The Firefly – a memorial polka. In 1982 I restored and sailed a 12ft Firefly dinghy, “Water Music”, sail number 1223. The boat was originally built in 1953 and sold to a Lt. P. Court-Hampton at Royal Lymington Yacht Club. By 1982 she was in need of some considerable work. She was a lovely little boat, Frances and I enjoyed sailing her on the Thames, Medway, and Swale, trailed her to the Fowey in Cornwall and later the Solent. She was sold to some friends in 1984 who kept her at Faversham Creek but was lost in the Great Storm of October 16th 1987. She was blown into the Thames Estuary and never found!

More about the Firefly ...

Extract from the National Firefly Association: https://fireflyclass.co.uk/

During 1938 sailors connected to Oxford and Cambridge Universities asked Uffa Fox to design a dinghy similar to the National 12, but one design and more suitable for team racing. Uffa completed this design in 1939 and called it the Sea Swallow. Then came the war and nothing happened.

During this time Colin Chichester-Smith, who was a director of the Fairey Aviation Company, often thought about a production dinghy based on the principles used for the manufacture of wooden Mosquito aircraft fuselages, which were formed on a mould and cured by electrically heated bands holding the laminate in position.

Early in 1946 Uffa Fox was asked by Chichester-Smith, in conjunction with Stewart Morris, to design a one- design twelve foot dinghy. About this time Charles Curry joined Fairey to develop the marine section at Hamble. It was easy for Uffa to design such a dinghy; he just scratched out the name ‘Sea Swallow’ and replaced it with ‘Firefly’, so named after the famous Fairy aircraft. Play with moderate reggae guitar ;)

Capsizing in the freezing Thames – with hair.

The Firefly was sold to buy a Silhouette, ‘Jenaline’. See also, mum’s amazing 1970’s pullover ...argh!