customary 10-15 knot winds, half-metre waves and a fine bright weather with white-caps scattering the sea.

There are now 38 boats in the event with the newcomers arrived from safari or from overseas and the Mombasa Kenya entry of Andy Burnard and Shah Khan having only entered International Week. Unfortunately the Swiss boat sailed by Adrian Huber and Brigitte Mauchle had a rudder problem and retired in the first race and were not able to start the second.

In Race 1 Chips Howarth and Vyv Townend (UK) clearly showed their intention of being world champions now they already have the International Week trophy in the bag. They were in the front round the first mark and kept stretching their lead, all the way to an impressive finish.

Dave Wade and Richard Wagstaff (UK) now lie in second place overall having gained 3rd and 2nd in the first two races. Penny and Ian Gibbs (UK) had a great day out, with a 2nd place in the first race and a 5th in the second, and now lie 3rd overall

Frederic Mouches and Jean-Francois Nouel, newly arrived at Kilif, secured an overall 6th place and first place among the French boats. They had a good second race and for the first beat and reach gave Howarth and Townend something to watch out for. Swiss boat 14718 sailed by Kurt Venhoda and Sonja Zaugg were going well and were up in the front few boats all the way in the first race but had been over the start line and so ended with 39 points.

John Trundell and Peter Hime remained in top place for Kenya, gaining and 8th and a 16th and lying 11 overall at the end of the day; followed in 14th overall place by Australian Ben Schultz sailing with Kenyan Nigel Shaw. Ed Sadd, formerly resident in Kenya but now sailing under a GBR registration with crew Steve Kuhl gave his old rival John Trundell a good run in both races, coming in 10th and 9th to finish 9th overall at the end of the first day, two slots above Trundell.

Day 2 of World Championships - A Tale of Six Starts

The second day of the Safaricom World Fireball Sailing Championships was characterised by difficulties in getting the races off, with three starts for each of races 3 and 4. After two general recalls for race 3 the Race Officer put up the black flag. The race started with three competitors, all from Britain, given OCS (on course side), attracting 39 points: Horey/Turner, Pearce/Keeling and Davies/Jump.

For race 4 the black flag went up on the second attempt at starting but there were still a number of competitors on the course side. The Race Officer recalled the boats and at this point sent six boats back in: event leaders Howarth/Townend, Hemmings/Chesney, Davies/Jump, Pearce/Keeling, and Kenya boats Bush/Bush and Shaw/Hurn, who all went in for an early tea. Howarth and Hemmings both had their protests against the Race Committee turned down.

Winds were lighter than previous days, especially for the first race of the second day, but conditions still provided good sailing.

With the Howarth and Townend cats away, the 4th race let the mice out to play, and Wade and Wagstaff were first, McCarthy and McCusker from Ireland second and the newly arrived French boat of Juin and Loyal third.

Kurt Venhoda and Sonia Zaugg were the first boat for Switzerland, improving from a 17th in race 3 to 7th in race 4. For Kenya, Trundell and Hime had one or two beats which they would not have been altogether satisfied with, but were usually able to achieve their now-customary miracle of overtaking many boats on the first reach. In the first day's sailing their best efforts resulted in overtaking some 11 boats; yesterday they managed perhaps 9 or 10 at one blow. We are told they are practising a casual wave as they go by…

Son and father team Joachim and Roger Bebbington for Kenya had their moment of glory on the first day of the Worlds, when they reached the windward mark at the head of the fleet, even in front of the powerful Howarth/Townend boat, and eventually achieving their best position to date at 18th. In the second day they fared a little less well but could still feel happy with how they were going.

Day 3 - Vive la France!

Races 5 and 6 of the Safaricom World Fireball Championships took place in lighter winds than before, but consistent and just enough to keep the event going.

After losing their protest on Race 4 Howarth and Townend seemed more determined than ever and they led all the way in a masterful display of sailing.

After the events of yesterday with boats sent off for being on the course side, race 5 saw the sailors staying safely behind the line and the race got off at the first attempt. France held some good places with Juin/Loyal finishing 5th and Mouches/Nouel at 7th. Trundell, sporting a new blue and yellow spinnaker finished first for Kenya in 8th place, Woods/Bush followed for Kenya followed at 16th.

In Race 6 three starts were needed, one with the sailors having abandoned all caution and many over the line, the second with a timing error by the Committee boat, and then all were clear on the third attempt. This time Howarth and Townend actually saw someone else's transom for part of the race: Mouches and Nouel reached the windward mark first and gave Howarth hard competition on the next reach. By the windward mark Mouches appeared to be on the inside but along the second reach it was apparent that Howarth and Townend had settled back into their now customary position at the front: they never saw another transom.

The finish of the race showed a more interesting spread of results with less of a procession of UK boats. Mouches/Nouel for France were second, UK's Cullen and Tillson were 3rd, and Kurt Venhoda and Sonia Zaugg for Switzerland were 4th. For Ireland McCarthy and McCusker gained 8th, Juin and Loyal another good place for France at 10th, Trundell and Hime for Kenya at 12th. There were some very tight finishes with two boats sharing 17th place and some tight tacking between Woods/Bush to gain 20th place over UK's Alex and Jon Bale at 21st and Scarth/Sheppard at 22nd.

Day 4 - More send-offs in Race 8

Races 7 and 8 of the Safaricom World Fireball Sailing Championships set off today in light winds again, hovering around 10 knots and low wave height.

Roger Bebbington, crew on the Kenya boat of son Joachim and father Roger, was unable to sail today being laid low by a bout of malaria. He was replaced for the day's racing by another father - Mike Allport, visiting Kilifi to watch his son Rob competing with Don White for Kenya.

Race 7 got off to a good start with no recalls; Rowan and Butler (Ireland) were unlucky enough to have a capsize shortly after the start giving themselves a hard task to catch up again. Alex Bale and his brother Jonathan Bale (GBR) had one of their best races to date, being with the leaders all the way and finishing in a satisfactory 6th place. Watchers of this website probably do not need to be told who was in first place, but Howarth/Townend were chased closely for the first two legs by Malcolm Davies and Fiona Jump who finished a well-deserved 2nd, followed by Wade and Wagstaff at 3rd. The French were held to 4th place taken by Juin and Loyal.

Trundell (KEN) played his customary game of billiards on the first reach after a fairly slow beat, potting the other spinnakers one after another: red, blue, yellow, white, black. As ever he made good work to finish 11th overall and first for Kenya: though one wonders where he would finish if his beating were as good as his reaching.

Race 8 took three starts to get going. The second start was black-flagged and after this was recalled seven boats were sent in for being on the course side: Alex and Jonathan Bale (GBR), McCarthy and McCusker (IRL), Hemmings and Chesney (GBR), Popple and Shore (GBR), Woods and Bush (KEN), Mackenzie and Hall (IRL) and Smyth and Mugan (IRL). The remaining boats got off to a clean start; the top UK boats started to pull clear. Don White and Rob Allport were the first boats for Kenya at the first windward mark but after two reaches were overtaken just before the leeward mark by Trundell and Hime who had had a worse than usual first beat rounding the windward mark second from last. With their fast reaching they caught up many places to finish the race 8 at 17th. White and Allport were second for Kenya in 23rd place.

After Howarth/Townend in top place, Malcolm Davies and Fiona Jump took second place again, twice in the day; Cullen and Tillson were consistent with two 5th places. France's boats were both brilliant and erratic: Juin and Loyal took 4th and 20th; and Mouches/Nouel could not match yesterday's excellent second place, finishing the day with a 21st and a 7th. Kurt Venhoda and Sonia Zaugg were first of the two Swiss boats with 7th and 12th places.