News

2015 Worlds Day Two

26 August 2015

Gul Fireball World Championships at Plas Heli - Day 2
By David Henshall on 24 Aug17-28 August 2015
Gul Fireball World Championship day 2
 

As well as offering one of the best stretches of sailing water to be found anywhere in the UK, the Llyn peninsular of North Wales offers the most picturesque of backdrops. Of course, to be able to enjoy the stunningly spectacular views that include Snowdon and Cadair Idris,, the traditional Welsh welcome of continuous rain has to take a bit of a holiday. But when it does... the sun comes out, the breeze kicks in and Tremadog Bay transforms itself into the perfect stage for a day of drama.

To say that the day turned out to be something of a surprise would be an understatement. The forecast had been for sub-10 knots with something along the lines of a 10%+ probability of a sharp shower. Instead, the sun broke through as the fleet were sailing out to the start and having decided to shine, just got brighter as the day wore on. To match the blue skies the breeze quickly freshened into double figures and then continued to build as the day wore on.

The weather may have changed but the start line issues remain the same, with the now expected General Recall first time around. At the second attempt the fleet did get away, with James Peters and Fynn Sterritt making a pin end start that was straight out of the play book. With clear air they were able to control the fleet who were also heading left and before long the other pin end hopefuls were being forced to tack off. Jonny McGovan and Max Todd were one team that decided to follow the old adage of "when in the sh** (merde,,, but it doesn't rhyme), go right" which they did, ducking boat after boat until a gap finally opened up to let them squeeze through. For the first lap Peters and Sterritt appeared comfortable out front, but as they went up the second beat the wind kicked left, then right. From a stable leading position, it looked as if the pair would be down into fourth, maybe even lower; it says something of their sailing abilities in a boat that is new to them that they were able to recover some of their lost ground. The lead was now taken up by Darian and Andy Scott, who once they had their bow in front set about extending their advantage on each of the remaining legs of the sausage-triangle-sausage course.

 

Readers who have been following these reports could be forgiven in asking "where was Gillard in all of this?" After not putting a foot wrong last week (and, to be fair, doing the same in yesterday's second race) Tom and crew Richard Anderton were playing Wurzell somewhere around the middle of the fleet. An uncharacteristic poor start was bad enough, only for one of their trapeze wires to break going up the beat. Lesser crews would have pulled a DNF, but with their BFD score from yesterday, the pair set about making the most of what they could, even to the point of passing their good trapeze line around the boat on each tack (a good reason to hit the corners!!). "When the going gets tough...." the tough certainly get going. After the first lap there were up into the 20s and by the finish, they had clawed their way up to 10th. No one would catch the flying Scotts, nor the experienced DJ Edwards and crew Vyv Townend, who would add another 2nd place to their good results from Day 1.

 

For Race 2, the conditions were just more of the same, sunshine, breeze and then...more breeze. And, just to prove the pundits wrong, the fleet got away at the first time of asking. Or at least, most did. With 15 seconds to go on a U flag start, Dave Wade's boat appeared to pop out from the line, but instead of heading home for an early bath, he tried to hide from the all-seeing eyes on the Committee Boat and Pin by diving back down into the fleet. The orderly text-book example of pin end starting now became an ugly tangle of boats, complete with a cacophony of shouting. Finally everyone got untangled and set off, but just as with yesterday, Tom Gillard and Richard Anderton pulled out all the stops on the second race of the day. They were already clear ahead when the pair correctly called a big shift on the beat. With their lead now more than 200m and growing, it was back to fleet management, something that the pair has shown that they can excel at. Behind then Edwards and Townend were proving the value of consistent sailing with their second 2nd place of the day, results that would lift them to the top of the leader board.

 

The results though would be subject to the results of a number of protests, one of which concerned the well placed pairing of Birrell and Brearey. If the decision went against them, it would further open up the competition. Instead, their robust defence saw the pair live to fight another day with their score line intact. Edwards and Townend may be front running but the event is only 40% complete. More races, more discards, it is still too early to say how things will look at the end of the week. Ian Dobson, James Peters, Claude Mermod and a handful of others have all shown good pace - after the top dozen or so there is a bit of a gap to the rest.

The forecast for tomorrow suggests a return to more unsettled weather, rain later and more breeze. By tomorrow night, the situation will be a bit clearer.

Results after Day 2:

 

