Ben's Blog

Tom & Shirley

2010-08-21T15:54:00.002+01:00

Oh yeh, did I mention that we met Tom Jones and Dame Shirley Bassey in Tenby? They really are a lovely couple, and corr blimey can Tom tinkle the ivories.

Final Day Standings

2010-08-20T13:11:00.004+01:00

Howling winds, even thunder & lightning, has cancelled the last race of the series. Ben & Jenny Vines will be crowned 2010 National Champions.

It has been a superb week of sailing - competitive right through the fleet. Few people managed the kind of consistency shown by the Vines throughout the week and they are very worthy champions. Our final result is 15th overall, the same as last year but with a tougher top fleet this year we are really delighted. Dave & Betty finsihed off 21st overall, another good result while Patrick and Bill sailed 4040 (Twofortea) into 40th position overall, soo that's Threefortea then! Sophie and Alan climbed to 43rd thanks to their better results in the final two races. Jamie remained as laid back as a welsh deckchair for the entire week, finishing in the Heinz position of 57th overall with Guy and Katie and the oldest boat in the fleet just 1 behind.

Time to load up the wagon and leave this town...just in time to join a queue of caravans on the A30!

Thanks for all your comments and encouragement.
Cheers,
Ben

Race 6 & 7

2010-08-19T17:24:00.005+01:00

Windy SW winds, 20-25 mph.

Photo of The Cornish Contingent

Chose to start half way along the gate today, and subsequently got buried in the fleet on the first beat. Rounded the windward mark with only a handful of boats behind us, but thought hey, its a long race lets get some back...30 boats would be nice.

Had some great reaches, runs and beats and climbed back to the mid/late 20s somewhere by the finish. OK, that is now our discard, we thought, lets do better in the next race...

Dave & Betty finished first Cornish boat in the early 20s and Alan and Sophie felt they were finally getting Cyclone going well.

Race 7
Took off early out the gate, went left and arrived at the mark with a pack of leaders not looking too bad. But the windward mark was absolutely rammed, everyone stacked up together and very little room for port-tackers coming in. Then things went a bit downhill... On the first attempt we failed to round the windward mark, having tacked beneath a few starboard tackers, leaing to us gybing around and having another go. Then, on our second attempt we got t-boned by a port tacker, splitting Kongs gunwale and leaving a big hole in the deck. At least we got round the mark, and finished the race, finishing mid-fleet somewhere and having created a new discard.

Again Dave & Betty finished in the 20s, first RSC boat, followed by Alan and Sophie.

I'm afraid today's scores will rather blow our series result, illustrating just how important consistency is soooo important in a championship. Speaking of which Ben & Jenny Vines scored two bullets today placing him on even points with Rob and Mel Sherrington for the championship.

Fingers crossed the weather will hold for a final show-down championship race tomorrow - but there are concerns that gales may interrupt play.

Team RSC
B

Race 5 - The Sir Ralph Gore Trophy

2010-08-18T17:12:00.008+01:00

Westerly 20mph all day. Terrific planing conditions for todays marathon race. The top half of the fleet racing for the most prized cup in Firefly sailing, the Sir Ralph Gore Trophy, and the 2nd half of the fleet competing for the Marlow Cup.

Team RSC got into the prizes with F8 (Fate) finishing 6th in the Marlow Fleet at the hands of Guy and Katie, and with a little help from some gaffa tape holding the planks in place underneath!

Winner of the Gore was Stuart and Jane Hudson by a country-mile, winning by some 3 minutes. Top RSC boat was myself and Liz, finishing 10th...we think. In which case we will be Pathfinder for the gate start tomorrow, yikes! Ah - just seen the results and we came 11th today, so our pathfinding will have to wait another time.

Dave and Betty finished a few boats behind us

Race 4

2010-08-17T16:11:00.002+01:00

Blowy NW, very shifty.
Classic welsh wetness greeted us this morning. This is more like the welsh weather that i remember from Swansea Uni days. The beer hasn't changed much since those days either - they put something funny in it to make your head go wobbly you know, and both Liz and I were still wobblinng this morning. Managed to lose one glove on the slipway which I found, but by then I had lost the other one! So it was a Michael Jackson impression from me today.

So it was with that auspicious beginning that we wobbled into our good ship Kong for Race 4...

Today was a one-race day, with a gate start and we were first boat out the gate allowing us to take advantage of the shifty conditions. 3rd around the windward mark - lovely. But it was a long race and a tricky one. Places were traded on every leg, we did well on some and were overtaken on others. Unfortunately for us our last beat was our worst, tacking on the shifts up the middle while boats that went up either side did better. We finished 11th.

Next Restronguet boat was Dave & Betty in their purplink (not quite purple, not quite pink) boat Water Spider

Jamie's sister Lindsay crewed for him today, both beaming with smiles throughout the race. Guy and Katie enjoyed a paticularly good final beat among the back half of the fleet, pushing their boat 'Fate' (F8)hard to overtake a good bunch. The poor old girl needs some emergency TLC though after a couple of planks popped, so much was the strain.

Tomorrow is the marathon race for one of the most prestigious prizes in sailing history - the Sir Ralph Gore Trophy. A mimimum of 3 hours or 13 miles, whichever comes first.

Cheers for now,
Ben

Race 2 and 3

2010-08-16T18:04:00.003+01:00

Light NW winds and sunshine greeted the 66 competitors this morning in Tenby. Tenby is a lot like a welsh version of St Ives. Not just the buckets and spades and inflatable dinghies adourning every shop front, but the same beautiful beaches, harbour and narrow streets. The driving ban betwen 10 and 5pm would be a good idea for St Ives too.

Already few bruises on display throughout the fleet.

Race one was meant to be a traditional line-start, but after 3 failed attempts at getting a fair start away the race committee opted for a gate start instead.

Then the gate start too was abandoned mid-way, but a second gate-start got the fleet underway at long last. A pretty frustrating race for us as we went from looking very good to mid-fleet to down-the-pan, then crawled our way back to 20th at the finish. Once again Dave & Betty finished first RSC boat, finishing 2 boats in front of us and having had a similar race.

