Firefly National Championships 2024 at Restronguet Sailing Club - Day 2

Race 2

The day dawned with a light and shifty breeze before before steadying sufficiently for the race get away on time. The race started in 5 knots of breeze with the pin being the biased end. The winner Steve Tylecote and Tasha Armstrong came off the pin on a nice lift. The fleet soon peeled off onto port where they played the long game going with the tide.

Firefly Nationals at Restronguet Day 2 - photo © Alice Gardner

Steve rounded the mark in first with Terry Hacker in second. It was a big gap from the top seven to the rest of the compressed fleet. The second beat was favoured to the right with a big lift and playing the shifts up the right boats managed to close that gap The wind died for the final run so the fleet bunched up therefore the noise at the final wing mark increased. Steve and Tasha took the win with Terry and Annabelle Hacker in second and Jono Pank and Helena Lucas in 3rd.

Firefly Nationals at Restronguet Day 2 - photo © Alice Gardner

Race 3

With no wind after race 2, the race officer sent the fleet ashore for an hour of rest before we went back out for what appeared to be a steady force 2 from the SSW.

Firefly Nationals at Restronguet Day 2 - photo © Alice Gardner

With the ebb tide under the fleet, there was another inevitable recall start (even under a U flag), before the fleet got away cleanly under a black flag.

Chris Kameen and Jenny Johnson were ahead at the first mark, with Jenny Smallwood and Phil Aldous a close second. The first reach was fairly conventional, until the wind died and it became a beat. Then the wind died again on the second reach, completely, and everyone stopped and it all got rather stressful. Go right or go left? There was a bit a reshuffle, with some big winners and, sadly, some big losers. In the end the wind arrived from the left, with Chris and Jenny maintaining their position at the third mark.

Firefly Nationals at Restronguet Day 2 - photo © Alice Gardner

The writer was not entirely sure what was going on at this stage, as we had stopped for a bit, but the racing remained close and tricky, especially down the run. In the end Jono Pank and Helena Lucas best navigated the snakes and ladders and won race 3, with Terry and Annabelle Hacker getting another second for the day and Chris and Jenny third.

Back on the beach, there were plenty of stories of disasters and lucky escapes, but that makes it all the more memorable!

Results after Day 2: