Fireballs win at NOD
Tom Bird has sent us this great report on the PCYC Fireball fleet's local road warriors. They have just competed in one of my favourite regattas, the Nepean One Design in Ottawa. Thanks Tom! The Fireball fleet including a 3 boat Pointe-Claire armada consisting of Pierre Carpentier & Tom Bird sailing on Friarballs, Steven Waldie & Nicola Mocchiutti sailing on Pontificate and keen newcomers Ancilla Rompala & Valerie Knight were looking forward to their first sail after countless hours reviving Wildchild.
The 10 boat fleet was treated to an array of shifts, swirls, impossible lifts and devastating headers; all things typical of sailing on the Ottawa River. The temperatures on the water were average and quite comfortable. Saturday featured an imminent threat of rain with mostly light winds. Clearing skies and a more exciting breeze was served up for Sunday’s racing.
The 7th and final race turned into a battle of inches for the lead boats. At the starting signal of the last race, the top three teams were separated by only 0.75 points in the standings (a shocking 0.25 point gap for scores including drops!!).
When the top half of the fleet rounded the lee mark only seconds apart, it was clear that the regatta would come down to 2 final marks. On the last beat, a slippery lead changed hands often and the boats were even tighter rounding the top mark. Friarballs made it around first to secure the regatta. Pontificate fouled at the mark but managed to get ahead of NSC’s Rocket Science for second overall, despite making penalty turns with the spinnaker up on the last leg.
NOD always marks the beginning of the Fireball’s regatta season and this one’s close finish will be one to remember. Thanks to the organizers and our gracious hosts. Results are available at;
http://nsc.ca/web2/sites/nod/results/nod-2011-results.htm#fireball
The 10 boat fleet was treated to an array of shifts, swirls, impossible lifts and devastating headers; all things typical of sailing on the Ottawa River. The temperatures on the water were average and quite comfortable. Saturday featured an imminent threat of rain with mostly light winds. Clearing skies and a more exciting breeze was served up for Sunday’s racing.
The 7th and final race turned into a battle of inches for the lead boats. At the starting signal of the last race, the top three teams were separated by only 0.75 points in the standings (a shocking 0.25 point gap for scores including drops!!).
When the top half of the fleet rounded the lee mark only seconds apart, it was clear that the regatta would come down to 2 final marks. On the last beat, a slippery lead changed hands often and the boats were even tighter rounding the top mark. Friarballs made it around first to secure the regatta. Pontificate fouled at the mark but managed to get ahead of NSC’s Rocket Science for second overall, despite making penalty turns with the spinnaker up on the last leg.
NOD always marks the beginning of the Fireball’s regatta season and this one’s close finish will be one to remember. Thanks to the organizers and our gracious hosts. Results are available at;
http://nsc.ca/web2/sites/nod/results/nod-2011-results.htm#fireball
Cheers!
Tom Bird
Comments
Post a Comment