Firefly Vines Series at Lymington Town Sailing Club

The Firefly Class made a return to the Western Solent after a few years absence for a weekend of top-quality competition, holding their Vines Series Open Meeting as part of the Lymington Dinghy Regatta on the weekend of 19th-20th July. Joining the 120 fleet with a mix of sun, strong wind, and surprisingly steady tide, the five-race series delivered classic feisty Solent conditions and close racing across the fleet.

An eager fleet of dinghies launched on Saturday into sunshine and seemingly light winds, accompanied by funky tunes from a DJ on the RNLI balcony.

The fleet was greeted by wind-with-tide conditions meaning the beats were long but the sea stayed relatively flat as the sea breeze climbed to 22knot gusts by the third and final race of the day.

The opening race saw a clean start and tight first beat. Jono and Freddie Pank in F4458, the Ovington built Class Demo Boat made an early tactical gain by tacking off towards the tide relief near the Lymington shore, then proceeded to lead most of the fleet too far up the shore, well over the lay line, allowing the fleet to reverse it's order for the first downwind.

A tightly packed fleet jostled round the second lap, better judging the lay line the second time round. By the finish Jono and Freddie Pank, took the win, followed by Angus Cook and Emily Saunderson in F3695 Officer Dibble. Jason Aldous and Jo Mason in F2065 Bonkers came through in third with solid upwind pace.

Race 2 delivered more of the same, though the wind and tide were building, favouring good calls on lay lines. Jono and Freddie led from the front, Angus and Emily remained consistent in second, while Alex Baxter and Helen Jones in F3741 Ma Hon found a nice lane on the final downwind to finish third.

The breeze had settled into its peak by the third race, gusting over 20Knots, making boat handling critical. Angus & Emily stormed off the line and led around every mark, securing their first win of the day. Jason & Jo revelled in the breeze, showing excellent boat speed throughout to finish second. Jono and Freddie hung on to take third.

Saturday evening was spent enjoying the wonderful hospitality of Lymington Town Sailing club, where the fleet enjoyed a hearty dinner & a few ales.

Most of the fleet congregated in the Lymington Town SC bar early Sunday morning enjoying breakfast in the club house as the start was delayed by 1 then 2 hours due to 25+ knot average wind speeds keeping all the boats ashore.

Many boats from the regatta voted with their feet and packed up their boats before the decision was taken to race at 12.30pm. The fleet took to the water in the relative lee of the true wind awaiting the fleet once out past the mouth of the river. When the boats reached the race area the wind was still 20+ knots with some big gusts blowing through, which continued throughout the day.

With a bit less tide than Saturday, the fleet launched out the line into a building breeze, some good sized shifts and increasing chop. Jamie and Jo McEwen in F3615 Skirmish found excellent pressure on the right to storm into the lead and claim a dominant win. Stuart and Lizzie Hudson in F3850 Fursty Ferret, making their event debut, impressed with a second place. Jono and Freddie rounded out the podium, securing valuable points in heavy air.

The final race of the regatta was a proper Solent blow. Jono and Freddie Pank led at mark 1 and screamed off down the reach, Jamie and Jo looked confident on the run and took the inside line to lead at the bottom of the 2nd beat, Jono and Freddie Pank led at the top of the 2nd beat, but Jamie and Jo stormed down the run to take the lead again and extend comfortably for a second win of the day from Jono and Freddie. The Hudsons notched another podium result in third. Several boats retired as the gusts peaked up to 30knots.

After the 2nd race, in the face of further increasing breeze, the remaining fleet voted with there feet and turned for home, enough excitement for one day!

The Lymington Firefly Open once again proved to be a well-organised and competitive regatta, with varied levels of windy conditions across the weekend. Congratulations to Jono and Fred Pank for a consistent overall win in F4458.

Many thanks to the race committee and volunteers at LTSC for hosting a fantastic event.

Overall Results: