Spitfire Nationals during Regfest at Brightlingsea Sailing Club

Spitfire nationals during Regfest at Brightlingsea © Caroline Bolingbroke

White Lightning

For the second year in succession Rupert White and Nicki Boniface proved to be an irresistible combination in the Spitfire at the Nationals held at the spiritual home of both helm and boat at Brightlingsea.

The three day event was a windy old do, with Force 4-6 for the entire weekend testing the 17 boats gathered for the event. Day 1 saw Youth Team of Henson and Greber come storming out of the blocks to claim a convincing bullet in race 1 after hitting the right hand side hard on the first beat. From there on they covered the chasing pack, in the end winning by a comfortable margin. In a building breeze White/Boniface dominated Race 2, followed by Hutchings/Green, whose progress was hindered down the breezy final run by a large dead fish which had inexplicably become wedged between transom and leeward rudder.

Day 2 saw slightly less breeze and some tight racing. White/Boniface dominated races 3 and 5, with local pairing Millie Newman and Tim Carter spotting a shift on the first beat of race 4 to pull out a convincing lead which they extended to the finish. Other Youth teams such as Maddy Anderson and Harry Willett showed untouchable boat speed in the slightly lighter stuff.

Day 3 saw White and Boniface with a more or less unassailable lead for the final two races of the series. The rest of the podium was tight, with Henson and Greber one point ahead of Hutchings/Green and Newman/Carter. Some pretty serious breeze put a few of the teams off venturing out into the Colne estuary, but those at did were rewarded with some exciting racing with a few boats going down the mine big-time. Once White/Boniface had seen off ageing heavyweights Hutchings/Green on the first downwind of both races, they dominated with convincing wins, securing the title with a race to spare.

The final race was an exciting affair to settle the positions between second and fourth. Henson/Greberlooked to have sealed it on the final beat, having picked their way up to second, only for Hutchings/Green to find some extra pressure to squeeze ahead round the windward mark and cover down the final run. In an extraordinary finish Newman/Carter came in red hot from the right hand side of the course to pip Hutchings/Green at the finish, with four boats finishing within 10 seconds. This left Hutchings/Green in second overall, with Newman/Carter pipping Henson/Greber to third place.

Despite their relatively diminutive stature, the Youth Teams showed fantastic speed in the heavy stuff. Heavyweight antiques such as Eastbourne's Smith/Whitmore and Hutchings/Green, each with combined ages of 90+ on the boat, showed that skill and experience can even things up with the Youth Squad (at least for the fist lap anyway!) and shows what fantastic racing can be had on this wonderful boat.

Many thanks to Brightlingsea, which put on a great event, particularly off the water where the food, beer and socials were excellent.

The Spitfire Class is looking to build the fleet, both for Youth Squad and recreational sailors. There are a number of second hand boats on the market, which are extremely competitive, and a new boat represents fantastic value compared to other designs.

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