Pos Boat Name Nat Sail No Helm Crew R1 R2 R3 R4 Pts
1st   GBR 15096 DJ Edwards Vyv Townend 2 10 2 2 16
2nd Makira GBR 15107 Christian Birrell Sam Brearey 1 2 12 3 18
3rd   GBR 15089 Ian Dobson Ben Ainsworth 3 3 11 5 22
4th Broken Waters GBR 15123 Matt Burge Richard Wagstaff 11 9 3 10 33
5th Gill Race Team GBR 15120 Vince Horey Robert Gardner 14 5 9 9 37
6th   SUI 14799 Claude Mermod Ruedi Moser 5 7 22 7 41
7th Weathermark Sailboats GBR 15129 James Peters Fynn Sterritt 28 4 4 6 42
8th Oringinelles FRA 14917 Rémy Thuillier Mathieu Corruble 6 17 8 12 43
9th   GBR 15050 Kev Hope Russell Thorne 20 6 20 4 50
10th Nanosekunda CZE 15110 Jaroslav Verner Pavel Winkler 9 15 18 8 50
11th Speed Machine GBR 15094 Jonny McGovern Max Todd 16 16 7 19 58
12th   GBR 15046 Alex Taylor Geoff Edwards 7 14 13 25 59
13th Southpaws GBR 14941 Derian Scott Andy Scott 8 22 1 29 60
14th   GBR 15073 Tim Rush Tim Saunders 4 12 28 16 60
15th Tinderbox IRL 15114 Barry McCartin Conor Kinsella 27 8 15 13 63
16th Capriccio GBR 15112 David Sayce Nick Rees 17 24 30 11 82
17th Simples 4 GBR 15122 David Hall Paul Constable 13 11 44 15 83
18th   GBR 15124 Peter Kyne Tom Kyne 10 23 6 45 84
19th Harken IRL 15058 Kenneth Rumball Bryan Byrne 12 31 21 23 87
20th Soapy GBR 14898 Paul Cullen Adam Whitehouse 30 27 23 20 100
21st Balls to the wall CZE 14551 Jiri Paruzek Jakub Kosvica 19 20 34 32 105
22nd   GBR 15130 David Winder Matthew Calvert 22 26 43 17 108
23rd Pigs on the run GBR 14892 Penny Gibbs Ian Gibbs 48 35 5 26 114
24th   GBR 15083 Chris Gill Jonathan Gill 32 25 41 18 116
25th Norbert GBR 15045 Christine Slater Graham Slater 24 33 37 24 118
26th Allen GBR 15127 Tom Gillard Richard Anderton BFD [108] 1 10 1 120
27th Fire Starter GBR 15118 Grahame Newton Mark Stevens 46 37 17 34 134
28th Mashed Potato GBR 14909 Ian Priest Mike Stoddart 51 32 16 42 141
29th   IRL 15061 Noel Butler Stephen Oram 44 28 39 37 148
30th Darth Winkle GBR 15070 Philip Popple Laurence Gibbons 39 34 51 31 155
31st   CZE 15109 Milan Cap Jakub Napravnik BFD [108] 13 14 21 156
32nd Blew Genes GBR 14798 Lucy Riley Tim Riley 53 42 35 27 157
33rd   GBR 14801 Richard Cornes James Goodfellow 47 18 45 48 158
34th MasMis CZE 15108 Milan Snajdr Jan Will 21 43 50 44 158
35th Smiffy GBR 15066 Mark Maskell Nigel Sheppard 25 47 40 47 159
36th Blue Tack GBR 14928 Anthony Willcocks James Willcocks 37 29 59 40 165
37th   FRA 14728 Christophe Brigaudeau Gerard Beganton 33 58 47 28 166
38th   GBR 15113 David Wade Simon Hibbet 15 19 25 UFD [108] 167
39th Pyromania GBR 15099 Simon Kings Alistair Weatherill 23 36 70 38 167
40th   CAN 15043 Robert Levy Jonathan Driver 38 48 29 52 167
41st   GBR 15041 Maria Richards Graham Hoy 26 46 57 39 168
42nd Fred GBR 14834 Charlie Maunder Will Maunder 35 41 56 41 173
43rd Tipsy McStagger IRL 14807 Conor Clancy James Clancy 52 44 42 35 173
44th Jeff GBR 14837 Russ Cormack Ali Cormack 49 53 19 56 177
45th Cruel and Unusual GBR 14778 Mike Deane Paul Disney 36 49 31 62 178
46th Wave Rover GBR 15115 Steve Jarred Nick Collins 41 45 63 30 179
47th Fuchur SUI 14859 Christina Härdi‑Landerer Cedric Landerer 45 39 48 50 182
48th   GBR 14886 Simon Maskell Thomas Maskell 42 61 32 49 184
49th   AUS 15062 Ben Schulz Doug Sheppard 34 21 27 DSQ [108] 190
50th   GBR 14887 Bryan Sargeant William Sargeant 31 69 24 69 193
51st   RSA 14904 Anthony Parker Ferdinand Holm 66 30 73 33 202
52nd   GBR 15103 Keith Walker Sam Smith 63 56 38 55 212
53rd Wol GBR 14785 Simon Lomas‑Clarke Rob Daniels 55 80 60 22 217
54th   GBR 14977 Jonathan Carter Gareth Wilkinson 62 71 33 51 217
55th Tricks of the trade GBR 15075 Andy Willcocks Andrea Willcocks 57 40 61 61 219
56th   GBR 14579 Martin Walker John Piatt 43 62 52 63 220
