Firefly South-West Area Championship at Restronguet Sailing Club

Firefly South-West Area Championship at Restronguet © Andy Jane

Firefly South-West Area Championship at Restronguet © Andy Jane

Firefly South-West Area Championship at Restronguet © Andy Jane

Twenty five Fireflys met at Restronguet Sailing Club as is customary on the late May bank holiday for a very memorable South Western Area Championship sponsored by GJW Direct Insurance.

Perfect conditions rewarded the fleet, roughly half from the home club plus a dozen or so visitors. Saturday and Sunday saw racing in unbroken sunshine, testing spring tides and a gusty force 3. Monday was a different story - grey skies and a force 6, with wind against tide giving great surfing conditions.

In the first race, Barney Smith sailing with Alannah Witherby split from all the locals on the first beat and were rewarded with the lead. This they held until the final beat when Jamie and Jo McEwen snuck past them. Steve Greaves and Caroline Edwards were third, followed by returning expats Ed and Lucy Smith. Race two followed immediately afterwards, and reapplication of the same strategy saw Barney/Alannah and Jamie/Jo again in the chocolates, though this time with Barney doing the chasing. Locals Ben Lumby and Liz Evans eventually showed that local knowledge could pay, splitting from Barney/Alannah on the last beat and beating them to second, behind the McEwens. Damian Boreham crewed by Alice Gardner took fourth.

On Saturday afternoon was the race for the single-handed championships with 15 boats starting, the highest number for many years. Many competitors had driven down on the day and already sailed two races, but the conditions were too good to pass. Jamie McEwen, Guy Davison and Chris Guy tussled for the top three spots, until the last leg where in a dying breeze Stuart Hudson overtook them all. He is now both double-handed and single-handed national champion!

More champagne sailing followed on Sunday, with three races under blue skies (with of course a break for pasties at lunchtime). In the morning Jamie and Jo lead around the first mark, but couldn't handle the speed of local legends Phil and Jilly Slater who stormed past them to win in style. Ben and Liz made it a Restronguet 1,2, and Stuart and Jane Hudson, hinting at a return to form, came fourth. After lunch was race four, which Jamie and Jo lead again. This time they were chased (hard) by Steve and Caroline, but managed to keep them at bay with some close covering. Stuart and Jane were third. The final race of the day was lead from the start by Guy Davison and Izzy Bretherton, followed by Dan Vincent crewed by his daughter Ella. Unfortunately for Guy and Izzy, on the last beat the wind became rather shifty. Jamie and Jo managed to take advantage of this to win the race, whilst Guy and Izzy slipped to fourth behind Dan/Ella and Damian/Alice.

Monday was windy and forecast to get windier. The race officer managed to get one race in, which was won comfortably by Stuart and Jane. Steve and Caroline overtook Roger Morris and Amy Bowden to finish second, leaving them tied on points overall with the Hudsons, but beaten on countback. Jamie and Jo finished third, which was enough to win the championship.

Restronguet was the third event out of five in the Vines Series, kindly sponsored by GJW Direct Insurance. Next up is Itchenor Open on 29th & 30th June.

Overall Results: