Firefly Open at Dell Quay Sailing Club

 The much-anticipated Dell Quay SC Firefly Open took place over the weekend of the 25th and 26th September, the first time Dell Quay has hosted a major Firefly event in 50 years.

Twelve visiting boats joined a strong turnout of fifteen local Fireflys to make up a fantastically mixed fleet with National and World Champions sharing the start line with relative beginners, some in their first season of racing. The junior turnout was impressive, with twenty of the boats racing with crews under the age of 10. Visitors travelled from as far as the Brecon Beacons to be part of the action for what is the oldest new event in the Firefly calendar, a testament to the rich history of the class has at Dell Quay.

With their consistency across the wind range Stuart and Lizzie Hudson from Royal Lymington YC took the event win, with Paul and Ludo Kameen from Bosham SC second and a consistent Guy and Frances Davison third.

As the last pints of Firefly Beer were finished, the prize-giving bought a fantastic end to the weekend with every junior competitor being award a medal, not least Charlie May who was not only the youngest crew at 5 years old, but skippered by his Dad Iain, managed to complete all six races, a fantastic simply fantastic achievement.

The Dell Quay Fireflys would like to extend special thanks to event sponsors A-Plan Insurance, Rooster, Spinlock and Langham Brewery and they look forward to raising the bar further in 2022.

Overall Results:

Pos Sail No Helm Crew Club R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 Pts

1 3850 Stuart Hudson Lizzie Hudson Royal Lymington SC (4) 1 (5) 1 1 2 5

2 2018 Paul Kameen Ludo Kameen Bosham SC 1 4 2 3 (9) (DNC) 10

3 3318 Guy Davison Frances Davison Llangorse SC (5) (6) 3 4 3 3 13

4 498 Mark Tait Beatrice Tait Dell Quay Sailing Club 3 3 4 (7) 6 (DNC) 16

5 3125 Archie Massey Rosie Massey Dell Quay Sailing Club (DNC) 7 1 5 5 (DNC) 18

6 3027 Harvey Hillary Sophia Hillary Dell Quay Sailing Club 2 2 6 (10) 10 (DNC) 20

7 3739 Lucy Boreham Rachel Crebbin Chichester Yacht Club (10) 10 (11) 6 2 4 22

8 550 Tim Boon Richard Oliver Dell Quay Sailing Club 8 (14) (9) 8 8 5 29

9 3674 Ollie Reynolds Ted / Arthur Reynolds Dell Quay Sailing Club 7 9 8 (11) (11) 6 30

10 3023 Barney Smith Karen Main RAFYC/Hamble River SC (DNC) (DNC) DNC