57th   GBR 15097 Ben Richardson David Pannell 40 85 26 71 222
58th Lucille GBR 14791 Angus Hemmings Steve Chesney 18 38 BFD [108] 59 223
59th Blew Sky GBR 15102 Martin Scarth Tom Johnson 29 51 74 70 224
60th Orchitis Returns GBR 15002 Simon Kelsall Tom Burrows 60 66 55 53 234
61st Whistling Gorilla CZE 14809 Kla'ra Janderova Michaela Burdova 74 55 36 73 238
62nd Blunt Edge GBR 14636 Will Moody Matthew Moody 69 65 66 43 243
63rd Rascal GBR 14797 Rory Rose Lucy Priest 76 50 78 54 258
64th   GBR 14940 Georgia Booth Zoe Meynell BFD [108] 63 54 36 261
65th   BEL 15039 Bart Meynendonckx Francis De Roeck 54 79 65 65 263
66th Pointless CAN 15024 Ben Ballard Tom Egli 72 74 72 46 264
67th   BEL 14445 Roel Peerlinck Sam Peerlinck 78 52 67 68 265
68th   RSA 14877 David Laing Mark Dee 73 77 58 60 268
69th   GBR 14804 Tobias Hamer Torie Morley 67 68 49 88 272
70th D?kuju! CZE 14827 Petr Koran Milan Kvasnik DNC [108] DNC [108] 46 14 276
71st Orchitis Too GBR 15004 Rob Watson Simon Forbes 56 59 53 RET [108] 276
72nd 2 Fat Laddies GBR 14991 Andy Robinson Tim Morgan 50 57 64 DNF [108] 279
73rd Licken on both sides GBR 14994 Peter Badham Jez White 96 64 62 58 280
74th Sijambo GBR 14821 Nick Hurst Jake Elsbury 79 76 69 57 281
75th Millennium Falcon GBR 14889 Barry Smith Olivia Stodieck 58 82 75 78 293
76th   IRL 14938 Niall McGrotty Neil Cramer 65 54 68 RET [108] 295
77th   GBR 14950 Chris Thorne Cormac Bradley 68 84 71 72 295
78th   GBR 14883 Rowland Smith Jack Parmenter 61 60 91 89 301
79th Blind Squirrel IRL 14713 Frank Miller Ed Butler 77 78 83 64 302
80th Harken CAN 15081 Debbie Kirkby Simon Pearson 59 70 BFD [108] 67 304
81st Lady Eile IRL 14748 Jonathan Evans Aidan Caulfield 82 67 79 79 307
82nd www.boatrepaircentre.co.uk GBR 14391 Hannah Showell Jo Line 71 87 84 66 308
83rd Dazed and Confused GBR 15111 Chris Turner Jono Loe 81 72 89 74 316
84th Pink Panther GBR 14784 Geoff Holden Sophie Holden 75 91 80 77 323
85th   CZE 13978 Martin Veit Filip Krejza 70 98 82 75 325
86th Afternoon Delight GBR 15080 Roger Etherington Jo Adams 83 73 85 86 327
87th   GBR 14860 Peter Bettles Richard Bettles 80 86 86 82 334
88th   GBR 15031 Steven Crossley Wendy Smythe 86 88 76 85 335
89th Mutley's Revenge GBR 15056 Colin Snowden Karen Hiles 85 83 81 92 341
90th Kevlar Footprint GBR 15036 Fiona Gray Steve Chatten 64 93 RET [108] 80 345
91st Gromit SUI 14896 Richard Scheller Linus Eberle 87 100 77 81 345
92nd Magiic GBR 14872 Barbara Newson Guy Newson 91 75 92 91 349
93rd Goodness Gracious IRL 14691 Louise McKenna Hermine O'Keefe 88 89 88 84 349
94th Got the sheets! GBR 14800 Miles Thomas James Patrick 95 92 87 76 350
95th Comfortably Numb GBR 14242 Rupert Smith Chris Turner BFD [108] 81 95 87 371
96th Generation Dilligaf GBR 15035 Robert Mountain Peter Jones 94 95 93 90 372
97th   GBR 14993 Timothy Cox Kingsley Cox 84 101 94 94 373
98th Windy Anna Jones GBR 14843 Paul Anthony Andy Stewart DNF [108] 94 90 83 375
99th Elvira GBR 14415 Jonathan Cowper Martin Mills 93 96 96 93 378
100th Purple Haze GBR 15121 Bryan Thompson Sophie Lockett 89 97 100 95 381
101st Playball GBR 14622 Kris Kenmuir‑Hogg Cora Kenmuir‑Hogg 92 102 98 97 389
102nd Gertrude GBR 14323 Jasmin Sayed Angus Kirk 97 99 99 98 393
103rd Aussie Blew GBR 14109 Edward Coday Jonathan Chetland 90 90 RET [108] DNS [108] 396
104th   GBR 13325 Tiger Cox James Cuxson 98 103 102 99 402
105th   GBR 14454 Graham Gittins Euan Rose DNF [108] DNC [108] 97 96 409
106th   GBR 15105 Vic Hardingham Rachel Hardingham DNC [108] DNC [108] 101 DNC [108] 425
107th   GBR 13791 Hayley Smith Joanna Trafford DNC [108] DNC [108] DNS [108] DNF [108] 432

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