Watch out for "The Dangerous Brothers"!!

[David Hudson]

They are coming.

[David Hudson]

Try this.

http://thedangerousbrothers.com/

[David Hudson]

"Bless you"

Different strokes for different folks Peter.

As Elvis sang, "Suspicious minds".

[Peter Taylor]

Hi David,

Good web site, I will follow with interest and have added it to my "Seatern Diaries" links page.  I'm impressed by, though do not necessarily envy, your dinghy sailing CV.  Apart from some Fireball sailing I stuck with less extreme dinghies (mostly Graduate, Firefly, GP14, and of course the Seafly which I still occasionally sail). ...on second thoughts, I did always fancy having a 505!

Peter

[David Hudson]

Peter

I think Oxford and Cambridge used and may still use, Fireflies for Team Racing.

Now that's sport!

[Peter Taylor]

I think Oxford and Cambridge used and may still use, Fireflies for Team Racing.
Now that's sport!

Yes, the Firefly class is still very much alive. It was many years ago I sailed them while at Imperial College. Our star racing helm at the time was John Pattison, younger brother to Rodney Pattison of FD Olympic fame. When John started winning National Championship races in one of our rather old IC SC boats the sailmakers gave him new sails because the old ones were an embarrassment!   R. Pattison's FD's were built by Bob Hoare who later built some of my favourite Seafly class dinghies.  Bob was a member of the same Model Boat Club as me but unfortunately I didn't get to know him before his sudden death about 3 years ago whilst racing his (full size) Flying Fifteen. Sailing can be a small world!

...but I'm rambling off topic!
Peter

[David Hudson]

Carry on rambling Peter.

Sailing is a such small village and "names" crop up time and time again.

[markbatey]

Nice blog David. I just clicked on the google maps link at the bottom, and if it's right that you live about 100 yards from the Corner House pub in Heaton, then you're about 200 yards from us! Were you at Melvyn's sailors night there last Wednesday by any chance?

[David Hudson]

Talking of Fireflies...

Here is an extract from the Tynemouth SC history book from some time after the War.

" It was just after the start of building the present club house that the present Commodore, Robin Steavenson joined, and introduced to us class dinghy sailing, resulting in the N.E. Coast eliminating trials for the Olympic Games (Fireflies) being held in the Tyne Estuary under the auspices of the T.S.C."

Small world.

[Peter Taylor]

Paul Elvstrom won gold when the Firefly was the Olympic single handed dinghy in 1948.*  They must have thought having two sails was too much of a challenge because after that they swapped to Finns!

*no I wasn't there!