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

Jalina Thompson-Kambas and Nathan Stockley powering upwind during the Fireball Australian Championship © Shirley Stanford

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.

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