Hadron H2 National Championship at Brixham Yacht Club - Preview

The competitors at the 2023 H2 Nationals © Keith Callaghan

Next weekend a record number of H2s will be attending the 8th Hadron H2 National Championship. 30% of the entire UK fleet will be competing for three days in the warm waters of Torbay. Our hosts will be Brixham Yacht Club and we will be sharing the weekend with the congenial members of the X1 class.

The weather forecast is somewhat uncertain, notwithstanding the huge amount of computing power allocated to meteorology. But at least the extreme weather of last year (which was everything from zero to 35 knot winds) is not on the cards.

The 26 entries include all of the top names in the fleet, though of all the past national champions only the current one, Robin Parsons (Deben YC), will be competing. Robin showed excellent form in the two light weather days of the 1923 Nationals, and being at the lighter end of the H2 spectrum he will be hoping for similar conditions this year.

The outstanding performer in the extreme winds of the last day of last year's event was at the other end of the weight range: class chairman Richard Le Mare (Warsash SC) excels in a breeze at sea but is also a past inland champion and could easily dominate the event if conditions played to his strengths.

But where Richard le Mare goes you will find Richard Leftley(Bowmoor SC) at his shoulder - and his optimum performance range is broader that RLM's. Leftley has won more open meetings and been in the top 3 at the Nationals more times than anyone but has never taken the top slot - this could be the year that his long-held ambition could be fulfilled.

Josh Hamer (Leigh & Lowton SC) is the current Inland Champion and winner of several recent H2 open events. A versatile helm who will be right up there as long as the wind does not exceed 20 knots. And if the weather is really light we can be certain that Ian Dawson (Warsash SC), Inland Champion in 2023 and second in the Nationals in 2022 and 2023, will be up there wanting to go one place better. Ian has more than 50 years dinghy sailing experience - and it shows! He is now in his early seventies and his rivals are still wondering if or when he will be slowing down.

Tim Garvin (Queen Mary SC) is another H2 open meeting winner. Tim sold his H2 earlier this year but has borrowed an H2 to compete at Brixham. Tim, I told you that you would be back!

There are several newcomers to the class who have already shown that they have the potential to knock the established figures off their pedestals - Steven Hendon (Blithfield SC) and Nick Wapshott (Rock SC) are two examples.

Having just purchased the latest H2, Will McTurk will be making the two day journey from the north of Scotland to Brixham - not quite John O'Groats to Lands End, but almost. It gives me great pleasure to see Will in an H2 because I designed an International Fourteen for his father, Michael, way back in the mid seventies.

So in summary we have a great fleet of mature sailors who enjoy the competition, each others' company and the thrill of racing their H2s. A great event is in prospect and we shall be reporting each day from Brixham Yacht Club from next Friday, September 6th.