Bristol Corinthian YC played host to a Fireball open meeting over the weekend of 13-14 April.

Saturday saw ten teams taking part in an excellent training day, run by Phil Popple and Doug Shaw. Faced with a very shifty north-easterly breeze blowing down off the Mendip hills. Phil pressed on undeterred and the ten teams

boats spent the day practicing starts, short windward/leeward single lap races and more starts. The emphasis on practical on the water coaching was universally appreciated and by evening everyone felt they had gained much from the day.

Sunday dawned sunny and windless. After over an hour’s postponement the sky had turned grey and a light breeze came in from the south-west, enabling the race officer, Ken Falcon, to get a race under way. The breeze was every bit as fickle as Saturday’s, however, this didn’t phase Andy Pearce and Jon Gill who soon arrived at the front

of the fleet followed by Malcolm Davies and Fiona Jump in second and Andy and Andrea Wilcox in third. The second race was led from start to finish by Wilcox with Davies in second again and the Jarvis brothers, unperturbed by the difficult shifts, pushing up to third. The final race was held in an increasing breeze. Alex and Jon Bale shot off into the lead, pursued by Andy Pearce and local boys Rhys Lankester and Chris Bishop. With the Bale brother swanning off into the lead, Pearce, Lankester and Davies were left fighting for second place. By the final leg of the course Pearce climbed up to second and Davies crossed third just ahead of the locals, giving Pearce the overall event.

Overall Results

1st Andy Pearce and Jon Gill (Portishead YSC)

2nd Andy and Andrea Wilcox (Clevedon SC)

3rd Malcolm Davies and Fiona Jump (Paignton SC)

4th Alex and Jon Bale (Portishead SC)

5th Colin and Derek Jarvis (Portishead SC & BCYC)

6th Rhys Lankester and Chris Bishop (BCYC)