80th Anniversary Firefly Championship at Tenby Sailing Club - Overall

by Mark Jardine 15 Aug 09:12 BST 8-14 August 2026

The incredible 80th Anniversary Firefly Championship has come to a close after a week of hard sailing and socialising at Tenby Sailing Club. It has been a week of smiles, fun, sunshine, sand and laughter, and a true celebration of what is making the class so popular with young and old alike.

Friday though dawned with drizzle - something we've not seen much of lately in the UK. The clouds and confused weather systems also played havoc with the wind, which was present, but often from several points of the compass at once.

Race Officer Nigel Denchfield and his team did their best, taking wind readings every few minutes, but the resulting chart looked more like a Boris Johnson polygraph during the pandemic than anything a race course could be set in. At just before midday racing was abandoned with results standing from the end of Thursday's racing.

The prize-giving was a true celebration, with the whole fleet congregating to applaud the winners while soaking in the week's atmosphere one last time. The phrase 'Firefly family' has come up time and again during the event, and the gathering reinforced that beautifully.

Ben Whaley and Rhona Enkel have added their name to the illustrious list of Firefly Champions, consistently working their way through the fleet towards the front, with Ben particularly highlighting how important the start was:

"Getting off the gates was key, and it was quite shifty all week, so knowing when a small enough good shift was good enough to take and when to dig in and go for a bit more. We had a get-out-of-jail free card in the first race on Thursday, where we were on what was probably the unfavoured side of the gate start, and then we got a little left shift, and we took that across, and then later on everyone from the left was buried. The gate starts were really tough this week with 116 boats."

In second place were Steve Tylecote and Tasha Armstrong, who first competed together at the nationals in 1994, which they also finished second in, with Steve reflecting on the incredible standard of competition:

"I think it was ahead of any expectations. There were lots of challenges all week for all the competitors, including us. I don't think it was the sort of event where you come in with expectations as such. I thought the standard was competitive throughout and we were deep in the fleet sometimes, trying to recover. Overall, what a week! Truly competitive one-design sailing at its hardest, and therefore most challenging and enjoyable."

Terry and Annabelle Hacker have been somewhat the dark horses of the regatta, coming in under the radar with a consistently good series where they were incredibly discarding a 12th place.

"It's my third nationals and my best result so far, so I'm extremely happy. If you told me at the start of the week that we were going to be third, I'd have probably told you no way in a fleet of 116 boats. There are probably 30-odd boats here that could win, so we're very, very happy.", said Terry.

Annabelle added, "It's been a very good time, very fun off the water, and on the water. It was very stressful sometimes, but so good when we kept getting consistent results."

The class gave a huge thank-you to the army of volunteers at Tenby Sailing Club, including all those on the water in the mark laying, safety and media RIBs, Nigel Denchfield and his race team, the beach coordinators who had the unenviable job of herding the boats to the right launch places while avoiding the curious holidays makers, the bar team at the clubhouse who had their work cut out, the caterers at the various socials, the scorers and protest committee, and everyone else whose time and dedication made the event so memorable.

The Firefly committee itself has also worked tirelessly before and during the event to make it a really special occasion on and off the water, which is hugely appreciated by all the sailors.

While the heatwave has disrupted the schedule a bit, overall it has been a hugely successful championship, and a superb way to celebrate the 80th anniversary of this thriving class. It is the first time that an Ovington-built boat has won the nationals, and bodes well for the future.

The order book for new boats is surpassing all expectations, with universities snapping up six at a time when they refresh their team racing fleets, and individual orders also coming in. This is also putting extremely good second-hand boats on to the market, allowing newcomers to join in on tight budgets. The welcoming nature of the class also makes it easy to work out what makes a Firefly tick, and is something Ben Whaley highlighted in his prize-giving speech.

The Firefly class has managed the transitions from wood to fibreglass, and a few cockpit changes very well over the years, meaning that boats of all ages are competitive. A prime example is how Ben Whaley and Rhona Enkel won in a new Ovington while Steve Tylecote and Tasha Armstrong finished second in a boat over 60 years old.

