Boat Register

Additional Build Notes

Current Owner

Known Owners

.
YRA initial measurement – 10 December
Hull number – 323
Hull weight – unclear from Fairey Marine records
Constructed mould 3

Fairey Marine records uncertain, but perhaps a suggestion the first hull supplied with this sail number weighed 174 1/2 lb, class minimum at time, 160 lb,
and subsequently replaced, as unacceptably overweight, but retaining original sail number

1st owner – W Roscoe and Richard Roscoe, Parkstone YC, also sailed by Richard at Helensburgh SC when a student/apprentice in Scotland

named “Flaming Onion”.

(Suggestion name derived from the wartime slang of RAF bomber crews during WWII for certain enemy anti – aircraft fire which resembled a “flaming onion” when exploding near the target)

Despatched by rail to Moreton, 13 December

See Championship records below

c1965 GB Taylor, Llangorse SC, named “Salar”
NFA Life Member

c 1972 Mike Edwards, Poole Harbour.

Racing results –

1950 Poole YC, National Championships – Sir Ralph Gore Trophy, 95 entries, 20th place, Richard Roscoe, Parkstone YC
No record of crew’s name

1955 Royal Torquay YC – National Championships – Sir Richard Fairey Trophy and Sir Ralph Gore Trophy c120 entries, Richard Roscoe and John Hunt,
Parkstone YC and Helensburgh SC

A history of the Helensburgh SC reports that Richard and John moved their Firefly from Scotland to Torquay by train, complete with a motor cycle and the
launching trolley, changing trains and platforms at Crewe. On arrival in Devon, so the story goes, Richard rode the motor cycle with John as pillion, facing aft,
and holding the trolley loaded with the Firefly, to move the Firefly and their kit from the railway station to the dinghy park; we must assume this was reversed for the return journey?

Many other prizes at class national championships, team and open events.

Richard Roscoe was a successful naval architect, yacht, and dinghy designer, and helm in the National 12 and other dinghy and keelboat classes.

He designed and built National 12 N1664 “Squid”, to win the YW Points Trophy at the 1960 championships, raced at Torquay, 7th place in the Sir William Burton trophy.

It seems “Squid” was built at home in an upstairs room and on completion, lowered to the ground through a removed window

Some fifty other National 12s are reported being built to this design, some by the designer. More details and images are found www.national12.co.uk

Deceased August 2013

History

NFA update February 2022

With many thanks to Ernie Rowe, Firefly F1071 (initially Herne Bay SC, now Weymouth SC) but also a fellow member with Richard Roscoe at Helensburgh SC
for kindly providing this background detail from the club’s official history. Read of Ernie’s Firefly championships exploits in the NFA Bulletin, Summer 2020 edition