Hadron Dinghies Ltd

The Hadron H2 National Championships got under way on Friday, September 11th. Here is the report posted on Yachts and Yachting.

https://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/231509/Hadron-H2-Nationals-at-Torbay-day-1

Day 2 of the H2 Championships at Torquay. See the report in Yachts and Yachting:

https://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/231510/Hadron-H2-Nationals-at-Torbay-day-2

The 2020 Nationals, hosted by RYA Club of the Year Royal Torbay YC, will take place from 11-13 September.

A ‘runners and riders’ review has been posted in Yachts and Yachting at https://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/231207/Allen-Hadron-H2-National-Championship-preview

The Hadron H2 National Championships will take place on 11-13 September, hosted by RYA 2019 Club of the Year, the Royal Torbay YC.

Although it is anticipated that numbers will be down on previous years, this event is much anticipated by H2 owners, who have had little opportunity to hone their skills so far this year. The club and facilities are second to none and we can expect a great 3 days’ sailing.

Full details and entry forms are available at https://rtyc.org/event/hadron-h2-national-championship/

The windward mark in the second race of the 2019 Championships

National Champion
Ian Sanderson receives the Harold Smith Trophy 2019

Hadron Dinghies Covid19 Update
After a successful RYA Dinghy Show in early March the pandemic situation has locked down the sailing scene.
Simon Hipkin and Keith Callaghan hope everyone is doing their best to stay safe during this time. We are continuing with work as best as possible and are open for business.

If you are thinking of a new H2 for when we get back to sailing please don’t hesitate to get in touch and place an order. Order lead time is currently 10-12 weeks but once the lid has been let off we expect a backlog to build rapidly. You can call Keith on 01473 823587.

Please stay safe and we look forward to hearing from you soon.

Two H2s packed and ready to go!

The Hadron H2 Class Association is exhibiting one of the latest H2s at the RYA Dinghy Show. They are on stand F11 in the West Hall of the Alexandra Palace Exhibition Centre, London, on Saturday, February 29th and Sunday, March 1st. Come along and hear about the H2 from the people who sail them. You will be made very welcome.

The Hadron H2 class was represented at the Endeavour Trophy ‘Champion of Champions’ event, held over the weekend of 12-13 October at Burnham on Crouch. The event was sailed in RS200s – a dinghy which is very familiar to our representative, Jack Holden. Jack came a very close second in the H2 Nationals last month and is deputising for National Champion Ian Sanderson, who has work commitments. Jack’s crew for the event was Sam Mottershead.

Jack Holden with his H2

Jack and Sam finished 9th overall – a very good effort in a top class fleet. Here are some comments from Jack:

“A thank you for allowing me to represent the Hadron H2 at the Endeavour trophy, 2019.

Fantastic event with exceptional competition in which we managed to come home 9th overall which I am really pleased with from a first attempt. From the 8 boats in front of us (16 sailors) 10 were or had been professional sailors.

I always think to myself at a Nationals that if I had a time machine and did the nationals a second time the day after it ended, I would have easily won every race because I would know exactly what the wind was doing. At the Endeavour however, you realise that if you went back a second time you still wouldn’t win because the quality of racing is so high and the front sailors simply wont make big mistakes…Annoyingly!

A surprising number of boats knew the Hadron H2 and had good things to say about the boat. I think for the relatively short time this boat has been in existence, it has built a solid reputation and it is becoming known as a good, well designed and well built boat with tough competition. I think it is very easy for a boat to get a bad reputation for things like breakages or level of competition, especially in its early days so don’t take this lightly. It is something to be proud of that the class is being well received.

Day 1: A very light wind day, learning the venue while trying to race! LOTS of tide which turned during the six hour day, making things very tricky.

Best bit of the day: Simply being in the mix with some of the best sailors in the world was enough.

Worst bit of the day: Not being able to go round the windward mark because of no wind and lots of tide. Very embarrassing. Luckily we had a silver medallist next to us who was also struggling.

How to have improved: Lose 3 stone, be better at gaining the little places. It’s the 1 point here and 1 point there that pushes your result up, not being the fastest boat.

Day 2: A medium, eventually going to very windy day with lots of tide against you downwind in strong breeze.

Best bit of the day: Watching some of the best sailors capsize the boat in dramatic style and making you realise everyone makes mistakes.

Worse bit of the day: When we dropped the kite and tacked round because I felt we were going too fast to gybe!!!……… Don’t judge me.

How to have improved: Not being aggressive enough or willing to take more risk on start lines to try to achieve a better start.

Thank you again for allowing me to represent the class. It was an honour.

The third and final day of the Hadron H2 Nationals at Arun YC, Littlehampton, dawned fine and clear, with a gentle but shifty 8-10 knot offshore breeze. However, this was forecast to falter later in the morning so PRO Dougal Henshall got the fleet off to an earlier start than planned for the two final races of the seven race series.

Close competition in race 4 on day 2 of the Hadron H2 National Championship at Arun ©Keith Callaghan

The dual at the top of the fleet was going to be decided today. Ian Sanderson (2018 champion) and Jack Holden were tied on 6 points each but with the winds lighter than on the two previous days who was going to have the advantage in the prevailing conditions?

In the first race of the day it was neither Ian nor Jack who led the fleet around the first lap. Andrew McGaw (Nottingham SC) took that honour but Ian and Jack belatedly overhauled him to take 1 and 2, with Andrew a creditable third.

The H2s reach to the wing mark in race 3 on day 2 of the Hadron H2 National Championship at Arun ©Keith Callaghan

Thus it came down to the last race: if Ian won, with Jack second, then Ian would win; if the other way round, then Jack would triumph. However, Ian’s time served in the H2 was far greater than that of the talented Jack and his light weather technique proved superior in the last race, giving Ian the Harold Smith National Championship Trophy for the second year running. Ian came a very close second in the first ever champs in 2017 so it is fair to say that he has dominated the class at championship level. But it was clear from the close competitiveness of the fleet that all are learning from his example so I predict that the 2020 championships, to be held at Royal Torbay YC next September, will be a tough call for Ian.

Jack Holden’s performance was equally impressive. He is clearly a naturally talented young sailor (4th in this year’s RS400 Nationals) and was lucky enough to be able to borrow an H2 at the last minute, thanks to owner Geoff Parker’s generosity.

Third place overall went to another very talented young sailor sailing a borrowed H2 – Doug Powell. Doug is a very good OK sailor and could have attended the OK nationals at Abersoch this weekend but the offer of one of Hadron Dinghies’ demo H2s proved too tempting.

Fourth overall (and I know he is disappointed with this result) was HH2CA chairman Richard Leftley. He is a fit and strong chap in the prime of life and his forte is the heavy stuff, but lighter winds on two days coupled with his lack of familiarity with the choppy sea state (he sails at South Cerney SC) proved his undoing.

Fifth placed was Simon Hipkin – the man who builds the H2. He is from same mould as Richard but his successful boatbuilding business takes up so much of his time that he had little practice before the event, which put him at a disadvantage.

One point behind Simon, in sixth place, came Jack’s father, Dick Holden. Dick scooped the Master’s trophy for the first helm aged 60-64. Close behind, in seventh place, was the winner of the Grand Master’s Trophy (65-69 years old) – Ian Dawson. I’ve known Ian since sailing against him in Merlin Rockets in the ’70s. Dick and Ian were very early fans of the H2 and it was great to see them enjoy their racing and do so well.

The final special mention goes to Kevin Connolly (Deben YC). Another early fan of the H2, Kevin is the “father of the fleet”, yet he was undaunted by the severe conditions on the first day and careered round the course until a capsize slowed him up a bit. I am sure he would have righted the boat and carried on but grounding the mast in the shallow water caused it to break, and even Kevin can’t cope with that. Hadron Dinghies came to the rescue with a replacement mast which was supplied and installed by Simon Hipkin within a couple of hours. Kevin completed all the other races in fine style and thus wins the Ulysses Trophy for the first helm over 70.

The H2 Class has been fortunate with its championship host clubs and Arun YC put on a great event for us, both ashore and afloat. Very many thanks, Arun YC. And lastly, we have to thank our very own PRO, Dougal Henshall and his assistants, Jon Thompson and Arun YC’s Paisley Thomson, who provided superb race management in tricky conditions.

The competitors line up with the National Champion

Ian Dawson, Grand Master Trophy winner at the Hadron H2 National Championship at Arun ©Keith Callaghan

Ian Sanderson, 2019 Hadron H2 National Champion © Keith Callaghan

Overall Results:

In two weeks time the third Hadron H2 National Championships will be held at Littlehampton, hosted by Arun Yacht Club. Already, the number of entries has exceeded that of last year, so more than half of the entire fleet will be competing. The event takes place over three days with seven races scheduled.

First or last, every competitor will receive a prize, but it’s a law of nature that the younger and fitter helms are more likely to be the front runners on an open sea course. This year there are three age-related new trophies for the older owners: Masters (60-64 years), Grand Masters (65-69 years) and the Ulysses Trophy for helms over 70. The main prize, however, is the Harold Smith trophy, named after the Lancashire businessman who commissioned the Harrier Dinghy from the H2’s designer way back in 1972. The Harrier was Keith Callaghan’s first singlehander design.

The Hadron H2 is an easy boat to sail but a challenging one to sail to its full potential, due mainly to its sophisticated rig. As the class matures it is apparent that more helms are getting the knack, as recent results in handicap events demonstrate. The usual suspects will appear at the front of the fleet on 6-8 September.

The three age-related H2 trophies

The Harold Smith Championship Trophy for the Hadron H2 National Championship.

Ian Sanderson will be defending his title in H2 #111 ‘Shifty Fades Away’ but he will be challenged by Class Chairman Richard Leftley, especially if the wind pipes up. Other strong contenders include OK sailor Doug Powell, who has borrowed a boat for the event, and Michael Alexander – the quiet Scot who has done very well in previous championships. Dick Holden is another who will enjoy stronger breezes and has the advantage of coming from the home club.

There are at least half a dozen others who could put together a winning series of results. One 2018 contender who unfortunately will not be present is Alistair Glen, who finished a close second last year but has a long term shoulder injury.

The host club has organised meals in the clubhouse on Friday and Saturday and a social event on the Friday evening. Early arrivals will also be treated to a fascinating talk by PRO Dougal Henshall on the Thursday evening – the subject: the 1948 Olympic Regatta. Dougal gave us a great series of races last year and is very familiar with the H2 class.

Ian Sanderson in ‘Shifty Fades Away’, Hadron H2 2018 National Champion

Those of you in the North West who are interested in having a trial sail of an H2 are invited to Elton SC, Bury, Lancs, on 27/28 April. If you wish to attend, email me at keith@hadrondinghy.com for further information.