With this being the highest attendance since 1974, I spoke to Guy Davison, who has been racing in the class since 1972:

"I don't actually remember it ever being this large. Maybe that was my youth and my inexperience, but this time round was a whole new cavalcade of experiences. I'm absolutely delighted with the attendance and atmosphere this week because I was class chairman yonks ago and on the committee for a long time, and we always strive to do the right things. We've done a number of right things of late, with much more integration with students, with coaching, and putting the class on the map with a number of the colleges, universities and schools, and I think this has borne fruit. Also the fact that we're at Tenby, which is a fabulous venue. It's been the perfect week."

The 2027 Nationals will be at Felixstowe between the 7th and 13th August, with abundant camping nearby and it is one of the class's favourite venues. Both the sailing and the social side promise to be spectacular.

Anniversaries do tend to attract a bigger entry than normal, but there is no reason that the Firefly class resurgence won't continue for a long time. More and more young sailors are joining the fleet and using it as a pathway to continue their sailing. It's been known for years that keeping people in the sport when they turn 18 is a major problem, and the Fireflys are a beacon of how to keep them competing and, just as importantly, having fun in the process.

More Mark Jardine photos can be found on flickr in the following galleries:

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4
• Day 5

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

Overall Results: (full results can be found here)

Pos	Sail No	Boat Name	Helm	Crew	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R6	R7	Pts
1st	458		Ben Whaley	Rhona Enkel	Waldringfield SC / Swanage	4	(DSQ)	1	8	2	1	16
2nd	3037	Grasshopper	Steve Tylecote	Tasha Armstrong	Rutland SC	8	1	2	‑15	4	8	23
3rd	4438		Terry Hacker	Annabelle Hacker	Rutland SC	11	4	3	9	5	‑12	32
4th	999	Alarm	William Pank	Matilda Wilson	UEA / NBYC	10	12	6	7	‑19	RDG	45.8
5th	1956	Luciole	Thommie Grit	Louise Woodley	UEA / NBYC	6	14	15	10	‑28	6	51
6th	2	Bloodhound	Brendan Lynch	Emilia Russel	East Lothian YC	7	22	‑48	4	14	5	52
7th	3695	Officer Dibble	Angus Cook	Lucie Hopkins	Castaways	3	11	‑32	2	23	15	54
8th	1954	Pogie	Jono Pank	Freddie Pank	Imperial Poona YC	‑28	2	12	19	6	16	55
9th	2649	Mustard	Alex Davey	Stella Davey	Royal Harwich YC	20	19	4	5	10	‑24	58
10th	3133	Thermopylae	Finian Morris	Robbie Hudson	Imperial Poona YC	1	8	‑43	14	15	22	60
11th	3850	Fursty Ferret	Stuart Hudson	Jane Hudson	Lymington Town SC	5	‑30	8	26	11	10	60
12th	3617	Iris	Rob Sherrington	Mel Sherrington	HISC	21	9	14	17	‑34	4	65
13th	498	Dido	Mark Tait	Beatrice Tait	Warsash	18	5	21	24	12	‑26	80
14th	926	See you later	Patrick Bromilow	David Bromilow	West Kirby SC	22	32	‑63	1	27	2	84
