A total of 28 boats competed in the Firefly fleet racing at the Royal Lymington Yacht Club Easter Regatta. Conditions on day one – Easter Saturday – were light and variable and, with a two knot tidal stream ripping through the course, race officer Ken Kershaw had his work cut out to get three races in.

Mason Woodworth and Trudy Danbury (Hamble River) had the best results of the day in their club-owned Rondar boat. Jono Pank and Sally Wilson (The Band), 2001 Firefly national champions recorded two thirds and an OCS, and Ben and Jenny Vines (Royal Lymington) had a win in race three. Top match racer Ian Williams sailing with Ruth Verrier Jones found life tough at his first Firefly regatta, recording three results outside the top 10.

Sunday dawned wet and breezy, and the race officer put everyone’s hiking legs to the test with four back-to-back races. The day’s honours were shared by Woodworth/Danbury, Pank/Wilson and Ian Sanderson and Linda Eadie (Royal Lymington) although all three of these teams suffered at least one capsize. Other top three results were achieved by Alex Davey and Belinda Kerridge (Rickmansworth) and Nigel Wakefield and Rachel Crebbin (Spinnaker). The Mayflower Pub was pretty quiet that night as the fleet licked their wounds.

Monday was a day of less wind, and fortunately more sun. Pank and Wilson clinched the regatta with a first and fifth with Woodworth and Danbury second overall. Davey and Kerridge finished every race in the top nine to take third. Overall, the Easter weekend was a highly successful time for the Firefly Class.

Overall Results

1st F1954 Pogie, Jono Pank and Sally Wilson (The Band) 3, 3, (26), (7), 3, 1, 2, 1, 5 18pts

2nd F708 Katie B, Mason Woodworth and Trudy Danbury (Hamble River) 1, 1, 7, 1, 10, 2, 3, (29), (29) 25pts

3rd F2649 Mustard, Alex Davey and Belinda Kerridge (Rickmansworth) (9), 4, 4, 2, 6, 5, (8), 4, 4 29pts

4th F3674 Florence, Nigel Wakefield and Rachel Crebbin (Spinnaker) (12), 2, 9, 3, 2, 7, 5, (10), 6 34pts

5th F3690 Waynetta, Ian Sanderson and Linda Eadie (R. Lymington) 10, 12, (26), (13), 1, 3, 1, 7, 2 36pts

6th F979 Any Port in a Storm, Jamie McEwen and Jonquil Brookes (R.Lymington) 4, (10), 5, 6, 5, 4, 6, 8, (29) 38pts