Fireball Leinsters Report - 20th -21st June
Report provided courtesy of Marguerite O'Rourke, PRO Fireball Ireland.
Irish Fireball Association Leinster Championships 2009 –
20-21st June Skerries Sailing Club
Skerries Sailing Club was the venue for this year’s Irish Fireball Association Leinster Championship last weekend. 28 boats raced this event with helms and crews tested by a range of conditions over the two days. A breezy north-westerly on Saturday produced gusts in the high twenties, while Sunday produced light airs combined with a strong ebb tide.
Race Officer Liam Dinneen and his team held four races on the Saturday, setting good courses with some thrilling kite reaches on the downwind sections. Although the wind was with tide, there was an awkward chop on the beats. Going left seemed to be the order of the day and there would be some busy port laylines as racing progressed.
The first race went to visiting helm Derian Scott who was sailing with Skerries crew Seamus Moore, ahead of local team Simon Mc Grotty & Darrach Dinneen. Victory in race two saw Phil Lawton & Francis Rowan take line honours with Mc Grotty / Dinneen crossing in second. Scott / Moore reclaimed first place in race three ahead of Lawton / Rowan. The fourth and final race of the day had Portishead’s Andrew Pearce, sailing with Hugh Butler, establish an early commanding lead. They duly claimed the final gun of the day ahead of Lawton / Rowan and Scott / Moore.
Overnight the top four were very close on points. Scott / Moore led the event with Lawton / Rowan on the same score. Mc Grotty / Dinneen were lying in third, just one point behind the leaders. Pearce / Butler resided in fourth place.
In the silver fleet, a number of new teams were in evidence at the event. Some gritty sailing was done in the tricky conditions and there were a few walking wounded. Ian O’Gorman & Glen Fisher were the first silver boat overnight, with Brian Nolan & Billy Winter of Clontarf in second and Dave Coleman & Grattan Donnelly in third place.
Sunday brought lighter airs and flat water, a relief to those with sore arms and skinned fingers. The race for the ribbons was on with only two races being required to complete the event. After one general recall the fleet got away. Conditions were light and frustrating. Wind pressure was variable across the course with a strengthening ebb tide on the nose during the beats. Andrew Pearce & Hugh Butler slipped around the windward mark in first place but eventually Dun Laoghaire’s Kenneth Rumball sailing with Marty O’Leary nabbed the gun, leaving Pearce / Butler in second and Skerries sailors Conor O’Toole & Aileen Boylan in third place. 
The final race brought a little more wind but the fleet was stemming a strengthening tide up the beat. Niall Mc Grotty and Robert McMahon led the
race after a good pin end start. After some very close racing on the final leg, during which places were being continually exchanged between the top three,
the winner of the event was decided by a thrilling beat to the finish.
Niall Mc Grotty & Robert Mahon rounded the leeward mark in first place with Pearce / Butler rounding on their transom, followed closely by Derian Scott & Seamus Moore. Scott / Moore managed to sail clear and looked set to win the event as Pearce / Butler were being held back in third in a tacking duel with Mc Grotty / Mahon. Just at the line Pearce / Butler triumphed, springing back into second place and winning the series from Derian Scott & Seamus Moore by one point. Phil Lawton and Francis Rowan placed third, claiming the title of Leinster Champions.
Gold Fleet:
1st Andrew Pearce & Hugh Butler PYSC & RStGYC
2nd Derian Scott & Seamus Moore CVLSC & SSC
3rd Phil Lawton & Francis Rowan RIYC & NYC
Silver Fleet:
1st Brian Nolan & Billy Winter CYBC
2nd Dave Coleman & Grattan Donnelly CH
3rd Derval O’Carroll & Cormac Bradley RStGYC