15th	3119	Horror	Roger Morris	Isobel Bretherton	Royal Lymington YC	2	‑49	5	34	35	11	87
16th	2018	Biscuit Buffalo	Paul Kameen	Evie Snedker	Bosham Sailing Club	13	‑47	11	12	37	14	87
17th	2803	Grendel	Edward Smith	Ruth Guy	Royal Lymington YC	16	15	17	22	‑26	19	89
18th	3691	Cynthia	Alex Smallwood	Vicky Sisk	O&CSS	‑41	16	22	3	20	34	95
19th	2937	Smutty	Chris Kameen	Jenny Johnson	Imperial Poona YC	40	7	10	‑51	24	25	106
20th	3671	Purple Doris	Ben Tylecote	Lucy Cox	Rutland SC	32	6	(DSQ)	32	30	7	107
21st	3154	Gemini Too	Dom Johnson	Rosie Davey	West Kirby SC	15	‑43	41	23	8	20	107
22nd	11	Daddy Long Legs Too	Ollie Meadowcroft	Hazel Jones	Salcombe YC / HISC	23	25	20	(DSQ)	7	36	111
23rd	3713	Barry Girl	Noah Evans	Esther Tuttle	HISC	14	33	28	36	3	‑37	114
24th	3023	Fourwood Thinking	Barney Smith	Alannah Hebbert	RAFYC / Keyhaven YC	17	38	16	20	‑70	27	118
25th	4	Tic Tac	Jamie Tylecote	Tom Onions	Rutland SC	38	17	13	13	39	(DSQ)	120
26th	3625	Squabbling Phoenix	Jenny Smallwood	Philip Aldhous	West Oxfordshire SC	45	‑57	29	6	25	17	122
27th	3674	Flo	Harvey Hillary	Sophia Hillary	Dell Quay	25	35	9	16	38	‑67	123
28th	4436		Freddie Sunderland	Holly Mitchell	HISC	‑36	24	18	30	33	31	136
29th	4400	Swaggle	Erin Pank	Steve Carver	UEA / NBYC	52	10	7	‑73	29	40	138
30th	888	Desperado	Dylan Beatty	Jude Beatty	Rutland SC	49	13	‑65	18	17	41	138
31st	1384	Pooh	Thomas Davey	Cam Bowden	Royal Harwich YC	30	45	25	33	13	‑57	146
32nd	USA 1	Shocker	Sam Armstrong Rowland	Lucy Armstrong Rowland	Royal Southern YC	35	41	40	‑54	32	9	157
33rd	3007	Tip Top Too	Nigel Wakefield	Emily Saunderson	Netley Sailing Club	46	27	30	25	‑47	29	157
34th	2025	Scruffy	Alex Baxter	Ella Vincent	O&CSS	12	18	19	67	‑69	42	158
35th	3631	Repechage	David Chisholm	Ella Hopkins	HISC	‑78	42	27	29	31	30	159
36th	3615	Skirmish	Jamie McEwen	Sylvie McEwen	Royal Lymington YC	(DNC)	3	31	11	1	DNC	163
37th	3741	Ma Hon	Arthur Greaves	Harry George	Lymington Town SC	47	‑80	54	21	9	32	163
38th	3841	Genesis	Ben Nicoll	Sean Keddie	West Oxfordshire SC	29	65	‑68	40	22	21	177
39th	1943		Harley Stone	Naomi Richards	Royal London YC	‑69	31	59	35	18	38	181
40th	3318	Lynestra	Guy Davison	Sally Wakefield	Llangorse SC	43	37	36	‑46	45	23	184
41st	4000	The Walrus	Will Mason	Amy Bowden	Burghfield / Royal Harwich	9	‑86	52	41	16	70	188
42nd	51		Jamie Wilkinson	Charlotte Wakefield	HISC	27	‑98	34	59	21	47	188
43rd	1749	Delight	Arthur Pattison	Douglas Pattison	Itchenor Sailing Club	26	26	53	‑62	60	33	198
44th	3610	Serenity	Noa Moskovitch	Gabs Burlton	Royal Southern YC	‑74	29	44	38	42	46	199
45th	3837	Normandy	Alice Lucy	Issy Leetch	Rutland SC	57	20	49	‑74	59	18	203
46th	2144	Featherlite	Oliver Vines	Dylan Creighton	Imperial Poona YC	48	48	42	‑68	43	28	209
47th	1867	Cumulus	Steven Greaves	Caroline Battrick	Lymington Town SC	24	60	‑82	66	66	3	219
48th	4444	Thunderstruck	Martyn Jones	Ella Jones	HISC	37	68	24	28	63	‑100	220
49th	4439		Jack Woolterton	Lucy Street	Southampton University SC	33	52	45	37	53	(DNC)	220
