Firefly 'Ricky' Open at Rickmansworth Sailing Club

Rickmansworth Firefly Open © Vinny Francis

Rickmansworth Firefly Open © Vinny Francis

The fourth event in the 2026 Craftinsure Vines Series took place on Saturday 16th May at Rickmansworth SC. The Troy Trophy was first presented in 1961, making this anniversary year for the Firefly class, the 65th year of the Rickmansworth Firefly open meeting.

'Ricky' is both my most challenging and most loved Firefly Open. The lake is hilarious; the wind shifts (more on that later) are huge, and the company and the organisation by Caroline Webb are always exceptional. A free bacon sandwich to start, don't mind if I do. The comedy amount of marks (someone whispered 'village cricket' in my ear at first glance). That, with 25 firefly's and the classic international 14 open in the evening, meant we went straight to the black flag for every start? Simply superb.

I had a bit of difficulty with this open. My would-be crew cancelled on me at 10 am on Friday. An entire day of messaging everyone I know in London who'd ever touched water followed. Thankfully, Matty - a helm and a very good one - jumped in to save me. Alongside this was Jamie Webb, who spent weeks organising logistics to ensure there were enough firefly's. There were, I believe, 7 boats with Cambridge alumni, with Jamie always promising his mother at least one more than the previous year. Across Cambridge (him) and Bath (his brother, Ben), I believe he was responsible for the logistics of 9 firefly's. He's never one to turn down a challenge...

Race 1

It was a fantastically port-favoured start. I decided that getting fully involved at the port end would be very busy, and that, with it being 'that' port-favoured, they would likely reach the first mark, which might mean they wouldn't take full advantage of any 'Ricky' shifts/pressure changes. So I went about mid-port and tacked off immediately. This was great; we were looking great. But not as great as Jason Aldous & Jo Mason, who had the same idea, were even more boat-end on port, and managed to perfectly nail a 'beat', which at this stage was faster than a reach, to the mark. They rounded in 1. We were slightly behind them. Alongside us were Dr Jenny Smallwood & Dr Phil Aldos, and somewhere around us were Steve Greaves & Jane Hudson. We then went onto a rather fickle reach, which could also be a beat on occasion, in very twitchy wind conditions. On the following beat, Matty & I went right, whereas everyone else went left. By this point, we had passed Jenny & Phil, but Jason & Jo were still ahead.

The rest of the race is a bit of a blur. It was light and challenging, with the wind direction all over the place. We spent about a lap in the same order, as Matty & I tried, in vain, to get past Jason. Then, finally, on the same beat we had Jenny & Phil on before, we went right again, got a cracking lift, and the rest was history. I hadn't told Matty that I had only ever won this open on my first time attending. She, a seriously good helm, was getting competitive.

Race finished: me (Alex Baxter) and Matty in 1st, Jason and Jo in 2nd, and from somewhere (I have no idea where), Jono and Freddie Pank in 3rd.

Race 2

Race 2 started on a similarly biased line. Matty and I settled into a 'more of the same' position. At the start, we felt pretty good. However, there was a group on the left, with Steve & Jane and Barney Smith & Audrey Knight, who looked pretty good. We carried on on the right, having made our bed and decided to sleep in it. We were not looking great, probably 3rd or 4th to the windward about halfway up the beat. Also on the left were Jono & Freddie, some way behind.

Thankfully, we then got a lovely shift working our way up the beat; it became clear we were going to be quite close to Barney & Audrey and Steve & Jane. With about 5 boat lengths to go, we tacked onto starboard and caught a lovely puff. This is where the fun began. With our increased pressure and lift, and the other two on decreased pressure, having to work hard to make the mark, we shouted starboard. We got Barney & Audrey (just - although up for debate), and we attempted to make Steve & Jane tack (again, separately). This was eventually subject to a protest hearing (excellently run by Rickmansworth), at which both Barney and Steve were disqualified.

I will add that the two of them were in excellent spirits throughout, and it was a very convivial affair. We are a self-policing sport, after all, and going to a protest shouldn't be feared - although on the water, dispute resolution is always preferable. As a would-be court jester, I greatly enjoyed the process. I have been reliably informed - overheard at the bar after the 90-minute ordeal - that the chair of the protest committee found clarity not in the statements of the lawyer (in training) trying to make his case, but rather in witness Freddie Pank, whose commentary was very precise. Hope my future clients don't read this...

Once I had calmed down, we actually had a very good race. We managed to get past Barney & Audrey and had a nip-and-tuck race with Steve & Jane. Ahead of us were Jono & Freddie taking the win, followed by Jenny & Phil in 2nd, with Steve & Jane in 3rd (on the water), and eventually Matty and I were promoted once the DSQ's had been applied.

We then headed in for an excellent ploughman's lunch. At this point, I was trying to find protest forms, which Jamie Webb eventually located in an old paper folder, along with the 2007 International 14 Open meeting race brochure (I so hope Caroline will eventually forgive me... but apparently the delay was good for bar sales).

Rickmansworth Firefly Open - photo © Vinny Francis

Race 3

The wind had picked up a bit over lunch, and it was now somewhat sitting on the side territory.

We tried pretty much the same start as last time. I think we rounded the windward mark with Jenny & Phil in the lead, then Matty and I, then Jono & Freddie. They got past us on the second beat. We carried on downwind, with Jenny & Phil leading by the end of lap one. Up the beat of lap 2, I saw Jenny & Phil and Jono & Freddie both 'rush' in after a massive shift, and warned Matty that action was likely required imminently. Little did I anticipate a genuinely 45-degree wind shift, from me hiking and Matty sat on the side, to us capsizing entirely to windward. I hadn't capsized Scruffy in about 10 years, and had quite forgotten how much water a non-mark 4 firefly scoops. Rats. As the rest of the fleet sailed past us, most of them not even sat on their side decks by this point, as the wind had died, the bemusement on their faces, which not even 'Ricky' could explain, was apparent. After all that, one burgee, my dignity, Matty being very unhappy, and a load of mud and weed on the top of the mast... we were told we were black-flagged in that race anyway...

Jenny & Phil expertly navigated the rest of the course to take the win, Jono & Freddie took second with Steve & Jane in a close 3rd.

Heading into the final race, all those 3 teams could still claim the 2026 Troy Trophy.

Race 4

After emptying out of the boat, and counting a black flag, I said to Matty that she could helm the last race.

This was great. The pressure was now entirely off me, and I squeezed into the front of Scruffy merrily. It turns out you have a terrible view of basically everything whilst sailing in quite light wind in a firefly as a crew. I had no idea what was going on, no idea where the wind was coming from. I did, however, have a decent view of the transit, and I suggested to Matty that she was 'pushing it' on the line a bit. It turns out I was correct, and there's now, somehow, another black flag on my results, despite it not actually being me! Not that the truth ever gets in the way of a good story.

We were over, but we rounded second, behind Magnus Handley & Lisanne Blok in a borrowed Firefly 'Fiasco' (one of Jamie's fleet), closely followed by Jenny & Phil and Jono & Freddie. We lost out to Jenny & Phil on the last beat, who were ahead. Jono & Freddie also got past us, only for both Matty & I and Magnus & Lisanne to breeze through again down the run. Both blue boats were then informed we were black-flagged, and sailed in for an early beer.

With the race course suddenly cleared in front of them, Jono & Freddie set off to try and reel in leaders Jenny & Phil. In one of those moments that would be considered "usual for Ricky", but rarely experienced elsewhere. Jono & Freddie rounded the windward mark to find themselves on a run, down the reach in a narrow band of pressure. Whilst Jenny & Phil sat agonisingly becalmed half way down the leg. Jono & Freddie proceed to 'make hay' with their personal gust, sailing below Jenny & Phil to take an unexpected lead. At the finish, Jono & Freddie took the win and Jenny & Phil held off Steve & Jane for 2nd.

Overall

There was a fairly long wait for the resolution of the protest, but in the end it ended with Jono and Freddie in 1st, Jenny and Phil in 2nd, and Jason and Jo in 3rd, after their result in race 2 was rather 'upgraded'.

A massive thanks to the team at Rickmansworth, especially Caroline and Jamie who put in a massive year to get more firefly's on the water. It's a really great day out, and I am sure we will be back next year, where Jamie will have to promise to get 26 boats on the water to keep his mum happy.

What a year it is proving to be for the class with our Vines Series events averaging a 25% increase in fleet numbers versus 2025.

The 2026 Vines Series leaderboard after Round Four: 1st Jono Pank and multiple crews, 2nd Jason Aldous & Josephine Mason, 3rd Jenny Smallwood & Philip Aldhous, 4th Alex Baxter & multiple crews, 5th Lucy Boreham & Rachel Crebbin.

Rickmansworth Firefly Open - photo © Vinny Francis

2026 'Top Stick' leaderboard after Round Four. 1st Rachel Crebbin, 2nd Philip Aldhous, 3rd Josephine Mason, 4th Freddie Pank, 5th Georgia Evans.

48 more raffle tickets were issued at Rickmansworth bringing the total number of tickets earned to win a new Ovington Firefly up to 155. (pretty good odds!)

Competitors who have not yet opted in & provided contact details, must do so at forms.gle/MSeCVBpEpvcyQp1v7 by 14 November 2026 to ensure they are in the draw!

You can earn raffle tickets by racing your Firefly on the circuit or at your club. Full details and T&C's on the website, www.fireflyclass.co.uk

Next up, we have the fabulous bank holiday pilgrimage to Cornwall for the South West Championships at Restronguet SC this weekend (23rd-25th May), followed by the Wroxham Open at Norfolk Broads Yacht Club on 13/14th June.

The 80th anniversary nationals is shaping up to be this summer's biggest championship, with 113 boats entered already, there are just 7 spots left till we hit the 120 boat limit so don't delay on getting your entry in!

The 2026 Craftinsure Vines Series is proudly supported by craftinsure.com. The National Firefly Class Association's named sponsor is tidewaywealth.co.uk.

Overall Results: