Ahh, Victoria, home of the endless 'balmy season', which translates directly into the endless fireballing season!

With the Victoria fleet having swelled in active club participants of late, there was anticipation of a good turnout and competitive fleet for the Royal Victoria Yacht Club's annual Fall Dinghy Championships. The weather cooperated, and even with 8 of the regular local boats and dependable travelers out for repairs or scheduling conflicts, 11 boats arrived to sunshine, clear skies a fresh breeze and flat waters on saturday morning. Winds were variable, sitting between 6 and 8ish knots on Saturday, a little lighter on Sunday. (A little known fact: The victoria fleet increased in number even over the weekend, as Lise Townsend took ownership of a fireball that will be sailed out of the CBSA compound. There is potential for BC events to see 20+ boats next season!)

A gentlemanly start time of 13:00 allowed for arrival and setup of 'balls from Duncan, Surrey and Sidney, as well as the full "rock star" appearance of Julian Hannabuss and Joel Lancaster from Kitsilano -- "We're here, which boats are we sailing?" (Actually, they arrived friday evening, and we took them to the pub to try and dull their keen senses before they stuck it to us on water.) As pennance, Joel was required to help with the last-minute re-assembly of Rob Thompson's recently re-painted kevlar wonder - "I.M.P.S.", before racing. So much for being a rock star!

The race commitee performance was spectacular; rolling starts and simultaneous finishes, adjusting start and finish lines and marks transparently between races - everything was the way it should be. Competitors were kept comfortably oblivious of the maelstrom of activity being directed by Kirk Palmer, Rick Cook and their crew of volunteers.

Of note in the other fleets, Graham Herbert participated in his turquoise and pink International Canoe, and set the standard for perfect execution at every point on the race course. Competing with (actually, 'trouncing' is a more accurate adjective) the 29er fleet, Graham always started at his favoured position and tack, chose the correct side of the course and flawlessly played the shifts throughout the regatta. For those who don't know, Graham is Martin Herbert's brother and they used to race fireballs together a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

The weekend was dominated by tight racing throughout the fleet. Starts were congested without significant amounts of yelling (Paul must have been suffering from a sore throat or something). The first mark typically saw roundings of the fleet within a 30 second period, and over a 50+ minute race, finishes were generally within a one-and-a-half to two minute window, with most races seeing the top 6 to 8 of the fleet much tighter (the finish horn sounded like morse code on a few of those races!).

The "total points" column of the results really don't tell the tale, and I urge you to look a little closer. Virtually every boat finished 6th or better at some point in the regatta! I cannot stress how close the racing was, regardless of fleet position.

Julian Hannabuss was the winningest member of the fleet, as he and his considerable experience was passed between Jamie Cox' burgeoning fleet (which now includes Tangeroo (GBR 14680), a distinctive orange Winder previously owned by Julian which finished 2nd at the Nationals this year). Julian seemed equally comfortable on the wire or driving; wind condition didn't matter nor whether he was in a wooden hull or the Winder, who his crew or driver was -- "he was the very model of a modern fi-err 'ball sailor"... (hmmm, catchy tune...) But to the credit of the fleet, only on two occasions did he manage to pull well ahead and beyond striking distance of his closest rivals.