Firefly Craftinsure Vines Series Open at Norfolk Broads Yacht Club

Norfolk Broads Firefly Open © Trish Barnes

The 13th and 14th of June 2026 saw Norfolk Broads Yacht Club cheerfully overrun by dinghies for the third iteration of its multi-class open.

Lurking within the throng were 32 Fireflys, drawn from across the country and prepared for what Wroxham reliably delivers: a weekend of orienteering, deeply shifty conditions, and turbo Pimm's.

Race 1 — Quirks, swims, mallets, and a streaker

After a briefing of considerable length, intended to explain the "quirks" of racing at Wroxham (a generous word, as we would shortly discover), the fleet set off for Race 1. A down-the-broads start was on the menu and, with gusts arriving from every conceivable direction, the line was to use the technical term chaos. There were Firefly's. There were Oppis. There were Gulls. There were capsizes galore. There was, a, well, a streaker on the course. At one minute to go, several boats were already enjoying an early swim Alex Baxter and Ekin Aksehirli (Team Scruffy) among them, Ekin having informed Alex only moments before just how much she hated capsizing. The universe, as ever, listens.

Norfolk Broads Firefly Open - photo © Trish Barnes

Elsewhere on the line, Nigel Wakefield and Emily Saunderson (Team Tip Top Too) were discovering that they were not, in any meaningful sense, sailing. They were going sideways. Earlier in the morning, JASON had thoughtfully instructed Nigel to move the centreboard bolt; Nigel had thoughtfully complied; and Emily, in the course of a routine weed check, had thoughtfully applied her own super-human strength to the board, which promptly and spectacularly lodged itself in the case. Emily was subsequently spotted patrolling the boat park with a mallet of considerable authority. As if that were not sufficient excitement, Nigel had also managed to bodge the jib halyard, which meant lunch, that famously civilised lunch, would not be happening for Team Tip Top Too on this occasion.

Miraculously for everyone else, the first start was a clean line. Thommie Grit and Louise Woodley (henceforth Team USA) shot off the pin end and led around the first mark. Others were less fortunate on the opening beat: Jono and Freddie Pank were obliged to swerve around a capsized rival on the grounds that, in Jono's immortal words, "they haven't paid me for the sails yet; I can't run them over." Team USA continued to lead, with William Pank and Chloe Harding (henceforth Team Alarm) and Jenny Smallwood and Philip Aldhous (henceforth Team Squabbling Phoenix) tucked in close behind. In the end, Team Squabbling Phoenix took the win, Team USA 2nd, and Team Alarm 3rd.

Norfolk Broads Firefly Open - photo © Trish Barnes

Race 2 — A jib of one's own

The fleet then adjourned for a very civilised lunch (with the notable exceptions detailed above), during which the guests politely calmed themselves, and Races 2 and 3 were duly launched into something approaching reasonable conditions. The Firefly's got away with another clean line. This time, the race was led by Team Tip Top Too, who had repaired their boat by the novel method of tying up the jib, clearly the trick all along, who knew? closely followed by Team Alarm and Thomas and Rosie Davey (Team Pooh). The race finished in that order, with very little drama, which at Wroxham is itself a form of drama.

Race 3 — A protest! In Norfolk!

Race 3 began with a clean start and proceeded to slightly less clean racing. There was, remarkably, a real-life protest, lodged between Team Tip Top Too and Mr Gritt himself (Team USA) a rarity at NBYC, where the new rules apparently haven't made it as far as Norfolk yet. Nigel had seemed unusually agitated all weekend, and various interested parties suggested that the 5K of his Saturday-morning parkrun may no longer be providing sufficient outlet, and perhaps he should consider stepping up to a longer distance or possibly taking up boxing.

The real highlight of this race, unfortunately for those involved, was Team Dillon's great start off the line, looking strong, only to capsize to windward in a classic Wroxham gust, despite having super crew Sally in the front. Even more unfortunate was that the entire fleet had a splendid view of the incident.

Norfolk Broads Firefly Open - photo © Trish Barnes

After due process, the results read Team Alarm in 1st, Team Tip Top Too in 2nd, and Alex and Stella Davey (Team Mustard) in 3rd.

