The third day of the 2024 Fireball Worlds has been blown out after a lengthy wait on shore that ultimately ended with a decision to make up the races on tomorrow’s lay day.
Sailors were met with winds of more than 30 knots from the north early in the day, however there was some speculation as to whether it would ease throughout the day and potentially swing to a westerly or southerly direction.
However it was to no avail, with Principal Race Officer Ross Wilson hoisting the AP over A late in the day and changing the sailing instructions to allow for racing on tomorrow’s lay day.
“We came down here at 10 o’clock this morning with a good northerly gusting up over 30 knots with steady breeze around about 27 (knots),” he said.
“The breeze didn’t abate whatsoever and we made an agreement that if we couldn’t get any races in today there’d be two tomorrow.
“There was some real big lumps and big waves and there would have been a lot of boats bowing through that, so AP over A and now we’ve got the notice posted, there will be two races tomorrow, which was going to be the lay day.”
Tomorrow’s forecast looks to be sailable with 10-15 knot southerlies forecast on the Bureau of Meteorology’s MetEye.
For up-to-date results, head to https://bit.ly/2024FireballWorldsResults
For more information about the event, head to https://rgyc.com.au/on-water/regattas/2024-fireball-worlds/
Story author: Harry Fisher, Down Under Sail
Photo credit: Alex Dare, Down Under Sail
Video credit: Alex Dare, Down Under Sail