Race 2
Once again we started at the beginning of the gate, thinking that left would pay as the wind was forecast to back and to make use of any shifts. After about 1 minute a shift came through allowing us to tack accross pretty much the entire fleet - just about the best sight in the world! 4th around the windward mark, the leader being the pathfinder* from the gate start which is pretty incredible given he was the boat furthest right. He led from there all the way to the finish.

On the final beat we dropped to sixth but managed to overhaul the two boats in front in an exciting end to the race, 4th - a really great feeling.

Now scoring a 20th (discard), 18th and a 4th

*Pathfinder
A gate start is different to a line start. A boat is nominated as the PATHFINDER, and he must sail close-hauled on port tack and during a window of 2 minutes the fleet can start by crossing behind him on starboard tack.

Race One

2010-08-15T22:44:00.002+01:00

High tide meant an easy launch from the slipway - when the tide is out its a 1/2 mile walk!

Very light NE winds, the fleet barely made it to the start but a small increase in pressure got the fleet underway. Lots of boats chose to start through the gate early to get to the supposedly advantageous left side of the course. By lap 3 the wind gave up entirely and the fleet struggled to finish. The rule is that you must finish within one hour of the first boat finishing otherwise you will be scored as DNF or Did Not Finish. unfortunately for some of teh fleet that was the case.

The highlight of the race was the reach to the final mark which took some 45 minutes sitting going nowhere into the tide, and sometimes backwards. Then the wind swung 180 degrees and allowed us to get moving again.
Dave and Betty came from well back in the fleet to finish 15th while we finisheed 18th with 18 minutes left on the clock. Two other RSC boats finished: Alan & Sophie and Patrick & Bill. Unfortunately Guy&Katie and Jamie&Freya got caught way out in the tide and were scored DNF.

Tomorrow's forecast looks light again, but no one wants another race like that one.

Team RSC took to Tenby's beautiful South Beach for football and Ultimate Frisbee (bit like netball but with a frisbee) before the spectacular Firework display in the harbour. Thank you Tenby!

Practice race

2010-08-08T17:40:00.006+01:00

A fantastic race in windy wavey conditions. We could only manage an apalling start 100 yds behind after we took on water just before. But we got to the windward mark mid fleet but we retired when we filled up again at the busy leward mk. Ah well thats what a practice race is for. Dave and betty finished first - and only - RSC boat.

Ready for the off

2010-08-08T17:40:00.004+01:00

We sailed two more races of falmouth week today in strong breeze and big tides bringing our total to four wins from four... Cheeky. Peter and dawn still leading the fleet...good onya guys, go B2! Met a sailor from tenby. His local sailing tip was "if you can smell the sheep poo, head left." excellent! Kong packed and ready for the long trip tomorrow. Thanks to andrew pool for the loan of undercover. Ben

Flying with red wings

2010-08-08T17:40:00.003+01:00

A beautiful day for the beginning of falmouth week. Two races in handicap fleets, mixing it up with the Redwings who are here in force for their nationals this week. These beautiful boats with their distinctive red sails were designed by Uffa Fox for Looe Sailing Club back in the day. For anyone wanting to see one up close, we have a brand new Redwing on display in the Museum for a couple of weeks.

Only one other firefly out to test our speed (Peter & Dawn Langdon) but Kong was flying today. Still waiting for the results

Warm-up to Tenby

2010-08-06T17:08:00.002+01:00

Only a week until we hit the road to Tenby! But Falmouth week is our warm-up to the National Championships and racing begins on Sunday. We'll be competing in a mixed class of dinghies: lasers, solos, wayfarers etc, but we're expecting several Fireflies to make it good racing.

Final Day

2009-08-22T17:55:00.014+01:00

It blew old boots for the final day racing with strong winds from the SW around 25-30 knots. The famous Solent short chop played its part during a day of capsizes and exhilerating sailing.

The first race, we got off to a good early start through the gate, with Stuart Hudsun and Chrstian Guy to leward of us. With a strong tide running left to right this feels like the right place to be. But very quickly we find ourselves sagging badly off to leward. We are sailing sideways and slower than the boats around us. Within a few minutes it has cost us more than 50 yards on Stuart and Christian who are able to tack and begin crossing boats to the right. We are dead. Arrving at the windward mark well down the fleet, we bare away onto a chaotic reach. Getting any sense of control downwind was like trying to tame a wild beast - Kong is rabid.

The second race goes in a similar fashion, ending the series with a 27th and 23rd.

When we get ashore, a quick check over the boat reveals the cause of Kong's rabies. The painted surface of the centreboard has spent the day peeling off in sheets,like a huge brake causing horrible drag upwind and wreaking havoc downwind.

The Museum Crew get the last laugh here because they will remember baiting me for my search for more kong-speed during the lunchtime hours I spent applying this finish. Oh the irony!

How we managed to remain upright I really don't know - thanks Liz for your manic efforts to keep us flat.

Despite the bad timing and the disssapointment we feel much better knowing the cause.

Our final two results drop our position from 8th to 15th, but all in all we are stoked with the series and we have reachhed our target to finish in the top 15 - just. Phew!

We were not the only ones to have a less than perfect day. Some boats broke kit and many capsized, including Ben and Jenny Vines who had a real chance to win the series but ended 7th after swimming in each race.

That's the Championships! Stuart Hudson sailed a brilliant final day to finish 3rd overall, Steavie Greaves sailed a very consistent series to go into the final race in 1st place, but was match-raced off the start line by his closest rival Nigel Wakefield who went on to win the series with a 2nd in the final race. The overall results can be seen by clicking the link on the right.

Next year the Nationals will be held at Tenby from 14th August.

Thanks very much for following the blog and leaving your comments. The winner of the brand-new used sponge is Museum Crew with their particularly in-joke caption "Where is Graham when you need him?".
Cheers, Ben

Calling Pippa and Charlie....

2009-08-20T20:40:00.002+01:00

Your Mum and Dad say "Hello kids, Saskia is having a great time celebrating her 50th birthday with all her friends, but is looking forward to getting to Roadford to play with all the other classic boats too!"

Now get off Grandad's computer and go and play outside!
XX

Racing abandoned...

2009-08-20T19:54:00.014+01:00

Considering the amount of Pimms consumed by the fleet at last night's fancy dress extravaganza, there was some visible relief at this morning's news that racing was abandoned due to strong winds. An extra race is planned for tomorrow giving us a 2-race final day. The championship is still open, especially since the guy in pole position, Steve Tylecote, will not be showing tomorrow due to a badly timed prior commitment to be best man at a wedding. Considering the groom is none other than long-serving member of the Firefly committee Simon Spolton you could be forgiven for thinking its a fix. Simon you will be receiving an extra-big wedding prezzie from the fleet if we get our two races in tomorrow! Here's some piccies from last night's fancy dress. The theme was "Racing marks of the Solent"..can you guess the marks? Air Canada Corporate Finance Lymington Bank - A walking talking dancing ATM! Marine Track Trinity House

Needles Lighthouse - winner of the fancy dress!
And last but not least, the winners of yesterday's buddy prize, me (Billy (William) the Kid), Liz (West Brambles), Callum and Peter (Aquaspecs)

The Gore – Race 5/8

2009-08-19T19:55:00.009+01:00

Hello to everyone sailing at Fowey today. You'll see below we got rather better weather today, but I hear you're having great racing all the same. Enjoy the inevitable shout this evening and the Red Arrows tomorow!

Today the fleet’s results were split into two – the gold fleet racing for the Sir Ralph Gore Trophy, one of the oldest and most prized trophies in dinghy racing, and the silver fleet racing for the Marlow Trophy.

Exeter Uni sailors Tom mallindine and Jamie Dick celebrate their GlOREious victory!

It's a marathon of a race. If you add together the race and the distance to and from the start line, we have sailed Dover to calais, or Lands End to Scilly today - in a Firefly! And hell it was hard work. After the first lap my arms were killing, and we still had another FIVE beats to go!!

If you followed last year’s blog you will remember how Peter and Dawn Langdon from Restronguet, veterans of the Firefly fleet, lead the Gore for about 12 miles before slipping to a heroic 2nd place on the final beat.

The sun shone all day long – ahh summer at last, we can leave our beanies at home for a change – with the wind blowing out of the SE gap between IOW and the shore. The big question was whether the sea breeze would overhaul the wind to a SW direction, and when. Otherwise it was the effect of the tides that was key to the day’s racing.

Thanks again to Hamish & Diana, who sail their XOD in the Solent, for the tidal book. Our Caravan members studied it last night and planned which way we wanted to go. Left, left, left, until around 14:20, then right. So we set our watch alarms, and sometime around 14:20 today, 3 boats in different areas of the course, tacked.

To an extent, it was all about the start. The boats that got to the left first and under the shore and out the tide, did best. We managed a spot-on pin-end start, got right over to the shore, tacked just before hitting it, and for a brief moment were leading the entire fleet to the windward mark. We arrived there a close 3rd with Steve Tylecote behind, Roger Morris just ahead of us and Tom Mallindine in the lead.

We kept Tylecote behind for a lap or so, and then clung on to 4th place for the rest of the marathon race. Meanwhile, Stevie Greaves and Alex Davey had an almighty battle up the final beat to finish 5th and 6th respectively.

Hey a bottle of champers for coming 4th can'nt be bad eh - i could get used to this!

It’s a big fleet, full of goals and dreams in each boat. The Marlow winners had a terrific battle today; our Buddies from last year Lucy and Rachael were rightly stoked with their 2nd place Marlow result, while our Buddies this year took 6th and might give us a chance for a buddy prize.

So, can we stay on target to finish the series in the top quarter? There are 3 races left, but it is forecasted to get very windy tomorrow, so we might struggle.

Check the Overall results on the NFA link at the top-right of this page.
Phew - gotta go and get my Billy the Kid outfit on now...
Why? Find out tomorrow.

Ben

Race 4/8; the half way mark.

2009-08-18T20:44:00.002+01:00

The fact that the dinghy park seemed to be empty at 11 this morning may have been something to do with the success of the Crew’s Union entertainments last night. Helms were punctually lined up beside their boats awaiting the arrival of the bleary-eyed, with alka-selzer at the ready. Nb. Guy English recommends duck tape as a more effective hangover cure for crews.

Their evening’s entertainment included a game where teams vie to create the longest ‘rope’ of clothes. If you are struggling to imagine the chaos, let me introduce you to Penny, pictured here in the Duckhams dress today. She won the honour of wearing the Duckhams dress for managing to tear her bra in two. When quizzed today Penny said “it was an old bra, and they were tugging very hard”.

The Duckhams award is presented each evening for the day’s most egregious acts of gross under-achievement. Originally Duckhams winners were presented a ‘Duckhams Oil’ cap to wear, but this has evolved to the lovely dress & wig.

The fleet finally and tenderly made their way to the start area for Race 4. The sun is shining with a hangover-friendly force 2-3 breeze. Finally we are beginning to understand some of the complexities of the Solent tides – thanks to Hamish & Diana for the tides-book by the way – and manage to go more or less the right way up the beat. Yet again, Steve Tylecote ekes out a lead on the fleet with Nigel Wakefield in close pursuit. Behind them, the pack gets stuck together along the reaches, allowing them to stretch an insurmountable lead. We are banging away in the top 10 for the majority of the race and flying upwind, eventually getting a 5th place at the end.

Our caravan pals, Guy English and his crew Ben, and Rupert & Kathryn Whelan also had a good day. If only there was a performance-rated caravan prize.

Tomorrow the race results are split into two fleets. The top half race for the Sir Ralph Gore trophy while the second half fight it out for the Marlow. The course is set at a minimum of 13 nautical miles or minimum 3 hours, whichever comes first. Add to this the 5 mile sail to the start line and it’s set to be a long day.

Right now, the caravan Sheila’s are creating some cardboard bramble-bushes for tomorrow night’s fancy dress evening. The theme is ‘Marks of the Solent’, which include Brambles East and Brambles West. There’s another called ‘Spanker’; Shame my old mate Paul Hass isn’t here.

Guy Davidson’s quote of the day:
“I could just go in a pair of swimming trunks and a bald head”

Hope its all going well at the Maritime Museum this week. The fleet sends its regards to Fe (Firefly No1).
Ben

Yeeha

2009-08-18T15:46:00.001+01:00

A beautiful day's sailing today in light winds and sunshine. We came 5th - our best nationals result so far. More on this later - we gotta run back to the caravan for Ultimate Frisbee.

Ben

Photo Caption Competition

2009-08-18T15:40:00.002+01:00

Here's a picture of young Finn Morris, washing down his boat. Captions please! The most witty offering will get a superb prize: a brand new used sponge and an Honourable Mention.

A day of two halves - Races 2&3

2009-08-17T16:59:00.003+01:00

Today was a two-race day.
This morning's race began around 11:10 in light WSW winds. The gate start gets off cleanly and it soon becomes apparent that the left hand side is favorite for better breeze. We manage to get into a good position on the fleet and finish 9th in conditions that we seem to do better in. Local Barny Smith makes up for his bad luck yesterday, giving Steve Tylecote & Sally Wilson a run for their money and finishing 3rd behind Ben and Jenny Vines.

Remember Ella Vincent from 2008? Well she's back this year with Dad Dan, winners of the Tallest and Tiniest crew-combination prize...if there was one. At probably no more than 4 stone (a gentleman never asks) Ella makes the perfect light wind crew taking Dad into 7th at the finish.

Towards the end of the race the wind began to back, forcing the race committee to shift the windward mark to the south.

The second race is started with a traditional line-start, and by the time it gets underway the wind is blowing from the west about 20knots. Three loud gun-blasts from the committee boat signal the first start is abandoned after the majority of the fleet are over the line by a mile.

But we are all better behaved for the second start. We start about half way along the line. It's not the best start, but we tack off to port, duck one or two transoms and find ourselves crossing all the other boats that started to the right, getting to the windward mark in the late teens somewhere. We found that the right hand side of the beat was generally the way to go, but there are lots of wind shifts out there to keep it interesting.

The reaches are both exhilerating and challenging in these conditions. The wind is strong enough to be planing all the way, and the chop and wash from other boats keeps you on your toes!

After a few difficult mark roundings, including one where we ended up doing turns for someone else, we finish 18th. Stuart and Jane Hudson win the race by a country mile. Dan and Ella have a tougher time in the windy conditions, but despite a capsize are still smiling at the end of a very long day.

This evening the crews and the helms split. The helms head for the RAFYC for a civilised evening of stimulating conversation and fine dining. Meanwhile the crews traditionally form the annual meeting of the 'Crews Union' which amounts to something like a hen-party where the crews do what only crews do best: try to stay upright for a few hours. The men among the crews generally take at leat a year of rehab to recover from this female-dominated affair. The dress code is skirts - with no exceptions!

If I am able to harvest any gossip from inside the crew's Union I will bvring it to you tomorrow.

Meanwhile I'm off for port and billiards - cheerio.
Ben

Race 1/8 and Flat-Pack Ferries

2009-08-16T15:42:00.007+01:00

Hurra! Lighter winds today. Or so it was until about 11am when the breeze picked up to a decent force 4+. Urgggg!

Still, there's much more to racing here in the solent...like the Ikea Ferry, made 90% from mdf, and inside you have to walk about 2 miles to get to where you want to go, by which time you have arrived.

Now sitting in the bar of HRSC with a hard-earned pint.

Once again today the first start is abandoned, but the second gets away without incident. Unlike poor Barny Smith, who is full of incident during both starts. Evidently his halyard had broken and he deperately tries to fix the mainsail to the top of the mast while capsized, but fails to get it done and upright in time to start. Barny from HRSC has been the cheif organiser of this championship, and deserves better luck, having missed the practice race yesterday to keep everything run smoothly. Ah there he goes now past the window of the bar carrying his mast...repaired I hope.

Race One is a long one. Triangle, sausage, triangle, sausage, beat to finish. We have mixed fortunes, suffering up the beats but regaining places on the reaches. We just don't seem to be getting the speed on the beats that we need. Whether it's the chop, the wind, or us, we don't know, but all three no doubt. The last beat is the worst, losing 4 boats to finish 20th after nearly 2.5 hours. Then again, last year we would have been delighted with a result like that in these conditions, and there are some terrific sailors trying to keep ahead of us so we cant complain.

Besides, the sun is shining and the beer is cold, so all's well in the Hamble!

Speedy Steve Tylecote wins the race ahead of Stuart Hudson. Clink on the NFA link on the right to see the overall results.

Fingers crossed for lighter winds.
Ben

Best buddies with the Commodore!

2009-08-16T15:28:00.003+01:00

After racing we collapse in our caravan for an hour before the 'Commodore's reception' at HRSC. During the evening we find out who our buddies are. The buddy system matches up boats from opposite ends of the fleet as a kind of way to pass on experience through the fleet, and make new friends of course. There are prizes each day for the best combined buddy result.

Well our buddy turns out to be none other than the Commodore himself, Peter Slimming. Peter has sailed in over 25 Firefly National Championships and is still going well now and what he doesn't know about the Hamble conditions probably aint worth knowing! So I think we might just profit most from this relationship. He's also a regular visitor to Falmouth and the SW Championships at Restronguet, and as it happens, old mates with my Dad. Small world.

RSC Sailors Guy and Catherine English, pictured here with Fate (F8) missed the practice race due to their commitments organising Falmouth Dinghy Week. Guy is the only other RSC boat here this year, and scores a terrific buddy in Stuart Hudson, winner of the Practice Race.

Practice Race - a slog in the solent

2009-08-16T15:06:00.005+01:00

The traffic beating out of Hamble River was like the A303 yesterday - Busy! Lots of yachts motoring out of the River, but they are respectful of our little craft. From Hamble River SC you have to sail out the river and turn left, out along So'ton Water to the rac area in the Solent. It took the fleet about an hour to reach the start area located in the Solent with a good force 4-5 blowing and everyone planing hard.

The first start was abandoned for some incident that happened along the line – but the second start gets everyone off fairly. We are second through the gate, so going up the left of the beat hoping for an early wind shift. But there aint none, and we’re not going particularly fast in the nasty chop which also makes tacking very costly. We try to wriggle our way right, where it seems to be favoured, but too many tacks leaves us about 15 at the first mark.

We don't seem to be matching the top boats for speed upwind in this windy weather, but we can catch a few on the reaches. We finish in the mid teens, but a few boats ahead fail to finish and hand us a 12th. The boats ahead that didn't finish were all trying to avoid being 10th - the reason being that the 10th boat becomes the 'pathfinder' for the gate start in the next race which will be the first to count in the series. Stuart Hudson wins the race.

The results can e found through the HRSC website - click on the link on the right.

Lets get ready to RUMBLE…

2009-08-16T15:01:00.002+01:00

Like every good fight, it starts with the weigh-in. Lets get ready to RUMBLE…in the Hamble! Each Firefly is hoisted by the fork-lift and weighed. Minimum weight of the stripped hull is 163llb or 74kg. Then the centreboard and the rudder are checked they meet the minimum weights and jib poles are checked for length. All very official, but it gets the championship off to a fair and level start. Curiously lots of boats have seemed to lose a few pounds weight over the year and need to add lead.

The lightest is 10 lbs underweight, and the heaviest - the oldest boat in the fleet as it happens, so we shouldn't blame the old girl's Fate - is 17 lbs overweight.

Lethal Hamble...

2009-08-13T22:07:00.002+01:00

Anyone got any gen on Hamble?
Everyone we speak to that knows Hamble says...
"Ooh LETHAL tides" and "very choppy waters, very brown and lots of short chop, careful of the chop...oh and the tides...LETHAL tides!"

Cripes!

Seems there might be some tide then...and some chop. Anyone know any secrets that might help us get around quicker? It would only be fair to give us a chance against the locals!

The race course is supposed to be within 1 mile of William Buoy.

Falmouth Week provides final tune-up

2009-08-13T18:49:00.010+01:00

A glorious day of sunshine in Falmouth today. The best we have had in a month. Finally Cornwall's visitors (aka Emmets)can go to the beach and meanwhile the Martitime Museum can draw a deep breath after so much rain has washed so many visitors through the doors over the wet weeks.

For Liz and I it was a chance to engage the dinghies competing n Falmouth Dinghy Week (FDW) for a last tune-up before we hit the long road to Hamble.

Arriving at the scene it was good to see a Firefly (Peter and Dawn Langdon to no-one's surprise)at the top of the leaders board in Division 3 which with 24 boats includes a whole range of small dinghies including Solos, Enterprises, RS Fevas, Laser radials and so on.

The Wayfarer Nationals is being run within FDW and provides a busy racecourse. No sign of Frank and Margaret Dye - probably off Norway somewhere...

The race begins under Trefusis Point in fickle conditions. The Langdons cleverly pick their way up to the shore and catch the Wayfarers up by the first mark - who all seem to be wallowing - perhaps chatting about their lunch or their last summer cruise or something!

We creep around behind them. This is a harbour race around the whole of the Carrick Roads. Somehow we manage to overhaul Peter & Dawn, and then eventually an Enterprise which has been dumped on by a huge wind shift.

After 2 hours of racing, isn't it incredible that two Fireflies can finish within seconds of eachother. Happily for us it was us just one boat-length ahead of the Langdons at the Finish. First over the line and first on handicap.

Then it was pack the boat onto trailer and ready for the road tomorrow.

The sailing's not over for the day yet though. This evening we sailed a SMOD (St Mawes One Design) in a 'Parade of Sail' around Falmouth Harbour. This is SMOD No 1, Aileen, a resident of the Maritime Museum floating collection on display on the pontoon. Here's a picture. My crew are Andy and Liz Palmer-Felgate - used to sail Fireflies but jumped ship to the faster RS500 and currently leading the FDW asymetric fleet.

Also pictured below is Daisy Belle sailed by Museum Director Jonatahan Griffin. This little boat has spent well over 100 years on the Fal.

2009-08-13T18:49:00.001+01:00

2009 National Firefly Championships

2009-08-06T13:47:00.008+01:00

The 2009 Nationals will be hosted by Hamble River Sailing Club from Saturday 15th - Friday 21st August.

I'll do my best to provide some kind of daily running commentary on this blog on the goings on, triumphs and troubles, glory and gossip from the event. Please join us on the journey and leave your comments.

My crew for this event is Liz, an old friend and very experienced Firefly sailor. This will be our 3rd Nationals together in my vintage Firefly 'Kong'. We also took part in the 2007 National Inland Championships and several Southwestern Championships which we won this year to our utter astonishment. See the report at http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/?article=146746

Better get back to my sitting-out exercises now....
Hhurrgggg,
Ben

Champions

2008-08-08T20:36:00.000+01:00

See the results at http://www.royaltorbayyc.org.uk/hosted2008/fire/fireos.html

Paul and Laura Kameen, winners of the overall Championship.

Phil and Jilly win the Ultimate Trophy, Peter and Dawn win top helm in the Gore over 41 yrs old, Jamie wins 3rd helm under 18 and Best Improver, Sophie wins 3rd Lady Helm - Go Restronguet!

Jamie collects a brand spanking new jib for winning "Best Improver" - like he needs the help!

Winners of the Restronguet Ovaloid Trophy for best under 18 helm in the Championships, Matt Johnson and Emma Mackley. I think my Dad was responsible for gifting this trophy back in the day, and it has been encouraging young helms ever since.