Saturday evening — Sparklet, Skylark, and consequences

With racing done for the day, the class were generously offered the chance to sample river-cruiser sailing courtesy of local NBYC members. Groups variously cruised on the 125-year-old Sparklet, an Edwardian A-class river cruiser of considerable dignity, and on Skylark, a river cruiser newly purchased by class members Will and Ginge, who appeared extremely pleased with themselves.

The rest of the evening passed in a notable blur, thanks to turbo Pimm's, several quadruple Dark and Stormies, and a round of tequila shots for everyone in the bar a logistical decision that would have consequences in approximately ten hours' time.

Norfolk Broads Firefly Open - photo © Trish Barnes

Day 2 — Bright, early, possibly too early

Day 2 began bright, early, and slightly too soon: a miscommunication had a healthy proportion of the fleet kitted up and ready to launch an hour before they were needed. After some much-needed boat-park naps, the Firefly was launched into lighter and sunnier conditions for a further three races. This author can attest that he has never seen Callum Farnden look quite so unwell as he did on Sunday morning. Callum elected, sensibly, for a long restorative nap in the shade of his Firefly, too long, sadly, as he then entirely missed the start of Race 4. Restorative, perhaps; tactical, no.

Race 4 — Half the fleet, half the time, twice the mark

Race 4 caused some confusion for the timekeepers as half the fleet was late to the start line, exactly the start line nobody wanted to be late for, naturally. The race also introduced the X mark to the course, which, on a course already complicated enough to qualify as orienteering, did very little for the collective sanity. In the end Team Mustard came out on top, followed by Team Alarm, with Guy Davison and Sally Wakefield (Team Dillon) in 3rd.

Another long lunch followed, providing an opportunity to reconstruct the previous evening and dispense gentle tough love to those whose racing had been quietly sabotaged by their own Dark and Stormies. The break was particularly welcomed by Barney Smith (Team Fourwood Thing), who had elected, mid-race, to enjoy a brisk swim at the start line after falling out of the boat — an entirely voluntary decision, we are sure.

Norfolk Broads Firefly Open - photo © Trish Barnes

Race 5 — General recall, black flag, useful Topper

Race 5 began in the finest Firefly tradition: with a general recall. Some brisk flag-faffing on the committee pontoon later, the race restarted under a black flag, which produced exactly the well-spaced, conservative clean start one might design on purpose. The race itself was largely uneventful until a stationary Topper, parked with sublime helpfulness at the last mark, briefly became the most influential boat on the water. Jono and Freddie Pank took the win, with Team Alarm 2nd and Angus Cook and Georgia Evans 3rd.

Race 6 — A tidy finish for Team Alarm

The final race began smoothly and, with some big shifts and assorted variations in pressure to keep everyone honest, finished with Team Alarm in 1st, Team Pooh in 2nd, and Angus and Georgia in 3rd. Spare a thought for Jono Pank, who had had genuine hopes of a podium finish at his home club: he led for much of the race and then, in a development that could only happen here, lost six places up the penultimate leg when the wind switched off entirely. Tough venue, this. With that, William Pank and Chloe Harding sealed the wine in characteristically convincing style, six races, never outside the top three when it mattered, and one extremely well-deserved discard. Team Alarm sounded a note nobody else could quite match.

Norfolk Broads Firefly Open - photo © Trish Barnes

Thanks

Heartfelt thanks to Norfolk Broads Yacht Club for putting on an incredible event, to the galley and bar staff for keeping the fleet fed, watered, and on occasion comprehensively over-watered, to the NBYC members who shared Sparklet and Skylark with us, and to all the Firefly's who travelled many hours east to make the racing as competitive as it was. Until next year and possibly, in some cases, until next morning.

Overall Results:

Next: Tideway Derby, 20 June

Next on the calendar is the Tideway Derby on 20 June — one of the standout fixtures of the Firefly’s 80th anniversary season. The fleet will race the Thames from Putney to the Houses of Parliament, in what promises to be a spectacular showcase for a class now eight decades old. Entry and information via the National Firefly Class Association.

Raffle update

Tickets have been issued to all competitors at the Norfolk Broads Open — one per helm, one per crew. The top prize is F4444, a race-ready Firefly built by Ovington Boats, with spars by Selden, sails and covers by Hyde, and a launch trolley by Sailboat Trailers.

To register your opt-in, complete the form at forms.gle/MSeCVBpEpvcyQp1v7 by 14 November 2026. The draw takes place at the Royal Thames Yacht Club on 21 November.