80th Anniversary Firefly Championship at Tenby Sailing Club - Day 3
by Mark Jardine 11 Aug 23:44 BST
8-14 August 2026
A swell time in Tenby
Tuesday dawned with a superb south easterly breeze already in place, so the fleet launched through the waves on Tenby's north beach into a sizeable swell ready for racing.
The wind direction allowed for a start far closer to the shore, which meant the many holidaymakers with their buckets and spades could see the fleet actually racing, rather than going to and fro from the promenade to the water.
Race 4 was held first, competing for the RAFSA Trophy, followed by the rescheduled Race 3 for the Felixstowe Ferry Trophy. I'm not exactly sure why they couldn't have been held sequentially, but that was how it was done.
It was Rob and Mel Sherrington's turn to be the pathfinder in Race 4, which they duly carried out and the fleet was away at the first time of asking.
West Kirby brothers Patrick and David Bromilow took the 'See you later' name of their boat literally, storming away from the fleet to take a convincing win from Angus Cook and Lucie Hopkins in 'Officer Dibble'.
"We knew we were quite quick from yesterday, but we didn't get in the right place, so we decided to start early, near to the pin end, as we thought we were quicker than the gate boat," said Patrick. "From there we were higher and faster than everyone around us, and we sailed away with it."
On keeping the boatspeed up David added, "Keeping the comms high and chatting with each other, what we both felt in the boat, and the leeches of the sails were super important. I think we just worked really well as a team. It probably helped that the boats behind us were in a bit of a battle, scrapping with each other, which allowed us to maintain a lead, and even extend it towards the end."
The wind dropped significantly for the second race, and things were especially difficult as the swell remained. Keeping the boat moving, and avoiding pinching was key, but with such a large fleet finding and holding a lane upwind is tricky at the best of times.
Ben Whaley and Rhona Enkel managed the conditions beautifully to take the win followed by Steve Tylecote and Tasha Armstrong in Grasshopper, with Terry and Annabelle Hacker finishing third.
By popular request, today's video features the entire race 3 gate start, as well as longer clips from the race and an insightful interview with the top three teams going into the day.
There are definite 'Firefly families', and we've mentioned the Panks a couple of times in the daily reports. Today it was Erin Pank's moment to shine, with her first-ever top ten finish in a Firefly nationals race, which was a proud moment for her.
"It feels really good! It was a great race and we had a strong start. I just hope we can be a little bit more consistent now. I had to get Steve (Carver), my crew, to keep reminding me to keep it in a low mode, because I quite like a nice high mode. Keeping it flowing and not stalling is key. Unfortunately I wasn't the first Pank in the race as my cousin Will caught a gust and just pipped me on the line!"
Wednesday is a big one at the championship with the Sir Ralph Gore Challenge Cup and Marlow Cup set to be contested. The fleet will be divided in two, with the top half racing for the 'Gore', which is arguably the most sought after trophy in the class.
The race itself, which is 12 miles long, is sailed on a triangular course and the time limit is 4 hours and 30 minutes - far longer than a standard Firefly race.
Temperatures are set to soar to 30 degrees and the latest forecast is for a decent easterly in the morning, which will fade and veer round to the south as the day goes on. Let's hope the breeze holds for long enough to allow for a good race.
Full results so far can be found here, but Race 1, for the City of Plymouth Trophy, has been thrown out after a protest relating to the gate start. The intention is to re-sail this if time allows.
More Mark Jardine photos can be found on flickr in the following galleries:
Racing runs from 9 to 14 August with eight races scheduled. Alongside Tideway Wealth and Gill Marine, the championship is supported by Craftinsure, whose Craftinsure Buddies scheme welcomes the newcomers who make up a quarter of the fleet, and Marlow Ropes, with class supporters Seldén, Hyde Sails and Sailboat Trailers.
Find out more at www.tenbysailingclub.org.uk/2026-firefly-nationals