Please select your home edition
Edition
Sea Sure 2025

Firefly Open at Spinnaker Sailing Club

by Tom Clay 8 Nov 2021 16:40 GMT 7 November 2021

Spinnaker Sailing Club's Firefly Open Meeting on Sunday 7th November saw a select group of ten crews gather, a number of whom were nursing sore heads after the Firefly 75th Anniversary Dinner the previous night. Spinnaker blew away the cobwebs by running seven sprint races in the course of the day each with a target race time of 20 minutes.

The crews were faced with a blustery Northerly wind which brought large shifts and holes especially approaching windward marks. Stuart and Lizzie Hudson dominated the day from the first race which they won from Ted and Ella Ashworth. They won the second from Ed Morris, the third from Sam Petty and Fi Edwards and the fourth from Ted and Ella again.

After a break for lunch, Stuart and Lizzie were not as dominant off the start line in the afternoon, mainly because Stuart was OCS at the start in two races and had to go back. It made little difference in Races 5 and 6 which they won first from Ted and Ella and then from Ed Morris. Although they had won the Open meeting, Stuart and Lizzie raced the last race, mainly because Lizzie was enjoying herself so much. This did lead to a small dent in their dominance when Ed Morris broke away to win the race from Stuart and Lizzie.

Congratulations must also go to Robbie Hudson, crewed by his mother Jane who was helming a Firefly for the second time in races and came in a very creditable seventh.

The Open Meeting was won by Stuart and Lizzie Hudson from Ted and Ella Ashworth with Ed Morris coming third.

Overall Results:

PosHelmCrewBoat NameSail NoR1R2R3R4R5R6R7Pts
1Stuart HudsonLizzie HudsonFursty Ferret / 3850385011111126
2Ted AshworthElla AshworthHush / 35563556283224316
3Edward Morris Morry the lorry / 784784542842118
4Sam PettyFi Edwards  426365424
5Ben Pym Barry Girl / 37133713394453524
6Neil MarshallTabithaCarina / 389538956610637735
7Robbie HudsonJane Hudson  959596640
8James Oborne Mojo / 362836281078779947
9Tom ClayEmma BarkerRufus T / 378437847107988847
10Lucy Boreham Willow / 37393739835DNCDNCDNCDNC49

Related Articles

Firefly Itchenor Sailing Club Burgee
The fleet braced for long courses The briefing was notable because the Race Officer Charles Duchesne was under the impression that Fireflys average 4 knots! We braced for long courses. Posted on 30 Jun
BSDRA Schools Week preview
Itchenor host 300 students for the National Schools Championships this month With a bumper entry of 160+ boats, next week's Schools Week Sponsored by Magic Marine promises thrilling racing and, with luck, some favourable June weather. This year's Championships are expected to draw around 300 students. Posted on 18 Jun
Firefly Craftinsure Vines series at South Staffs
Numbers for the last race were reduced as Birmingham Uni students held back Six visitors joined a four-strong 'local legends' fleet for the South Staffs Firefly Open on 14th June, part of the 2025 Craftinsure Vines series. The fleet was greeted with sunshine and a gusty force 3-4 SW breeze. Posted on 16 Jun
Norfolk Broads Firefly Open
Part of the multi class dinghy weekend at Wroxham The Norfolk Broads once again proved itself as a high-class sailing destination as the Norfolk Broads Yacht Club hosted the 2nd running of the Wroxham Firefly Open over the weekend of 7th & 8th June as part of its multi class dinghy weekend. Posted on 14 Jun
Firefly South Western Championship at Restronguet
An impressive fleet of 40 Fireflys with sailors of all ages The 52nd Firefly South Western Championships at Restronguet Sailing Club took place as usual over the Early May Bank Holiday. An impressive fleet of 40 Fireflys with sailors of all ages assembled for three days of exhilarating dinghy racing. Posted on 1 Jun
76th Wilson Trophy at West Kirby
24 teams included five from the USA and four from Ireland Thirty-four of the best teams in the world competed over two and a half days for the coveted Wilson Trophy, including five teams from the USA and four from Ireland. The event used a Swiss League round robin format followed by the knockout stages. Posted on 29 May
Firefly 'Ricky' event at Rickmansworth
Four thrilling races all started under black flag, catching a few teams out The annual Firefly Open Meeting at Rickmansworth Sailing Club drew a competitive fleet of 19 boats gather on Saturday, 17th May 2025, with sailors travelling from across the country, from as far as South Staffs and Wroxham Broad. Posted on 23 May
Tamesis Firefly Elizabeth Cup and Junior Cup 2025
Bacon rolls on arrival, tasty lunches, delicious cake and glorious spring weather A round dozen Fireflys congregated at Tamesis Club on Saturday 26th April for the annual Elizabeth Cup and even-more-coveted Junior Cup. Posted on 2 May
RYA/UKTRA National Team Racing Championship
Team from the Royal Thames YC wins the Prince Philip Trophy A team from the Royal Thames Yacht Club has won the Prince Philip Trophy after claiming victory at the 2025 RYA/UKTRA National Team Racing Championship. Hosted for the first time in the event's history by Oxford Sailing Club. Posted on 28 Mar
Fabulous Fireflys
79th Tideway supported Nationals already fully booked The season has already begun with a fabulous outing to Grafham Water for the Ovington Inlands for round one of the Craftinsure supported Vines traveller series. Next up we head to Parkstone Yacht Club over the Easter weekend. Posted on 27 Mar