Firefly South West Championships at Restronguet Sailing Club
by Patrick Clark and Ben Lumby 30 May 2009 23:22 BST
23-25 May 2009
Restronguet SC at Mylor in Cornwall once again hosted the SW Area Championships for the Firefly dinghy fleet over the Bank Holiday weekend May 23-25. The club welcomed a large number of visitors for the event, many returning for another dose of Cornish sunshine, and 32 boats were registered. Bright sunshine and little wind prevailed at the briefing and the AP signalled an early lunch, until a pleasant sea breeze kicked in to get the racing under way in the afternoon. Some of the RSC sailors were a little too eager to show the visitors the way around their patch, as Phil and Jilly Slater and Dave Sincock and Betty Wheeler respectively were OCS in the first two races. Overnight leaders, however, were Steve Greaves and Caroline Edwards, representing Rickmansworth SC, having opened the series with two bullets. They were hotly pursued by RSC Firefly Class Captain, Ben Lumby and his crew, Liz Evans.
As is traditional at this championship, the afternoon racing was concluded by staging the National Firefly Class Singlehanded Race, for which 10 boats were in the fray. Line honours went to Dan Vincent, RNSA and Stokes Bay SC, and he collected a newly presented trophy, the Firefly Cleat at the prizegiving, a temporary replacement for the currently mislaid Chichester Smith Trophy. Dave Sincock of Restronguet SC was second and Stuart Hudson, Weston SC was third.
Sunday dawned sunny and the Race Officer, Martin English was faced with some challenging wind conditions, but managed to run three races, as programmed. Phil and Jilly Slater of Restronguet SC opened the day with the first bullet in race three, and Stuart and Jane Hudson were the only visiting boat preventing a local clean sweep in second as Dave Sincock and Betty Wheeler were third with Ben Lumby and Liz Evans fourth. In race four, Barney Smith and Alannah Witherby, representing Hamble River SC, were leading the way, until a course change undermined their lead and they found themselves pushed into second place by the overnight leaders, Steve Greaves and Caroline Edwards; a redress hearing did not alter their position. The third race of the day finished with RSC sailors Lumby and Evans achieving their first bullet, leaving things lined up overnight for a very exciting last day with Lumby/Evans tied on points with Greaves/Edwards. That night the Lemon Arms in Mylor Bridge provided an excellent evening venue for debriefs around the pool table.
Monday’s reprieve from the sunshine brought a brisk northerly breeze and a good stage for the final races. The two overall leaders kept each other in their sights on the start, but Lumby and Evans got ahead first, arriving at the windward mark in second place and from there were able to win their second race of the series.
Six points clear going into the final race, Lumby/Evans just needed to hang on to Greaves/Edwards to assure the championship. An over-stand by Lumby and a false start by Greaves left them both mid fleet at the windward mark. Barney Smith and Alannah Witherby showed the way it should be done, as a foretaste for the Firefly Nationals at Hamble River in August, winning the race by a country mile. Back in the pack it was the local duo who were able to make the most from the conditions with an impressive comeback to finish the race in third behind their club rivals Dave Sincock and Betty Wheeler, taking the championship by a convincing margin of nine points.
All 64 competitors (helms and crews) were entered into the National Firefly Association’s raffle to win a brand new Firefly F4000 as part of the 2009 season competition.
The next event in the Firefly class calendar is the Royal Harwich Yacht club open on June 6-7 – an weekend event shared with the Larks and National 12s followed by Hamble River SC open meeting on June 13 and 14.
Overall Results:
1st Ben Lumby and Liz Evans (Restronguet SC)
2nd Steven Greaves and Caroline Edwards (Rickmansworth SC)
3rd Barney Smith and Alannah Witherby (Hamble River SC)
4th Stuart and Jane Hudson (Weston SC)
5th Andy and Liz Palmer-Felgate (Burghfield SC)
6th Phil and Jilly Slater (Restronguet SC)
Best Lady Helm, Rosie Davey (Royal Harwich YC)
Best Under-18 Helm, Jamie Bland (Restronguet SC)