National 12s at the RYA Suzuki Dinghy Show

Jeremy and Luke Hartley in their National 12 © Gareth Fudge / www.boatographic.co.uk

Jeremy and Luke Hartley in their National 12 © Gareth Fudge / www.boatographic.co.uk

The most exciting dinghy to sail with your kids!

Jeremy and Luke Hartley

Father and son team Jeremy and Luke Hartley from Stokes Bay SC have certainly established themselves as a team to watch in the National 12 Class in 2015, having recorded a 3rd place at the 2014 Inland Championships towards the end of the season.

Jeremy's first experience in a 12 was crewing for (the then young!) Ian Pinnell back in the 1980s. Jeremy takes up the story. "I suppose that I must have taught him well as I helped him win a few things!.... More seriously I then moved on to sail Enterprises and Fireballs, occasionally borrowing a 12 for events, until buying a Crusader to sail with my girlfriend (who is now my wonderful & understanding wife) Janessa. We had some good times class racing at Portchester SC. Life then intervened.... So we go fast forward with a few sailing free years.... Then we have children, and they are old enough to go sailing, so what better than a 12 to get back on the water? Master of Puppets, a Feeling Foolish, was found in Salcombe and became my second 12. Initially we joined the 12 fleet at Spinnaker, later Stokes Bay."

"The 2013 Burton Week at Brixham was Luke's first event and also my first 12 Championship this century! The Burton race itself was an epic one, windy and with some great waves. With then only 90kg in the boat this was quite a bonding experience! Luke's sailing has developed rapidly from crewing to helming, from Tera to 29er, and I run a Moth as well as the 12. But for us the 12 is a great all-rounder, slippery in light winds, and fast and fun in breeze. Last year our 13 year old Foolish gave a few of the latest boats a run for their money, especially in lighter winds. Even without a T-foil rudder we felt that the top ten was a realistic 2014 Championship target, and we only narrowly missed out by making some silly mistakes."

"Some of the newer designs are now coming up on the second-hand market and after Burton Week we swapped our Foolish for the original Jo Richards Dead Cat Bounce, which is a real flying machine. We got this just in time for the Sailjuice series which has been great fun. We're looking forward to fitting the 2015 Gul Series and Herne Bay Burton Week around our other sailing. There are no excuses now!"

So the final killer questions for Jeremy and Luke: What's best about the 12? Luke says "Variety, all the boats are different", whilst Jeremy says "Planing tight reaches."

And what's hardest? Luke says "Getting Dad to hike!" whilst Jeremy responds "Teaching Luke to hike." Good try Luke but I think your dad still owns you there.

The National 12 Class

In a crowded market of sailing dinghies the National 12 has its own niche as a thoroughbred racing dinghy that has stood the test of time. An established class with a strong Class Association organising an annual programme of events for the 3,500 boats that have been built since 1936.

The boat is suitable for lightweight combinations and has a wide mix of husband/wife, boyfriend/girlfriend, brother/sister, parent/child combinations doing well. From the perspective of getting your family into sailing, why drive a long way to watch your kids sail when you could go sailing with them! You don't have to follow the RYA pathway classes if the goal of an Olympic medal or the commitment to your family of joining a squad is not for you or them! You can seek to join such squads at a later stage in your sailing development, or even do a bit of both.

The 12 is suitable for lightweight combinations. The jib is easily handled by a child and there is no complexity of a spinnaker. However for the helmsman the boat is a joy to sail and if time on the water is limited as you gently train a novice crew, then the boat is a joy for the enthusiast to play with on shore. As the child develops and grows they learn a lot about movement about the boat and taking responsibility for sharing in timing, tactical decision making and rig controls.

To further celebrate the National 12 Class this year we have created 12 Fest to be held at Northampton Sailing Club on 20/21 June. This is a rally for 12 owners with a party on the Saturday night, after a day of race coaching from Mark Rushall, Graham Camm and Tom Stewart. We will also run the Junior Championships and will run some very informal racing on the Sunday. It is the event for all 12 sailors to attend this summer and to celebrate the joy of the boats that we own.

The National 12s will be exhibiting 2 boats at the RYA Suzuki Dinghy Show on 28 February / 1 March at Alexandra Palace, London on stand B46:

• Neal Lillywhite's Design 8 N3271 "Indecision", built in 1987 by Arnot Dobson and refurbished by the Boat Yard at Beer in 2012. Neal is a member of Burghfield SC and sails with his 11 year old daughter Freya. They won the Admirals Cup prize for older boats at the 2014 Gul Series and were widely travelled on the Open circuit, visiting Carnac, Salcombe YC Regatta and Burton Week.

• Graham Camm and Zoe Ballantyne's Dead Cat Bounce N3530 "The Very Hungry Caterpillar", built in 2010 by Boat Yard at Beer / P&B and winner of Burton Week and the Burton Cup in 2010 and 2012. Graham and Zoe won the Bloody Mary pursuit race in 2014, were the leading 12 at Carnac, won the 2014 Inland Championships and placed second overall in the Gul Series.