The Fireball Europeans 2003 will be held in the Shetland Islands.

The Shetland Island Fireball Association has done an excellent job drumming up interest, organizing good ferry deals and, of course, providing excellent sailing conditions.

Visit their championship information page.

From Scott Nicolson, GBR / SHE 14436
Contact John Manson, +44 (0)7901 792228

"Can I drive across the glaciers?" one Slovenian Sailor asked me in Maccagno. He had been to Iceland and thought at 60° North, Shetland would be similar. I'm afraid we can't offer skiing but plenty of alternatives.

The 2003 European Championships will be held in the Shetland capital Lerwick. Built up around a natural harbour, and sheltered by the island of Bressay, the sailing area will be at the southern entrance to the harbour. As it gradually opens out into the North Sea with a backdrop of spectacular sea cliffs, it provides an excellent sailing area. With the weather systems tracking across the isles, and only a slight tidal effect, conditions will be varied with a swell often running through the course.

The event will be based from the old harbour right in the centre of the town, with around a one-mile sail to the start. The dinghy park will be on Victoria Pier literally across the road from the main shopping area, restaurants and pubs in town, guaranteeing a good atmosphere. The Lerwick Boating Club is only 200 yards along the waterfront so everything is in easy walking distance.

Lerwick lies just above the 60° parallel so benefits from almost endless daylight in the summer months but with the North Atlantic Drift gives us a temperate climate that belies our high latitude. The average temperature in July is 14 degrees with water temperature of 12 degrees. Wind for the time of year will generally be a steady force 3-4 but you can expect anything from light airs to a full on Fireball wind. For the sceptics we often wear shortie wetsuits in July and polar bear attacks are rare.

SAILING EVENTS

The Shetland Nationals will be sailed on Thursday 10th and Friday 11th. This is great opportunity for sailors to get used to the sailing conditions. Three races will be sailed each day starting at 12.30, with four to count from the six races sailed for the championship.

Saturday 12th is Measurement Day for the Europeans. Situated in a marquee on Victoria Pier, with music outside, it will give a more relaxed feel to the formalities. In the evening, a welcoming party for all sailors will be held in the Boating Club with a feed of local dishes to set you up for the main event.

The European Championships kick off on Sunday 13th with two races each day. With starts at 13.00, it should allow time for heads to clear from the night before. For those who take advantage of the special late licences in the club and the pubs in town at the event, this may be needed. Racing continues through to Friday 18th. With ten races scheduled, eight are to count for the championship. The championship prize giving will be held at a civic reception in Lerwick Town Hall, followed with a party night in the boating club afterwards. We also intend to award junior and wooden boat prizes for the event.

Wednesday is the Lay Day and optional trips around the isles will be available to see what the isles have to offer, why not bring the family. Please visit the web sites below for more information.

Explore Shetland - www.exploreshetland.com
Visit Shetland - www.visitshetland.com

As a finale to the event we intend to have a race on Saturday 19th. If anyone is up for it, we propose to sail around the island of Bressay - 16 miles of some of the highest sea cliffs in Britain, hosting one of the world's largest sea bird colonies. You can do a bit of bird spotting on the three sail reach through the swell!

TRAVEL

To encourage Fireballers to make the trip to our isles, we have negotiated discounted rates of travel on the Northlink ferry from Aberdeen. Sailors intending to sail at the Shetland Nationals and the Europeans should book the ferry for Wednesday 9th July, which departs Aberdeen at 19.00 and arrives in Lerwick at 07.00 the next day. If you can only make the Europeans, book the ferry for Friday 11th , again it leaves Aberdeen at 19.00. The cost for a car, trailer and a two berth cabin with meals is £250 return. A cheaper option is to leave your car in Aberdeen and wheel the Fireball onboard. With reclining seats the cost is around £115 for two, return.

Arrangements will be made to pick crews and boats up at the ferry terminal and take you to the dinghy park a mile away. Lane space and cabins on the ferry has been reserved but it is advisable to book early, as unused space will have to be released nearer to the busy summer season.

Information is on the website about booking at www.fireball-champs2003.co.uk

ACCOMODATION

As Shetland receives a large number of summer visitors, accommodation in Lerwick gets books early, so we therefore recommend that sailors start booking accommodation as son as possible. To assist sailors, the local association have arranged exclusive use of the local senior school Halls of Residence. It is located five minutes walk from the clubhouse and dinghy park and practically overlooks the sailing area. The cost is £21.50 a night B&B. For more information about booking the Halls of Residence, and other alternatives, please access our website.

There have already been bookings for accommodation from Swiss, French, Irish as well as Scots and English. The combined entry fee for both events is £130 before the end of May. Again more information about entering, as well as the Notice of Race is on the website.

Not surprisingly, Shetlanders have a great affinity to the sea and there will be a lot of local interest in the event. There will be a special buzz around Lerwick Harbour in July. It has also stimulated great interest in the local Fireball fleet with two new hulls and three second-hand boats arriving in Shetland. Fireballs are also changing hands within the isles and the majority of boats have ordered new sails for the season. We expect to have 11 local boats at the event including three junior boats. With racing starting on the first weekend of April the local fleet is taking the Championships seriously.

For more information contact John Manson at

+44 (0)7901 792228
jmanson@arch-henderson.co.uk

or

shetlandfireball@aol.com

We look forward to welcoming you all to our isles in July.

Cheers,
Scott Nicolson
GBR / SHE 14436

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