Boat Register

Additional Build Notes

Current Owner
Cowes Classic Boat Museum

Known Owners

Sole owner – Dr J Shearman, Bembridge SC – See History notes.

History

NFA 06/2012

See article and illustration Classic Boat magazine, July 2012 edition, number 289

Built March 1950 (hull number 735) and owned by Dr J Shearman of Bembridge SC ( Isle of Wight), who presented her, complete, to the Museum. She seems to be in pretty original condition, still with the original Ratsey & Lapthorn cotton sails in yellow, and is in sea worthy condition. The hull is painted externally, inside and the decks properly varnished.

The Museum make a point of using as many of their exhibits as they can.

What makes this Firefly interesting is that Dr Shearman raced her in the 1953 “Round The Island” race for dinghies, run 6 June to celebrate the Queen’s Coronation. Organised by the Cowes Corinthian YC as a strictly “one off” event, 196 dinghies took part in six classes, plus an open handicap section. The Fireflies ran with the National 12s in their own class.

The race was run anti-clockwise, as today for the Island SC’s yacht event, and at times seems to have been pretty windy – to modern eyes this race must seem a rather bonkers event! Some Fireflies and National 12s might just have carried bouyancy bags under the foredeck, but probably none at the stern, no self bailers, and there is precious little shelter or margin for error on the route, especially at the back of the Island!

The race was won by Ian Proctor in his self designed Osprey, crewed by Cliff Norbury, by a few lengths only from Claude Nethercot in a one off 17 foot dinghy, with a sliding seat for the crew, third, Coronet (the prototype which lead to the 5o5) four minutes later, then Uffa Fox helming “Jollity”, his wooden Jolly Boat, moulded by Fairey Marine.

The Firefly/National 12 class was won by a 12, with a Firefly second, D Fleming sailing “Lucciola”, probably F873, winner of the Firefly class championships the previous year at Plymouth, then helmed by John Oakeley and crewed by her owner, Miss Pat Wells from Hamble River SC.

Sadly, we do not seem to have names of any of the brave and doubtless hard bailing crews!

Clearly the Museum is well worth a visit, if not just to pay homage to “Asphodel” and her great race all those years ago but to admire several other Uffa Fox designed or built dinghies, including a war time lifeboat dropped by parachute to rescue downed airmen from the North Sea and English Channel.