Congratulations to winners of Top Lady Helm, Lizzie Edwards (R) and crew Ruth Verrier-Jones (L)...and thanks for the friendly little shunt at the Leward mark today...women drivers, I don't know!

The Final Countdown - Race 8/8

2008-08-08T20:10:00.000+01:00

The Final Countdown – Race 8/8

Conditions: NW moderate. Big shifts coming off the land. It's shifty, shifty, very very shifty....its very shifty!

Before the last race the race for the championships was tied between Mark Tait and Paul Kameen. We were on 23rd (dropped a place overnight as a result of a protest, which allowed someone to leapfrog us.)

Gate starts again today. The first is abandoned halfway after a huge header causes the starting procession to turn sharply into the melee of waiting boats. We are quite relieved after a second rate start, it being very crowded at the pin end.

The second start we take off with some space about half way along the line. Great, but the pathfinder is released just as we go, and tacks right on top of us. To make matters worse this is the boat we have to beat to gain a place in the series.

Crikey it’s shifty out there. Did I say that already? The boats that got away early are able to make more of the shifts. Peter and Dawn are 4th around the w-ward mark. We get there in the early 20’s with Dave&Betty on our tails. The boats that went left did best.

It’s opposite on the 2nd beat. A few boats head far right and overtake everyone to the w-ward mark. Nigel Wakefield goes so far right you’d think he was going home. But he effectively cuts a huge corner and comes out 100m in the lead. We play it safer up the middle-right and gain a few places, rounding in 19th.

The wind fills in on the final reaches and we manage to catch another, and some more on the final beats to finish 15th, just catching Peter&Dawn at the end. Sorry about that P&D!

At the front, Nigel manages to win the race, but the Chapionship is secured by Paul Kameen by keeping Mark Tait a few boats behind in the final beat. A series decided on the final beat of the final race – now that is proper job!
It has been a great week of sailing with some really challenging conditions. Our hands are raw, legs bruised and thighs aching. It looks like everyone feels the same, pretty much slumping into the bilges across the finishing line.

Our last score is enough to push us up to 21st out of 69 in the series, just inside the top-third where we were aiming to be. We are stoked. With no discards and including the practice race (Rothman’s Tropy) we have finished 14th overall. Whoaa, that’s worth the bruises – eh Liz! Thanks to Liz for putting up with me and being a top top crew!

Phil & Jilly finished top RSC boat, and 16th overall. Nice one guys.

Now for prize giving and the short drive back to sunny Kernow!

Catcha Later,
Ben

Cornish Olympics

2008-08-08T20:08:00.000+01:00

Cornish Olympics

Twas fancy dress night, and the theme was Olympics, but to no ones surprise some of the Cornish contingent showed up in full Pirate costume. ARRRRR!

The contest for best dress was between a pair of gymnasts and a group of synchronised dancers who won with an impressive piece of choreography on the dance floor.

Liz and I won nothing for our Olympic efforts, but did win the day’s buddy prize with our buddies Lucy and Rachael (Buddies are allocated to eachother at the beginning of the week). Their 29th added to our 7th was the lowest buddy-score of the day.

One more race to go. Catcha later, Ben

Full Frontal - Race 7/8

2008-08-07T17:01:00.000+01:00

Full Frontal - Race 7/8

This one was a gate start, so we went early to make the most of the shifts. We got a clean start, clean air, and hey presto, crossed off all bar a couple of the entire fleet. 4th to the windward mark. What a great feeling - its supposed to be easy from here, but we were sailing with butterflies now! After a long reach we began a long run. Liz even managed to get this photo in-between trimming the jib, bailing, and feeding her helm water! What a crew!! And just to be clear - thats looking behind, not infront!

The course was a Trapezoid, Sausage, Trapezoid, Beat to finish. We held off as many as we could, but the sailors at this end of the fleet arent just quick they are tactical and aggressive. we finished 7th overall - our best result yet.

Talking about great crews, check out 8yr old Ella, the lightest crew in the series, sailing with Dad Dan.

We are now lying 22nd. Just inside the top third where we wanted to be. There's only 7 points between us and 19th - so a good result tomorrow might move us up the board. Here's hoping.

Now for a beer,

Catcha later,
Ben

PS. Thanks for all your comments and support - keep them coming.

A standing start - race 6/8

2008-08-07T16:34:00.000+01:00

A Standing Start - Race 6/8

Conditions ssw light - moderate. Sunshine at last. Then Rain. Then neither.

Now we are 8 Restronguet boats in Torquay, with Guy English arriving overnight to join us.

After yesterdays racing, where the right hand side of the course was so favoured, there were a lot of boats trying to start at the commitee boat end of the line (line start). We were one of them. The first start went well but a general recall was called for a secont start with the I-Flag rule in play. Again we tried our luck at the committee boat end of the line, but we werent able to keep the boat moving in the thick of the melee, and came off the line slowly/stopped. A few tacks got us to the right and eventually out of the worst of the dirty air - which was everywhere.

in short, it was always going to be difficult to get back among the leaders, but slowly we picked off a few boats here and there to finish 25. Not a bad recovery. Phil&Jilly got away into clear air fast and wriggled their way into the leaders, finishing a fantastic 2nd. Dave&Betty sailed a similar race to us, managing to come up through the fleet after a dirty start, finishing 27th.

Sophie missing her usual form said "I seem to have prefected the art of going sideways instead of forwards. I can't wait to get back to Cornwall and get a load of practice in". RSC, it seems, is the place to be, and the envy of many of the National fleet.

A big falling out - The Gore - race 5/8

2008-08-06T16:25:00.000+01:00

Conditions today:
Moderate SW with some marginal planing conditions - OUR WIND!

The big story today is for 2nd place; our local heros from RSC Peter and Dawn Langdon lead the Sir Ralph Gore Cup race for 12 of the gruelling 13 miles, before generoulsy handing it to someone who hadnt won it before, 38 years ago.

How was it for the rest of us?

The race was dominated by the conditions at the start. After two general recalls the black flag was flown and ensured a more obedient start. But the gun went as the wind begun a huge 40 degree shift to the right. The further right you were on the line, the better. We got a great start, but 3/4 down the line we were 1/4 mile behind the leaders within minutes. Of course we weren't on our own, but it was going to be a long fight back from the back of the fleet, rounding the windward mark in about 50th.

But its a long race, and we were going like a train. By the last beat, 3 hours later, we had gained about 35 places. But then disaster happened. A few hundred meters from the line Liz missed her footing on a tack and slipped overboard. Having filled up with water in the process we lost 16 places before limping over the line in 31st. Argh!

It's a blow and cost us a load of places in the series, but you cant dwell on these things. The positive is we were going really fast in the first place, and that will give us confidence going into the last 2 days.

However, that just might be a nomination for the Duckhams Award for Gross Over-achievement.

Now Neil, I have read your comments from the begining of the week and its worth saying that Liz, when she is in the boat, is the best crew anyone could hope for. Her agility on the reaches alone must have won us 20 places today. So unless you reckon you could do a better job yourself, I suggest you button it.

Catch lata, Ben

Langdons lead Gore

2008-08-06T16:01:00.000+01:00

Today Peter and Dawn Langdon lead 68 boats in the Sir Ralph Gore Cup race, 38 years after they fist won this prestigious prize. The Restonguet veterans lead the race, a minimum 13 nautical mile marathon, for twelve miles, succumbing at last to the boat currently leading the Championship series, Paul kameen. Paul said "Peter and Dawn showed us the way around, but we were lucky to get them in the end. I wasnt even born the first time they won this Cup! When we finally got abreast of them on the final reach Peter called over "We wondered when you lot would show up!"

We are expecting the largest cheer ever for 2nd place at prize-giving tonight. Never mind Paul, you did well too!

Roller coaster riding – Race 4/8

2008-08-06T09:40:00.000+01:00

Roller coaster riding – Race 4/8

Windy and choppy sums up the conditions today, gusting over 20 knots from the SW. These aren’t our best conditions – being light we struggle in heavy weather, but having said that there are plenty of other lightweights in the fleet too!

Today we took off from the far righthand end of the gate start. This was a good with clear air and open water, getting to the windward mark around 20th. The reaches were amazing, fast wave-riding planing all the way, and here we were able to make up a few places. Liz makes a superb spray deflector!!

In the end we finished 26th after a gruelling 1.5hr slog. Everyone looks as knackered as we feel right now.

The race wasn’t without incident. Several boats capsized around the course, and we only just escaped a swim by the narrowest of margins ourselves.

A couple of protests were made too. We are witness to one of the incidents, a barge on the leeward mark that messed us and another boat up. The protest hearing will be held at 1900 this evening.

Tonight the crews and helms split – the helms to the ‘Helms Dinner’ and the crews to the rather less sophisticated ‘Crews Union’, where it seems food is banned and potent punch is obligatory. But what would I know – the details of this dubious organisation are closely guarded secrets.

Tomorrow the fleet gets split in half on the racecourse too – the front half of the fleet racing for the most prestigious prize in Firefly racing, the “Sir Ralph Gore Cup”, whilst the remaining boats sail in the Marlow with a new mainsheet on offer for the winner. Entrants into the Gore are worked out by results in the previous races, so with our 9th we will qualify for the Gore. The Gore is a marathon of a race, with a time limit of 4.5 hours – more on that later.

We are still praying for lighter winds over the next few days.

Catch lata,
Ben

Flying the flag - Race 3/8

2008-08-04T20:12:00.000+01:00

Flying the flag - Race 3/8
The race committee got the 2nd race started nice and quickly, with the 10th boat from the previous race acting as pathfinder for the gate start. A second rate start on our part left us fighting for clean air from the middle of the fleet, while Dave&Betty (RSC) and Rod&Jamie (RSC) got away nicely. Phil and Jilly meanwhile got caught off guard eating their lunch off to the side of the racecourse while everyone else started; A very rare mistake from the ever consistent Slaters.

Rod&Jamie sailed a fantastic race to finish 14th and 1st RSC boat, with us 3 places behind in Kong.

Looking at the results we currently have 5 RSC boats in the top 30, and that is before any discards take effect. (Lowest score is deducted once 4 races complete)

See the results at http://www.royaltorbayyc.org.uk/hosted2008/fire/fireos.html

Back home now with a Cornish cream tea – and some V tired legs on the table…and who’s that on TV? It’s us lot on the news – corr we’re famous!

To his great relief Patrick escaped the dubious honour of the Duckhams award last night. Interesting to see the RTYC have a bouncer on their door – to keep riffraff out or Firefly sailors in, we’re not sure!

A clean getaway – race 2/8

2008-08-04T19:36:00.000+01:00

A clean getaway – race 2/8

Conditions: W 15mph – 20mph in the rain squalls. Shifty.

It’s a happy chaos launching 70 boats from the slipway in Torquay, launching and tacking out of the busy, narrow harbour. The RTYC are doing a great job marshalling us and looking out for us, but it’s even more fun on the way back in!

Two races back to back today. The first is a line start for a change, and we get away nice and clean in the middle of the line with a fairly big line-sag behind us. Jonathan – you can have fun explaining that one to everyone – if in doubt ask Ellen.

In a big fleet like this it really pays to get a good start and we managed to keep the advantage around the course, finishing 9th after 1.5hrs - The reaches were superb, and the waves were great along the runs. Our first National top-10 result...stoked!

See the results at http://www.royaltorbayyc.org.uk/hosted2008/fire/fireos.html

Five Ringed Fireflies

2008-08-04T19:34:00.000+01:00

Five Ringed Fireflies
Yachting journalist Dave Henshall delivered a fascinating account of the 1948 Torquay Olympics to a somewhat captive audience! The Firefly was chosen as the single-handed class, and working with NMMC Dave has researched the event in match-of-the-day detail and uncovered some terrific images. Exactly 60 years ago to the day, sailing singlehanded in jumpers and oilskins the sailors battled away for Olympic glory. Paul Elvstrom took gold in very similar conditions to those we have this week – decidedly un-summery!

Firefly No 1 ‘Fe’ and Peter Scott’s Olympic Monotype both received mentions, and are of course both among NMMCs collection of famous boats.

Dave’s account will be published in ‘Dinghy Sailing’ magazine out 6th August.

A man in a dress?

2008-08-03T15:38:00.000+01:00

The Duckams Award for Gross Over-Achievement is a Firefly tradition to recognise events worthy of mention that the perpetrators would probably prefer to keep quiet. The fleet gathers each evening to hear nominations and vote for them.

The winner of the Duckams- and his crew/helm - then have the honour of wearing a specially chosen dress, wig and accouterments for the following 24hrs, on and off the water!

Good reason to keep out of trouble

Race 1 of 8 - Mid-fleet madness

2008-08-03T15:18:00.000+01:00

Enjoying a less-deserved beer this afternoon after a difficult race. Despite the moderate winds it was super-tricky out there. While some made the most of the very-fluky winds, we became somewhat slave to them. Seemed like we could never quite get on the right side of the beat or shift. And once you are in mid-fleet, it is difficult to get out what with all the dirty air and water.

Our start would heve been OKhad it not been for 3 or 4 late bargers to windward. Once out we continued left while the majority of the fleet lifted out to the right. The right side was the place to be. On the final beat we went right and the left was the place to be. Que sera sera.

While we finished 31st, RSC scored some better results: Phil&Jilly 13th, Peter and Dawn 22nd, Sophie and Alan 24th.

But some of us had it worse than others. Poor Patrick (RSC) managed to capsize right on the start practically in front of the gate boat. A lack of buckets and leaky tanks ensured immediate retirement - and probably a nomination for the Duckhams Award for Gross Underacievement. (see Blog: 'A Man in a dress')

Catcha later,
Ben

Practice Race - Kong did good!

2008-08-02T20:48:00.000+01:00

Enjoying a hard-deserved beer this evening after a windy choppy race. About 20mph – not our kind of wind, but we’ve outdone ourselves, finishing 6th out of the 41 boats that chose to do the practice race. Yeeha.

Olympic Victory 60 years on...

The winning boat today, beautifully restored F498, raced in the Torquay Olympics in 1948. How appropriate is that?

Knackered after the first race - what we gonna be like by the end of the week????

We chose to get away early across the gate-start, which did us well since we could begin sailing the shifts straight away, and earlier than the boats starting further along the gate. 5th around the windward mark – but we had to keep our cool because there was a hungry pack chasing us down the reaches - and Liz just might fall out the boat yet! Time for a rhyming game - the word to match was "fifth".

4th at the leward mark - we cant quite believe it. A difficult beat; we went up the middle and closed the gap on those to the left but those behind on the right came right back to us. Windward mark 7th.

The run - yikes it almost all goes very wrong - Im losing control in the difficult chop - the rudder feels very heavy - and we nearly go over on a jibe. The rudder pin has come out and the rudder has raised a bit - it makes an alarming difference. Thankfully we sort it and get to the final leward mark in 9th. A good short beat to the finnish to see us 6th over the line and first Restonguet Boat. Hurrah - but don't forget this is a team effort.

The reach home. Check out the boat behind nose-diving!!

If only this race counted! Hope we havent peaked too early!

Check out the results at http://www.royaltorbayyc.org.uk/

Catcha tomorrow,

Ben and Liz

ps - bigup to my gorjus better half and part time crew Nikki.

Team Kernow in Devon

The weigh-in....

2008-08-02T20:01:00.000+01:00

Thanks for the comments and wishes of luck - LUCK? We need pasty-power!!! Please keep the comments coming...

Here we are at last in Torquay – the harbour has been completely taken over by Fireflies! Measurement was a slick operation, but it was a nervous time as Kong was hoisted under those scales – but she passed – phew!

The rule is the boats must weigh minimum 185llb. Kong checked in at 190llb – not as light as some – but it is windy out there today so will the extra weight help or hinder? At least we don’t have to go and rob some church-roof lead to bring her up to weight!!

All the serious sailors are here and most of the recent National Champions. No Steve Tylecote yet though, our Endeavour Champion - hopefully he'll be here with family in tow tomorrow.

Nerves are building now - a quick pint at the Royal Torbay Yacht Club should take the edge off...

More after the race..

Getting ready

2008-07-31T12:23:00.000+01:00

Best sailing moment: Winning the Whitsun Cup with two 1sts and a stonking hangover

Worst sailing moment: Falling out the boat while leading the beat during the SWern Champs!

Hi there, I'm Ben and that's my crew Liz in the photo with me. Liz and I have known eachother since were were nippers, abandoned on the beach at RSC while our parents raced each other in Fireflies - Outrageous!

It's the last day in the Museum for me before we head to Torquay, and it is packed in here. The wet weather is driving everyone to our front door; the queue right now (12:30) is out the door onto the square. The office staff will be washing dishes over lunchtime again today.

Kong (my Firefly) is on her trailer ready to go first thing Saturday morning. Last minute repairs to the centreboard and mast are just about done. The forecast for the champs looks like a mixed bag at the moment. Saturday's wind says 17 gusting 36mph - YIKES! Liz and I do best in light to moderate winds, with a combined weight of 19 stone. But when the wind gets heavy we hand the advantage straight back to the competition.

Still, can't wait to get there now and get stuck in.

We had some last minute practice last night during club racing at RSC. I sailed a friend's boat for a change. Up the first beat we tacked, I put my feet where my toestraps usually are and leant out hard - and fell straight into the water. Whoops, his toe straps arent quite where mine are. Glad to provide some cabaret! Seriosly hope neither of us fall out in the Nationals.

The first thing we have to do on arrival in Torquay is go through measurement. Each boat is carefully checked it complies to a few key measurement rules, like weight (each boat is hoisted under weighing scales), length of jib poles, distance of shrouds from transom etc etc. We all want to be as near to the limits as possible, but fingers crossed Kong passes the checks!

Talk to you from Torquay -

Ben