55th Gunner Office Equipment Fireball Australian Championship at Portland Yacht Club

by Chris Payne 15 Feb 2022 06:33 GMT 4-7 February 2022

After a long hiatus and an ever changing landscape of restrictions the International Association of Australia (IFAA) finally managed to run the 55th Fireball Australian Championships on the waters of Bass Strait off Portland in the Western Region of Victoria.

Initially the regatta had been slated for Yeppoon in Queensland but with uncertainty on borders a more local venue was selected. Luckily Victoria is blessed with regional clubs that not only have great waters to sail in, but have active and friendly associations which can cater for classes such as the fireball.

Portland Yacht Club (PYC) is just such a club and put on an amazing regatta which provided everything the class needed to get the nationals back on the calendar. Unfortunately the fleet size was small with a number of sailors pulling out due to Covid-19, but those that came had some amazing sailing and very easy and enjoyable social events.

Day 1 saw three races in 15 to 20 knots with some exciting sailing amongst the large waves. Whilst the fireball scow shape is more suited to the flat water, the fireball sailors revelled in the conditions. South Australian sailors Ben Schulz / Joal Makenzie laid the gauntlet down with three bullets and looked to be fully in control. Fellow SA sailors Jalina Thompson-Kambas / Nathan Stockley kept the pressure on with two third places whilst the big men of the Victorian fleet Nick Gunner / Simon Gunner and Myles Gavin / Ben O'Brien kept them honest and shared the second places.

Day 2 had similar wind which increased during the day to 20 to 25 knots and put more pressure on the sailors to perform. Again Ben / Joal dominated in the first race, but their bad start in the second race allowed Jalina / Nathan to get away to a comfortable win in the windiest race of the series. For one of the smallest crews this turned out to be a pivotal moment for Jalina / Nathan's overall chances.

Day 3 was lighter and favoured the smaller crews sailing through the Bass Strait waves. Previous Australian Champions Heather Macfarlane / Chris Payne showed better form in the lighter breezes with a couple of wins, but Jalina / Nathan's two seconds and a first clawed back the points deficit to Ben / Joal. This meant that the two SA boats were on equal points after two drops and couldn't be beaten for first or second with two races remaining.

Day 4 was again lighter and whilst the racing was extremely close for much of the racing Jalina / Nathan secured two comfortable second places to clinch the title for their first Australian Championship win. Both SA boats showed good speed across the ranges, but Jalina / Nathan's consistency in all conditions made them a worthy winner.

With exactly two years to go until the World Championships are in Geelong, now is the time to get into the Fireball - for more information check out the web site at www.fireball-international.com and 2024.fireballworlds.com.

Overall Results:

Pos	Sail No	Boat Name	Helm	Crew	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10	Pts
1	15011 Ball Breaker		Jalina Thompson‑Kambas	Nathan Stockley	Largs Bay SC, SA	[3]	[3]	3	2	1	2	2	1	2	2	15
2	15159	Riptide	Ben Schulz	Joal Mackenzie	Largs Bay SC, SA	1	1	1	1	[4]	4	[5]	3	3	4	18
3	15048	Not Your Average Rockstars	Heather Macfarlane	Chris Payne	Black Rock / Sandringham, YC VIC	[6]	4	[11]	4	6	1	1	2	1	1	20
4	15027	The Grey Ghost	Phil Peverell	Bruce Shand	Frankston YC, VIC	[8]	6	5	6	[7]	7	3	4	5	3	39
5	14608	Hot Wire	Myles Gavin	Ben O'Brien	Royal Geelong YC, VIC	7	2	4	3	5	[8]	7	[10]	7	6	41
6	15049	Scatter gun	Nick gunner	Simon gunner	Royal Geelong YC, VIC	2	7	2	[11]	2	5	10	[12]	10	8	46
6	15062	The big bang theory	Josh White	Peter James	Royal Geelong YC, VIC	4	5	6	5	3	[11]	[11]	7	11	5	46
8	14572	Return of the Jedi	Josh Garner	Brendan Garner	Royal Geelong YC, VIC	[11]	11	8	9	8	3	6	8	4	[12]	57
9	14851	WaveWalkabout	Mark Jarred	Tom Jarred	Gosford SC, NSW	10	13	7	[16C]	[16C]	6	4	5	7	9	61
10	14414	Outback Dingos	Glenn Peverell	Bruno Lanati	Frankston YC, VIC	5	8	10	7	[13F]	9	[12]	9	8	10	66
11	14814	What's the Story...?	Susannah Gillam	Andrew Butler	Royal Geelong YC, VIC	[12]	10	9	10	9	[12]	8	6	9	7	68
12	14601	Cop You Later	Rod Barker	Darrell Ralph	Warrnambool YC, VIC	9	9	[13]	8	10	10	9	11	[12]	11	77
13	14943	Rockstars	Andrew Kean	Mabel Kean	Cairn Curran SC, VIC	13	12	12	12	11	[14]	13	[14]	13	13	99
14	12778	Sequel	Peter Russell	Jenny Russell	Warrnambool YC, VIC	15	[16F]	[16C]	16	16	13	15	13	14	15	117
14	14603	Fred	Ben Doak	Glenn	Royal Geelong YC, VIC	14	[16F]	14	14F	[16C]	15	14	16F	16F	14	117