50th	3612	Red Baron	Andrew Creighton	Ellie Creighton	RCYC	42	28	61	49	44	(DSQ)	224
51st	1979	Winter of Discontent	Amélie Hacker	Andre Popov	Rutland SC	59	79	‑84	27	52	13	230
52nd	1	Atalanta	Becky Caiger	Gracie Joslin	Edinburgh University SC	44	(DSQ)	23	53	54	59	233
53rd	3921	Fizz!	Mike Steele	Charlotte Caldecott	St Edmundsbury S&CA	50	34	46	47	56	‑84	233
54th	2065	Bonkers	Jason Aldous	Josephine Mason	Papercourt SC	39	54	47	44	‑82	52	236
55th	80	Mojo	Toby Bush	Lily Hopkins	Prestwick SC	‑73	55	37	45	49	61	247
56th	3559	Domino	Christopher Marsh	Rosemarie Howes	Royal Lymington YC	31	59	74	(DNC)	40	48	252
57th	564	eBay Flyer	Ted Ashworth	Ella Ashworth	Netley Sailing Club	51	39	69	50	‑96	43	252
58th	3802	Smartie Pants	Poppy Armstrong	Angus Armstrong	Budworth	61	‑63	39	56	57	44	257
59th	3067	Totty	Ben Bradley	Hayley Olden	Hill Head SC	82	21	26	58	72	(DNC)	259
60th	3146	Spaghetti	Roo Purves	Izzy Johnson	West Kirby SC	19	67	78	64	36	(DNC)	264
61st	2296	Falken	John Greenland	Summer Greenland	Imperial Poona YC	(DNC)	40	80	39	46	63	268
62nd	2900		Andrew Mckee	Abigail Mckee	Rutland SC	(DNC)	71	38	63	73	39	284
63rd	2925	Dignity	Sebi Schmidt	Georgia Evans	Tenby SC	60	53	56	61	‑90	55	285
64th	3158	Bullet Train	Harry Burge	Euan Burge	Rutland SC	(DNC)	23	81	31	75	79	289
65th	3686		Harry Rowlands	Gabe Beatty	Rutland SC	53	46	67	77	50	(DNC)	293
66th	3095	Mensonge	Christian Guy	Iona Sherwood	Castaways	‑71	56	60	70	58	49	293
67th	3303	If	Belinda Joslin	Sian Goodman	Royal Harwich YC	(DNC)	74	33	65	77	51	300
68th	3708	Atomic	Joe Armstrong Rowland	Will McEwen	Royal Southern YC	62	58	64	‑71	61	56	301
69th	2294		Callum Farnden	crew	O&CSS	65	77	57	43	62	‑99	304
70th	2587	Chi Chi	Richard Whitefoot	Elizabeth Whitefoot	Norfolk Broads YC	67	76	35	60	‑78	68	306
71st	3184	Thresdar	Patrick Whelan	Liam Whelan	Royal London YC	68	70	50	52	‑86	66	306
72nd	615	Tarantella	Angus McEwen	Eriskay McLellan	Royal Lymington YC	63	‑93	72	81	41	53	310
73rd	4445	Speedy mcspeedface	Edward White	Martha Green	Southampton University SC	77	44	58	97	‑102	35	311
74th	1811	Tit Willow	Luke Rowlands	Beau Beasley	Rutland SC	54	51	71	79	(DSQ)	62	317
75th	3616	Top Dolly	Madeleine Greaves	Matthew Mason	Lymington Town SC	58	78	66	69	‑88	64	335
76th	4478		Filip Wojcik	Daniel Cowley	Loughborough University SC	84	87	73	‑93	48	50	342
77th	3739	Willow	Lucy Boreham	Rachel Crebbin	Chichester YC	55	(DSQ)	79	82	83	45	344
78th	3554	Striga	James Ball	Oly Burrows	West Oxfordshire SC	56	‑92	83	48	74	83	344
79th	4437		Edward Wildman	Alice Bainbridge	Norfolk Broads YC	34	75	‑106	86	85	76	356
80th	3677	Wiki Wiki	Hugh Tomkins	Lola Andrews	O&CSS	66	62	77	85	67	‑90	357
81st	3801	Frieda	Damian Boreham	Leila Farmer	Chew Valley Lake SC	(DNC)	83	88	42	76	69	358
82nd	3244	Nimble Nymph	Nick Barrett	Bethany Barrett	W&OBYC	79	72	‑89	57	79	71	358
83rd	3550	Water Spider	Jo McEwen	Jonquil Hackenberg	Royal Lymington YC	76	61	‑92	80	68	74	359
84th	3879	Elmos Fire	Ben McEwen	Dom Bowden	Royal Lymington YC	(DNC)	95	87	72	51	58	363
