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Firefly South Western Championship at Restronguet Sailing Club

by Stuart Hudson, Finn Morris & Jamie Tylecote 1 Jun 11:43 BST 24-26 May 2025
Firefly South Western Championship at Restronguet © Ben Lumby & Ted Ashworth

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.

Day 1 saw wind blowing across Carrick Roads giving shifty and gusty conditions. In race 1 the right side mainly seemed to pay with "Grendel" (Ed Smith/Izzy Bretherton) reading the conditions well and holding off "Tip Top Too" (Nigel Wakefield/Emily Saunderson) in 2nd and "Swaggle" (Jono Pank/Freddie Pank) in 3rd. Race 2 saw a masterclass by local sailors Ben Lumby and Liz Evans sailing "Kong" smoothly edging away for the win, followed by "Mustard" (Alex and Stella Davey) and "Bonkers" (Jason Aldous and Jo Mason). This left the Daveys as overnight leaders with a 4,2 scoreline.

After the traditional curry supper and drinks at the club, day 2 saw the predicted strong breeze arrive from similar direction and this gradually built during racing to gusts of up to 29 knots which caused carnage at various times around the course. It was a day for youth with Finn Morris and Robbie Hudson sailing "Spaghetti" nailing two bullets. In Race 3, the pin was looking strong with Spaghetti banking the gain and heading back towards the middle. "Cumulus" (Steve Greaves/Jane Hudson) kept punching out to the left, eventually capitalising to lead narrowly at mark one from Finn/Robbie. This pair extended their lead and swapped positions several times before eventually Spaghetti took the lead on the final reach. "Grasshopper" (Steve Tylecote and Sally Wilson) broke free of the tight bunch behind to get 3rd. In Race 4 "Fursty Ferret" (Stuart Hudson and Gracie Joslin) placed 2nd with "Tip Top Too" 3rd. Overnight leader after 2 days remained the Daveys in "Mustard" with a consistent 4,2,5,7.

A battered fleet returned for a final day's racing in what looked like more benign conditions, but some vicious gusts prior to the warning signal gave a sign of what was to come. "Purple Doris" (Jamie Tylecote and Alice Lucy) thrived in the building conditions with great upwind and downwind pace to post 2 bullets. Race 5 started in a big left shift so starting at the pin and being able to tack straight away was helpful for a good start. The wind built as the race went on with mains ragging upwind and large shifts which were important upwind. Purple Doris was second after the first lap, but clinched the lead by playing the shifts and staying upright on the downwind leg. Behind them in Race 5 "Officer Dibble" (Angus Cook and Tash Armstrong) stormed through to 2nd with "Fursty Ferret" 3rd.

The overall points were all a bit unclear going into Race 6. Similar large shifts persisted across the course, with a big right shift at the top of beat allowing Purple Doris to get back into the race after a poor start. The downwind legs were all about staying as close to the limit without binning it in. Purple Doris managed to get into the lead whilst playing the shifts, and covered the fleet on the last 2 beats, with legs burning. "Fursty Ferret" had led Race 6 but dropped to about 6th before the last beat. Terry Hacker and Chloe Mills sailing Uni Ovi F4445 sailed a great race for 2nd. Fursty Ferret took a punt to the right on the last beat and got a big right shift to get a lucky 3rd with "Spaghetti" 4th, "Grendel" 5th and "Grasshopper" 6th. No one really knew the overall result but back onshore "Fursty Ferret" having been 7th overall the night before had ended up winning by 2 points from "Grasshopper" with 3 boats then tied for 3rd on 26 points. A memorable event in more ways than one!

Many thanks to Restronguet Sailing Club for putting on a great regatta in spectacular and challenging conditions and for their hospitality. Roll on next year!

Overall Results:

PosSail NoBoat NameHelmCrewR1R2R3R4R5R6Pts
1F 3850Fursty Ferret Stuart HudsonGracie Joslin‑1851023 23
2F 3037Grasshopper Steve TylecoteSally Wilson5734‑8625
3F 3764Purple Doris Jamie TylecoteAlice Lucy798‑101126
4F 2803Grendel Ed SmithIzzy Bretherton1‑124115526
5F 2649Mustard Alex DaveyStella Davey4257‑10826
6F 3695Officer Dibble Angus CookNatasha Armstrong8‑17662729
7F 3007Tip Top Too Nigel WakefieldEmily Saunderson2101634(RET)35
8F 3119Spaghetti Finn MorrisRobbie Hudson‑15151115436
9F 2659Kong Ben LumbyLiz Evans1317513(RET)39
10F 3615Skirmish Jamie McEwenBen McEwen649‑1891139
11F 4445 Terry HackerChloe Mills14‑221187242
12F 1867Cumulus Steven GreavesJane Hudson11‑2021761349
13F 4400Swaggle Jono pankFreddie Pank318129‑221557
14F 564eBay flyer Ben TylecoteElla Ashworth9‑19151212957
15F 498Dido Mark TaitBeatrice Tait12818(DNC)142173
16F 2065Bonkers Jason AldousJosephine Mason10324(RET)172276
17F 2018Biscuit Buffalo Paul KameenFinn Kameen201414(RET)181278
18F 4000Walrus Will MasonAmy Bowden2113‑2621111480
19F 3874Tarantella Angus McEwenCam Bowden19‑241313191983
20F 3741Ma Hon Arthur GreavesWilliam McEwen2362216(RET)2491
21F 3802Smartie Pants Poppy ArmstrongAngus Armstrong‑28112819161791
22F 3893Rockin Robin Dave CheshireAnna Kennedy17‑281715271692
23F 2925Dignity Sebi SchmidtGeorgia Evans‑27232120241098
24F 3095Mensonge Christian GuyIona Sherwood‑30212014232098
25F 3739Willow Lucy BorehamRachel Crebbin242625(DNC)2018113
26F 3550Water Spider Jo McEwenJonquil Hackenberg263027(RET)3025138
27F 3133Thermopylae Roger MorrisAnna Morris222519(RET)RETDNC144
28F 3318Lynestra Guy DavisonDominic Bowden1616(DNC)DNCDNSDNC149
29F 2502Cyclone Sophia HulbertAlan Hulbert3129(NSC)2228RET149
30F 3118Horror Amy MorrisGilly Phillips293229(DNC)21DNC150
31F 339Mazurka Ellie MaynardCharlie Whelan3227(RET)DNC2923150
32F 3556Hush Ted AshworthIsla Armstrong2531(DNC)DNC25RET159
33F 2117Lady Scampi Phil BevanCatriona Bevan(RET)DNC23DNC26RET166
34F 2525Nimble Nymph Gideon SherwoodArthur Sherwood3533(RET)DNC31RET177
35F 4458Ovi the Ovi Madeleine GreavesPolly Mason36(DNS)RETDNC32RET185
36F 8Fate Guy EnglishBecca Scouse3335(RET)DNCDNSDNC185
37F 3476Atalanta Belinda JoslinAnnie Joslin3434(DNC)DNCRETDNC185
38F 2380 James OborneEmma Barker(DNC)DNCDNCDNCDNCDNC195

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