Silver Firefly Pursuit Race at Christchurch Sailing Club

Ray New wins the Christchurch SC Silver Firefly Pursuit race © Ela Miller

Vicky Lock, first Lady in the Christchurch SC Silver Firefly Pursuit race © Ela Miller

Our deputy fleet captain's response to the miserable weather forecast... "We're not made of sugar – let's go sailing."

With lots of encouragement and despite a light northerly wind and drizzle, more than 40 sailors turned out for Christchurch Sailing Club's annual dinghy pursuit race.

The Silver Firefly trophy spent a quarter of a century gathering dust in the club's trophy cabinet before being brought back into service in 2014. For this trophy we introduced an all-classes dinghy pursuit race to the racing calendar. The format proved so popular that we were rewarded with our biggest race turnout of the season on Bank Holiday Monday.

First away at 10:30 were the Optimists of Abi Hayles, Charlie Lawrence and Marlie Hodgkinson, with the other fleets starting at intervals over the next 37 minutes. Last starter was the Hobie 16CX sailed by Richard Beasley and Phil Acton. With a race duration of 90 minutes this was going to be a test of concentration and stamina for the slower classes but the young Optimist sailors made good progress in the early stages to maintain a gap over the chasing pack.

Around 40 minutes into the race the leading Scow of Ewen Barnes overhauled the Optimists to take the lead, with Stacey Herring in her Topper also making rapid progress towards the front of the fleet. As the wind increased slightly, along with the rain, the faster boats began to accelerate through the field, with the OK and the Finns stretching away from the assorted Lasers, Radials, 4.7's and Splash.

Lumbering along at the back, the Hobie 16CX showed occasional bursts of speed following by long pauses of stationery sailing. Catamaran boat handling in a confined space was proving to be a challenge and it clearly wasn't going to be a great day for Team Beasley-Acton on this occasion.

The Lasers, Radials and 4.7's were enjoying close battles in the middle of the fleet; none more so than Clare Van Wingerden and Jack Action who were separated by no more than a few lengths for most of the race, with Lisa Booth not far behind. Ela Miller, in the Splash, made a great start against the 4.7's but snagged an underwater obstruction later in the race and dropped back.

In the RS Vision, Jon Arnell and Jim Lawrence were enjoying the deeper than normal water in the harbour and making good use of the genniker on the reaching legs. After the disappointment of a breakage and retirement in 2014, they would be delighted to finish inside the top 10 on this occasion. As darkness fell, several hours later, they could still be heard celebrating loudly in the club bar.

Andy Rushworth, fresh from winning the final race of the OK Nationals the day before, was clearly enjoying the racing and determined to defend his trophy from 2014. Andy's downfall came in the shape of a couple of Scows who decided to team race him out of contention using some dubious racing rules from the 1970's. After completing three penalty turns, Andy found himself in the clutches of the Finn fleet as the clock ticked towards 90 minutes. With less than 3 minutes remaining the leading Scow, OK and Finns were neck and neck coming down the penultimate leg of the course.

Optimists in the Christchurch SC Silver Firefly Pursuit race - photo © James Arnell

With a short beat up to the finish, the Finn of Ray New held a narrow advantage over the OK. Ewen Barnes was unfortunate to be swept away in a tide of faster boats in the final few minutes and slipped from 3rd to 11th on the last leg. At the finish, it was Ray New less than 10 seconds ahead of the OK. Close behind were the Finns of Steve Hayles and Andy Denison. Further down the fleet there were some great battles as the rest of the 34 finishers dragged themselves across the line over the next few minutes.

Ray New wins the coveted Silver Firefly Trophy for 2015, along with the "Great Grand-Master" prize for the first sailor of significant years (60).

Andy Rushworth won the Grand-Master trophy for the first "mid-life crisis" sailor over 50 years, with Stuart Percival winning the "Legends" category (for being at least ten years older than a Great Grand Master).

Among the younger people, Vicky Lock in 5th place was first lady helm; Jack Acton was the first junior helm and Ela Miller our first overseas competitor. We were also delighted to welcome a visiting Firefly, excellently sailed by Ben Green and Fi Edwards from Highcliffe Sailing Club.

At the prize-giving ceremony, Commodore Phil Whiston congratulated all the sailors and Ray New thanked the race team for a great event.

Overall Results: