Firefly South Western Championship at Restronguet Sailing Club

by Alex Baxter 28 May 18:33 UTC 23-25 May 2026

Restronguet Sailing Club spent the late May bank holiday weekend hosting the Firefly South Western Championship, drawing 36 boats to Carrick Roads for three days of racing that delivered, with some enthusiasm, every conceivable mode of sailing: shifts, holes, gusts, drift, terror, hangovers, and one truly memorable parking lot.

This author met JASON on Friday morning for what was advertised as a lovely eight-hour van journey in the meth lab. It was a fine bonding period: getting to know one another, watching JASON discreetly run his, as far as I can tell, moderately successful, medium-sized business through his headphones, and gradually exhausting every available conversation topic. After about five hours we discovered our respective insanities converged neatly over a shared love of techno; thereafter, words were no longer required.

Nevertheless, we were both quietly excited for the weekend ahead. JASON felt a race win was in him, having moved the entire thwart on Bonkers over the winter. Quite what that does, no one is sure, but he was confident. Racing aside, we were promised a pasty-filled weekend, a "few" pints of Tribute, and a UK-wide heatwave. What could possibly go wrong.

The forecast promised a bit of everything - northerly breeze on Saturday, south-easterly fill-in on Sunday, and a final flourish on Monday - and Carrick Roads obliged with shifts, holes, gusts and the obligatory parking lot, ensuring the event would be remembered for several years to come. With Steve Carver of OrcaMet briefing the fleet every morning, we were comprehensively forewarned about what we expected (or so we thought). Six races counted for the championship, alongside the Firefly Single-Handed Nationals.

What followed was a classic Firefly weekend for what is the most beautiful and lovely May Bank Holiday. There's a reason we all drive a rather long way to come back every single year. The scenery is beautiful, the company is great, the racing is fraught, and the aura of the entire event is simply immaculate. This weekend was no exception, ending in a Tait family triumph that required every one of its discards to survive a top of the fleet so tight it needed a calculator and a stiff drink.

Race 1 — Roger and Izzy off the blocks

Roger Morris and Izzy Bretherton (henceforth Team Horror), beneficiaries of Finn's patient fettling of the good ship Horror over the last year or two, were fast out of the blocks: a pin-end smash-and-grab followed by a tidy rolling of Greaveasy (could it get much better?). With a sliver of tidal relief on the left and an obliging left-hander pulling mark 1 closer, Team Horror rounded ahead of Finn and Paul Kameen (Team Biscuit Buffalo), Mark and Beatrice Tait (Team Dido), and Alex Baxter and Helen Jones (Team Scruffy).

Team Biscuit Buffalo nibbled back a few lengths on the first reach, while Team Scruffy going from fourth to second on the second beat, only to be reeled in by Team Dido on the run and then completing one of the more spectacular collapses of the weekend by going from 2nd to 6th on the final beat (something easily done at this regatta, as the rest of the fleet would shortly demonstrate). Team Horror was left to extend serenely to the gun. Finn duly showed his father how to do it, snatching a fantastic 2nd ahead of a gaggle of parent-offspring combinations: Team Dido, Thomas and Rosie Davey (Team Pooh), and Jamie and Sylvie McEwen (in the evergreen Skirmish). A Firefly race is many things; on this particular afternoon, it was largely a school run.

Race 2 — Fiddle with the middle

When this author was at university, we used to play a card game called the Pyramid, a refined and pedagogical exercise designed, in theory, to ingratiate Freshers with the finer things of life. One of its raisons d'être was establishing whether a Fresher would dare "fiddle with the middle" as the cards were turned, to determine how many fingers of beer were to be consumed. It is normal at Restronguet, where 30-degree windshifts arrive in bulk, that either the left or the right pays. The start of Race 2 was the exception: to dare to fiddle was to do.

Conditions were a near-identical photocopy of Race 1, northerly 5-10 knots with the small oscillations beloved of anyone who can be bothered to count to ten. The middle of the beat paid handsomely, and round the first buoy it was Team Skirmish ahead of Team Dido. These two then proceeded to provide three laps of high-quality fleet-leading dialogue, with Team Dido reliably reeling Team Skirmish in downwind, and Team Skirmish briskly putting them back in their box on each beat. Behind them, JASON and JOSEPHINE (henceforth Team Bonkers) won the battle of the chasing pack and the right to third place. At the front, Team Skirmish held just enough of their lead to take the gun, leaving Team Dido a thoroughly frustrated second.

Firefly Single-Handed Nationals

Running cheerfully in parallel with the championship, the Firefly Single-Handed Nationals drew 13 boats and was treated to the full Carrick Roads experience: shifty breeze, beautiful scenery, and the obligatory shut-down at the last leeward mark.

The race was, apparently, an absolute classic (apparently, because by this point this author was several Aperols deep and able to confirm very little independently). The leeward-mark shut-down enabled Barney Smith to climb from 5th to 1st via what can only be described as an oblique route through the cliffs and beaches of Carrick Roads - sometimes the long way home is the only way home. Stuart Hudson actually crossed the line first, having taken the kind of conventional route favoured by people who like winning, but unfortunately missed out the last mark (a quirk of the RSC club race SIs), then hit the finish mark and, as the final, almost theatrical, indignity, was informed he had been OCS after a 90-minute race. Callum Farnden, George Lenney and Damian Boreham crossed the line in an overlapped trio, with Callum taking 2nd by a whisker in front of local youngster George in 3rd.

Race 3 — Sunday morning at Restronguet Passage

Sunday morning revealed several heads that profoundly wished they weren't, after a long evening of drink, curry and rigorous gossip at the sailing club. With the wind round to the south-east and a fraction stronger than Saturday, the race officer relocated the start to the entrance to Restronguet Passage, a brisk sail from the club and, against all bank holiday precedent, bang on time. This caught a few people out when the wind died on the sail out (this author was firmly among the disgruntled).

For once, there was no general recall, and the fleet got away first time with a single individual recall. (Tragically, the Greaves morning yoga session - this is the Firefly fleet, honestly? - was thereby cut short, and both Greaves boats missed the start. Their downward dogs deserved better.) There were murmurs of discontent about the abruptness of the start, but in the scheme of the weekend, this was a relatively minor grievance.

Three laps and several existential crises later, Alex and Stella Davey (Team Mustard) were leading, with Team Dido in close and pointed pursuit. Team Mustard held on for a popular win; Team Dido, alas, were OCS. The result was a Davey one-two, with Team Pooh promoted to second and William Mason and Amy Bowden (Team Walrus) into third.

Race 4 — Ferrets and Menaces

Stuart and Jane Hudson (Team Fursty Ferret) - rekindled, as it were, after Jane had finally had enough of Greaveasy's complaints about how he used to be quick - started well mid-line, got the lift they had ordered, and held a lane through some honest pressure. Tacking when headed, they expected clear air on the new tack and instead found the menace - Team Bonkers - going alarmingly well.

Team Bonkers led round the top with Team Fursty Ferret 2nd, and the two of them promptly extended on the rest of the fleet to a genuinely flabbergasting extent, close racing throughout, conducted in their own private weather system. In a shifty Force 2-3 with the pressure coming and going on a whim, Team Fursty Ferret broke free on the second beat and led to the finish, with Team Bonkers a deserved 2nd. Team Pooh sailed through to 3rd, Team Walrus paddled home 4th, and Team Dido recovered from a less convincing start to a creditable 5th.

Race 5 — The Graveyard of Dreams

Monday brought relief: the committee boat was visible just off the launching area, and a solid Force 2-3 was already at the start line. The fleet had every reason to feel fragile after the previous night's celebrations at the Lemon Arms - during which Guy Davison left class treasurer Nigel Wakefield (Team Tip Top Too) thoroughly short-changed with the bill (apparently the triple lock isn't supporting Guy quite as well as one might hope). Thankfully for Guy, Nigel was by this point well on his way, and was suggesting to a bemused group of twenty-somethings that they "get some shots in." Thankfully for Nigel's long-suffering crew Emily, the suggestion was met with appropriate scorn and rejection.

The start line had a distinct port bias. Dom and Jenny Johnson (Team Gemini Too), who are, despite Dom looking very lean these days, on the 'larger' side when sailing together, tacked off and went hunting whilst for the first time all weekend actually hiking; meanwhile the pin-end gybers (this author, Nigel, included, which makes commenting on the early part of the race delicate) attempted to remember which way was upwind. The "Battle of the Masons" continued, with Team Walrus (won in a raffle ten years ago) ahead of Will's sister in Team Bonkers, both in the top 5 and declining, with diplomatic restraint, to inform anyone of the family score.

Then it became surreal at the bottom of the sausage. Having enjoyed some firm gusts down to the buoy, the wind evaporated entirely, and the fleet rafted together for a hug. About ten boats that had broken left found a new breeze and were promptly sailing upwind in a solid Force 3 - clearly visible from where everyone else was being slowly humiliated. The new line then receded rather than advancing, leaving the rafted majority bouncing about in nothing at all.

By this point, Callum Farnden and crew - sailing a Rondar Firefly purchased on Thursday evening that is not yet named, which is one way of doing things - had taken the lead, closely followed by Team Mustard. As the minutes ticked away, the leaders approached the top mark; the breeze advanced once more to the awaiting raft, allowing a few more boats to join the race; and then, in a move of considerable spite, receded again. It was a psychological torture, most vindictive. One began to question one's own sanity. Was this actually a nightmare? Was sailing real? Were there marks? Eventually we all got going; this was going to be crushing defeat by painful margins to Team Tip Top Too.

This author (Alex Baxter, resuming the pen) can confirm that the eventual race winner, at this precise moment, was swearing more eloquently than ever previously documented, as he bobbed grimly in the graveyard and watched some ten boats hike flat on the horizon.

Fate had other ideas. The first fifteen boats were promptly becalmed at the final gybe mark, having made very little progress downwind. The following boats took one look at this graveyard of dreams and tactically decided to reach (drift) back towards the top of the beat. The next fifteen minutes passed in a parade of tiny thermals apparating and disapparating across the course. Team Tip Top Too broadly sailed the rhumb line — having graciously sampled every other point of sailing along the way, and took the win. Jono Pank and Tilly Phelps (Team Swaggle) drifted in from the right for 2nd. Team Dido was arguably leading the drift but finished a strong 3rd from the left. Lizzie Hudson and Sophia Johnson (Team Vader) scored their best result of the weekend in 4th.

This race blew the event open all over again. Team Fursty Ferret and Team Pooh both scored in the 20s; Team Dido were still carrying their Race 3 OCS as a discard; and with one race to go, the championship was, to use a technical term, anyone's.

Race 6 — The decider

After the shenanigans of Race 5, some teams were licking wounds, others counting blessings, and absolutely no one - and we do mean no one - had a working theory on the scores. To the considerable relief of the fleet, the race officer moved the course upwind, away from the doldrums, and the wind, in a rare moment of co-operation, stabilised. Joshua Adams and Naomi Richards (Team Threshdar) rounded the top first, followed by Team Scruffy, with Team Mustard in hot pursuit. Team Threshdar led until the second beat, at which point the right declined to pay quite so handsomely a second time; Team Mustard took over the front and proceeded to hold off Team Fursty Ferret for the rest of the race, with Team Dido tucked in close behind in third. Team Threshdar finished a much-deserved 4th, and Team Dido's third was, by the narrowest of mathematical margins, just enough to seal the title. The less said about Team Scruffy going from 2nd to 16th, the better.

Overall — a Tait at the top

After six races and one discard, the championship resolved itself with the politeness of the aforementioned bar bill: very tight, slightly contested, and ultimately settled. Team Dido (Mark and Beatrice Tait, F498) took the title on 16 points, despite using their Race 3 OCS as their discard, on the strength of a counting line that is almost rude in its consistency: 3, 2, 5, 3, 3.

Behind them an extraordinary three-way tie on 22 points required countback. Team Mustard took 2nd thanks to their two race wins, Team Fursty Ferret took 3rd, and Team Pooh 4th; three excellent regattas separated by, essentially, vibes. Team Horror rounded out the top five on 24 points. Race-winning honours were shared across six different boats, a fitting tribute to a weekend in which the wind appeared to have only the loosest grasp on which direction was which.

Heartfelt thanks to the race officer and the volunteer team at Restronguet Sailing Club, to the galley team for keeping the fleet fed and watered, to Steve Carver at OrcaMet for forecasts that were as accurate as the wind allowed, and to the Lemon Arms for its continued and selfless contribution to fleet morale. See you next year — and possibly, in some cases, on the next start line.

Vines and 'Top Stick' update

After 5 events of the 2026 Vines Series, Jono Pank & various crews leads from Jason Aldous & Jo Mason with Alex Baxter & assorted crews filling the podium.

In the 'Top Stick' for best crew in the Vines series, scored in their own right. Rachel Crebbin takes the lead, followed by Jo Mason in 2nd and Phil Aldous in 3rd.

72 more raffle tickets were issued at Restronguet bringing the season's total up to 227 tickets issued. Sailors who have not yet opted in must do so at: forms.gle/MSeCVBpEpvcyQp1v7 by 14 November 2026.

Next up for the Firefly Fleet is the "battle on the broads" on the 13/14th June at the Norfolk Broads YC on Wroxham broad. Wroxham's shallow, tree-lined water tests every crew's ability to read shifts and stay sharp in a tight fleet, making the most eastern open of the year also one of the most rewarding weekends in the class calendar. Racing is followed by an evening cruise to Roys of Wroxham, the self-proclaimed world's largest village store, where the racing debriefs flows as freely as the Pimm's.

Enter on the NBYC website here.

The 2026 Craftinsure Vines Series is proudly supported by Craftinsure. The National Firefly Class Association's named sponsor is Tideway Wealth. All results and entry information at www.fireflyclass.co.uk

#jointheswarm #FireflyAt80 #VinesSeries @Craftinsure

Overall Results:

Pos	Sail No	Boat Name	Helm	Crew	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	Pts
1	F 498	Dido	Mark Tait	Beatrice Tait	3	2	(OCS)	5	3	3	16
2	F 2649	Mustard	Alex Davey	Stella Davey	‑7	7	1	6	7	1	22
3	F 3850	Fursty Ferret	Stuart Hudson	Jane Hudson	10	5	4	1	‑22	2	22
4	F 1384	Pooh	Thomas Davey	Rosie Davey	4	8	2	3	‑26	5	22
5	F 3119	Horror	Roger Morris	Izzy Bretherton	1	6	3	8	6	‑11	24
6	F 3007	Tip Top Too	Nigel Wakefield	Emily Saunderson	‑21	10	5	10	1	6	32
7	F 3615	Skirmish	Jamie McEwen	Sylvie McEwen	5	1	7	(BFD)	18	12	43
8	F 2065	Bonkers	Jason Aldous	Josephine Mason	‑20	3	19	2	16	13	53
9	F 973	Spiderling	David Sincock	Betty Sincock	9	9	17	7	12	‑19	54
10	F 4125		Joshua Adams	Naomi Richards	17	17	8	12	‑19	4	58
11	F 4000	The Walrus	William Mason	Amy Bowden	11	21	9	4	‑29	18	63
12	F 2018	Biscuit Buffalo	Finn Kameen	Paul Kameen	2	16	6	‑24	20	21	65
13	F 3023	Fourwood Thing	Barney Smith	Katherine Wood	19	4	‑25	14	13	15	65
14	F 3741	Ma Hon	Arthur Greaves	Madeleine Greaves	12	11	‑28	17	14	14	68
15	F 3154	Gemini Too	Dom Johnson	Jenny Johnson	8	13	20	11	‑21	17	69
16	F 4234	Vader	Lizzie Hudson	Sophia Johnson	‑29	15	14	20	4	24	77
17	F 3318	Lynestra	Guy Davison	Roisin	‑25	22	23	13	11	8	77
18	F 3133	Thermopylae	Amy Morris	Gilly Phillips	24	18	10	16	‑28	10	78
19	F 3874	Tarantella	Angus McEwen	Eriskay Maclean	16	24	13	‑28	17	9	79
20	F 2925	Dignity	Sebi Schmidt	Georgia Evans	18	‑29	11	22	25	7	83
21	F 2246	Scruffy	Alex Baxter	Helen Jones	6	14	27	21	‑31	16	84
22	F 2294		Callum Farnden	crew	‑30	25	18	15	9	23	90
23	F 1867	Cumulus	Steven Greaves	Caroline Batten	14	12	21	(BFD)	24	20	91
24	F 3893	Rockin Robin	David Cheshire	Henry Cheshire	15	23	12	19	23	‑28	92
25	F 4400	Swaggle	Jono Pank	Tilly Phelps	13	(RET)	16	BFD	2	25	93
26	F 3801	Freida	Damian Boreham	Leila Farmer	23	19	24	(BFD)	5	27	98
27	F 339	Mazurka	Poppy Luxton	Florence Luxton	‑33	30	26	9	10	26	101
28	F 2089	Atalanta	Belinda Joslin	Annie Joslin	26	20	15	26	(RET)	DNC	124
29	F 3739	Willow	Lucy Boreham	Rachel Crebbin	28	28	‑33	27	15	29	127
30	F 4500		Ben Bradley	Gracie Joslin	34	27	(OCS)	BFD	8	22	128
31	F 3677	Wiki Wiki	Hugh Tomkins	Annabel Page	27	‑35	22	23	32	32	136
32	F 3550	Water Spider	Jo McEwen	Jonquil Hackney	22	‑31	29	25	30	30	136
33	F 3193	Magic!	Freya Brown	Will Reeves	31	26	31	18	(RET)	34	140
34	F 2560	Fuzzy Duck	Harris Goodman	Chloe Peett	32	33	‑34	31	27	33	156
35	F 3876	Bubble Too	George Lenney	Ben Pullen	36	32	32	30	(RET)	31	161
36	F 3617	Calypso	Ali Phillips	Freya Phillips	35	34	30	29	(DNC)	DNC	165