2010 Worlds Barbados

 

 

 Barbados Logo.jpg

24th April 2010 - 7th May 2010

Barbados Yacht Club

Barbados

 Launching 1.jpg  The Club and Dinghy Park.jpg  Launching 2.jpg

Final Results Friday, May 7th, 2010

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 and Vyvo win with a day to spare Thursday, May 6th, 2010

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.

The race is now on for second and third place, and there are several teams in the running to reach the remaining podium spots.

Howarth and Townend with 2 more bullets Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

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.

Wednesday, May 5 is a lay day.  Racing continues on Thursday, May 6 with two races scheduled.

Howarth and Townend extend lead Monday, May 3rd, 2010

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.

British teams dominate day 1 Sunday, May 2nd, 2010

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.

Howarth and Townend secure victory in International Week Friday, April 30th, 2010

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.

Edwards & Potts lead after 3 races Thursday, April 29th, 2010

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.

Stuck on the beach Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

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.

 

Launching

and Racing

Launching Video.jpg

Official Video

Official Video.jpg

Dinghy Park

Dinghy Park.jpg

TV Footage

World Business.jpg