Fireball Sailing Cham
Winning pair Chris Childs and Al Bush in action.
Runners-up John Trundell and Oli Rudd.
The annual Fireball Dinghy Sailing Championships took place in Kilifi in July and a good number of Muthaiga Members competed in what were thrilling conditions. Although Chris Shaw is well-known for declaring every year that the event has been the windiest ever, this year he was quite right, with wind speeds of 30 knots and gusts a great deal higher. (30kts is about 55kph and international races never normally start if the wind is above 25kts. But, as the race organiser announced before the start: ‘This is not an international event...’) Capsizes were frequent and even the veteran John Trundell (who first won the event as a teenager in 1979) was seen clambering over the hull of his boat, while his crew, Oli Rudd,
‘Grand Master’ Shaw and Daniel Francis defied the 100+ years between them to finish in third place.
14
Muthaiga Country Club September – November 2021
www.mcc.co.ke
