Thanks to all the organizers and our hosts in Barbados for a great event, and thanks to all the competitors for an event well sailed!
We put together this short video to capture a little bit of the spirit of the event. Hope you enjoy it!
The video is also available in YouTube HD by clicking here.
By the way – if you’re from another sailing class and would like information and direct experience to help setup your event in Barbados, please contact our class secretary, Andrew Davies.
The racing is completed for the 2010 Fireball World Championships and Great Britain have won the top three spots on the podium at the 2010 Fireball World Championships.
One race was held today off Carlisle Bay in Barbados, West Indies, under sunny skies and winds ranging from 14 to 18 knots. The fleet was very aggressive on the start line today with it being the last chance for teams to secure their final spots on the results sheet. It took five attempts, three of them under a black flag, before the fleet finally got off to a clean start. With the delay in the day’s first race, it was not possible to start a tenth and final race for the series since the start time limit had expired.
In the end, nine races were completed for this year’s championship, allowing the competitors to discard their worst 2 races from the score sheet.
The final top ten are as follows:
1st – Chips Howarth, Vyv Townend (GBR)
2nd – Matt Burge, Richard Wagstaff (GBR)
3rd – David Edwards, Simon Potts (GBR)
4th – Matt Findlay, Richard Anderton (GBR)
5th – Ben Schulz, Phillip Bowley (AUS)
6th – David Wade, Tim Saunders (GBR)
7th – Robin Inns, Joel Coultas (AUS)
8th – Tim Rush, Russ Clark (GBR)
9th – Martin Kubovy, Milan Cap (CZE)
10th – Kevin Hope, Russell Thorne (GBR)
Chips Howarth & Vyv Townend (GBR) - 2010 World Champions
Chips Howarth & Vyv Townend (GBR) won both races today, and have won the Fireball World Championships for the second year running. There are still two races scheduled to be sailed on Friday, May 7, but Chips and Vyv have been so commanding in their performance that it is now impossible for any other boats to catch them. Of the eight races sailed so far, the British duo have won six of them, finishing third in the other two.
Two races were sailed today off the Barbados Yacht Club at Carlisle Bay, Barbados, West Indies under sunny skies and winds starting at 14 knots for Race 7, diminishing to 12 knots for Race 8.
After 8 races, Matt Burge and Richard Wagstaff (GBR) sit in second place, and Matt Findlay and Richard Anderton (GBR) are in third place. Other countries have been coming closer to cracking the British dominance, with two Australian teams and one Czech team sitting in the top 10, but they are yet to make the podium on the overall leaderboard.
Complete results are available here.
The race is now on for second and third place, and there are several teams in the running to reach the remaining podium spots.
The final day of racing is Friday, May 7th, with two races scheduled.
Lighter winds made no difference to Chips Howarth and Vyv Townend from Great Britain as they continued to dominate the 2010 Fireball Worlds. Two races were held today off Carlisle Bay in Barbados at the 2010 Fireball World Championships. There were a few small showers and otherwise mostly sunny skies with winds at 12-14 knots throughout the day.
Fellow Brits, Matt Findlay and Richard Anderton kept it a closer finish for Race 5 battling through to the finish with Howarth and Townend, but then Chips and Vyv pulled away from the fleet to finish well ahead in Race 6.
After 6 races, Matt Burge and Richard Wagstaff (GBR) are in 2nd place, followed by Matt Findlay and Richard Anderton (GBR). Boats with sail numbers not starting with GBR still haven’t managed to crack the overall podium, but they are starting to reach the top three spots in individual races with Australian boats claiming 2nd and 3rd in Race 6.
Complete results are available here.
Wednesday, May 5 is a lay day. Racing continues on Thursday, May 6 with two races scheduled.
Rounding the Gybe Mark - Photo Copyright Peter Marshall
We’re pleased to report that we now have on-the-water photos added to the photo gallery. More photos will be added daily.
Chips Howarth and Vyv Townend (GBR) continue to lead the 2010 Fireball Worlds after day 2 of racing. Matt Burge and Richard Wagstaff (GBR) are in 2nd place, while David Wade and Tim Saunders (GBR) climbed up the rankings to sit in 3rd.
Barbados served up another beautiful sailing day with sunny skies and warm winds. Two races were held today in shifty conditions with breeze ranging from 13 – 18 knots.
Full results as of race 4 are available here.
Racing continues tomorrow, Tuesday, May 4 with the first of two races scheduled to start at 12:30.
The leaderboard was filled with teams from Great Britain on day 1 of the 2010 Fireball World Championships. Chips Howarth and Vyv Townend continued their strong performance with another first in Race 1, while their compatriots Matt Findlay and Richard Anderton won Race 2. In fact, British teams held down the top 7 spots in Race 1.
As of Race 2, Chips Howarth and Vyv Townend (GBR) sit in 1st, Matt Burge and Richard Wagstaff (GBR) are 2nd, and Matt Findlay and Richard Anderton are in 3rd.
Chips Howarth & Vyv Townend have won the 2010 Fireball International Week regatta with 2 first place finishes on the final day of racing. Chips described the racing as picture perfect conditions – a strong breeze, warm water, nice waves, sunshine, and enough shifts to make the racing tactically challenging.
Boats from Great Britain took all three spots on the podium, plus fourth place, to completely dominate the first week of racing. David Edwards & Simon Potts were narrowly edged out of first today after leading the regatta, and ended up in 2nd place, while Kevin Hope and Russel Thorne took 3rd place. In fourth were David Wade and Tim Saunders. In fifth place were Ben Shulz and Phillip Bowley from Australia.
The common sentiment heard among competitors was that the conditions were shifty and tricky. A lead could quickly evaporate, and by the same token, there was always room to move up in the fleet by paying close attention to puffs and shifts. “Snakes & Ladders” was how Matt Burge & Richard Wagstaff (GBR), winners of race 3 described it.
After 3 races, British boats are holding the top 2 spots with DJ David Edwards in 1st, followed by Kevin Hope and Russel Thorne. Australians Ben Shulz and Phillip Bowley currently sit in 3rd.
Full results are available here.
Racing was postponed on April 27. Due to high surf hitting the launch areas at the Barbados Yacht Club, sailing had to be postponed for the day. The surf made safe launching of committee boats and competitor boats impossible.
With no racing scheduled for Wednesday, April 28, the next races have been scheduled for Thursday, April 29. In an effort to make up lost races on the schedule, the start time has been moved to 11:00 AM on Thursday, with 3 races scheduled instead of 2.