85th	649	Lady Scampi	Robin Mecklenburgh	Cai Mecklenburgh	Royal Lymington YC	‑92	88	55	78	64	80	365
86th	4441		Rachel Harper	Alexandra Paton	Southampton University SC	‑87	82	51	84	65	85	367
87th	4222		Pete Cowley	Alex Money	Pennine Sailing Club	64	‑102	62	87	80	93	386
88th	88	Bass hunter	Wilum Johnston	Kate Davies	Norfolk Broads YC	72	69	90	‑105	92	65	388
89th	4234	Vader	Sophia Johnson	Lizzie Hudson	West Kirby SC	‑101	84	85	96	55	73	393
90th	3820	Silly Goose	Thomas Wildman	Rosie Pank	Norfolk Broads YC	81	89	‑103	55	94	86	405
91st	4481		Téo Sheffield	Grace Cullen	Burton Sailing Club	80	73	98	95	‑99	60	406
92nd	4503	Herbert	Annabel Caldecott	Georgiana Caldecott	Rutland SC	70	99	75	‑108	95	75	414
93rd	3033	Trinket	James Clayton	Elea Hackenberg	Royal Harwich YC	95	‑100	76	90	100	54	415
94th	333	Platinum Pam	Amy Morris	Ella McLellan	Royal Lymington YC	(DNC)	36	96	76	DSQ	97	422
95th	4465	Rock Paper Scissors	Jonathan Bickford	Nicky Mecklenburgh	Upper Thames SC	75	64	102	104	‑108	77	422
96th	70	Toby's Boat	Toby Sherrington	Rosie Dijkhuizen	Exeter Uni SC	90	‑107	97	83	71	88	429
97th	4379		Rosie Heydorn	Aidan Kentzer	UEA / NBYC	89	50	95	103	‑106	96	433
98th	4442		Luke Knezevic	John Morgan Griffiths	Southampton University SC	91	96	93	‑101	84	72	436
99th	4028	M8	Nia Mecklenburgh	Hennie Burlton	Royal Lymington YC	83	‑106	86	88	93	87	437
100th	3690	Mutsy	Bryce Musto	Amber Barker	University of Portsmouth SC	88	101	70	91	‑105	89	439
101st	3882	Lily	Xed Bramwell	Isla Armstrong	Hollingworth Lake SC	99	85	‑105	102	81	82	449
102nd	361	Calypso	Annie Bramwell	Freya Phillips	HISC	93	90	‑100	94	91	92	460
103rd	3551	Wight Spirit	Finn Campbell	Seth Futter	Norfolk Broads YC	(DNC)	66	DNC	98	89	94	464
104th	3098	Ratbag	Gideon Sherwood	Arthur Sherwood	RNSA	(DSQ)	94	91	100	109	78	472
105th	2550	Frolic	Hermione Pattison	Alice Pattison	Itchenor Sailing Club	(DNC)	91	94	75	97	DNC	474
106th	3893	Rockin' Robin	Anna Elms	Anna Morris	HISC	85	97	110	89	103	(DNC)	484
107th	3679	Avalon	Harriet George	Matt George	Royal Harwich YC	98	‑112	107	106	104	81	496
108th	367	Fiasco	Harris Goodman	Chloe Peett	Hill Head SC	102	108	108	‑110	87	95	500
109th	4500	Ovington Demo	James Hayden	Archie Hayden	Saundersfoot SC	94	109	99	107	‑110	91	500
110th	2485	Fury	Chris Rowlands	Anne Rowlands	Rutland SC	97	81	104	109	(DNC)	DNC	508
111th	4443		Ned Duffy	TBC	Southampton University SC	96	105	101	99	(DNC)	DNC	518
112th	2560	Fuzzy Duck	Alex Ogilvie	Amelia Caldecott	Regal Aardvark YS & Rutland SC	86	(DSQ)	DNC	DNC	101	98	519
113th	4106	ETS	Ethan Walker	Anna Walker	North Devon YC	103	110	111	92	107	(DNC)	523
114th	31		Oliver Monger	Henry Helm	Exeter Uni SC	100	104	109	111	111	(DSQ)	535
115th	3630	Summertime Blue	Richard Eagleton	Cristina Terrazas	Bexhill Sailing Club	(DNC)	111	DNC	112	98	DNC	555
116th	3764		Fiona Tylecote	Jane Hutchins	Rutland SC	(DNC)	103	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	571