Please select your home edition
Edition
Vaikobi Custom Teamwear

Hadron H2 Open at Christchurch Sailing Club

by Chris Brown 3 Jun 13:15 BST 31 May 2025
Rounding the top mark during the Hadron H2 Open at Christchurch © Russell New

An open meeting no competitor will ever forget! Christchurch Sailing Club excelled themselves, hosting the Hadron H2 fleet alongside the prestigious Finn Southern Area Championship.

The warm sunny weather was accompanied by a south westerly breeze, forecast to be building in strength over the weekend. Following a picturesque sail out from CSC on the rivers Stour/Avon and through Christchurch harbour, racing commenced around midday on Saturday.

Peter Bennett during the Hadron H2 Open at Christchurch - photo © Russell New
Peter Bennett during the Hadron H2 Open at Christchurch - photo © Russell New

Race 1 featured good tight racing upwind through a sloppy sea and around 10/12kn SW wind. Gavin Fleming took line honours with Chris Brown 9 seconds in 2nd place, following a close tussle on the final run.

The breeze increased for race 2 but after some place changing Gavin again took first place with Chris further behind this time. Stephen Oliver unfortunately snapped his tiller but managed to sail home safely!

By race 3 the ebb had set in, adding to the apparent wind and the seas became bigger. The "heavies" dominated this race, with Gavin taking another win and Ian Brooks of CYC taking 2nd place.

Gavin Fleming wins the Hadron H2 Open at Christchurch - photo © Russell New
Gavin Fleming wins the Hadron H2 Open at Christchurch - photo © Russell New

Wind and sea state remained similar for race 4 (ugh) and the thighs were well and truly aching by this time. Bearing away and gybing became somewhat less certain and Gavin executed a neat pirouette capsize allowing Chris to take 1st place with Gavin managing to recover for 2nd place.

Impeccable shoreside logistics, gourmet catering and superb on water race management combined with sunshine, strong breezes and free beer made this an unforgettable weekend. We are invited back for next year and I would urge everyone to consider attending this glorious and exceptionally friendly venue.

Overall Results:

PosSail NoHelmR1R2R3R4Pts
1st135Gavin Fleming111‑23
2nd177Chris Brown22‑315
3rd122Ian Brooks‑43238
4th149Peter Bennett‑544412
5th150Stephen Oliver3(DNC)DNCDNC15

Related Articles

All change in the Endeavour Trophy
A dramatic twist in the results after a request for redress was reopened by the Protest Committee The 64th Endeavour Trophy has seen a dramatic twist in the results after a request for redress was reopened by the Protest Committee when they realised that a significant error may have been made at the initial hearing. Posted on 14 Oct Endeavour Trophy 2025 Event Video
Action from on the water, interviews with the sailors! The Endeavour Trophy is one of the most coveted in UK sailing, gathering National Champions for each dinghy class to battle it out at the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club at Burnham-on-Crouch over an October weekend. Posted on 6 Oct 505 champs win Endeavour Trophy 2025
UK's Champion of Champions event sees gusts over 30 knots at Burnham-on-Crouch Big winds reaching over 30kts tested the 30 dinghy champions to the limit on Sunday and, with just four races to count with no discard, it was always going to be an interesting outcome. Posted on 6 Oct Big winds stop play at Endeavour Trophy
Champion of champions' big event blasted by 50kt + winds It was supposed to be the opening day of racing for the Endeavour Trophy today, but with relentless strong winds reaching over 50kts in the gusts, Edwin Buckley and his team had no option other than postpone the racing until tomorrow. Posted on 4 Oct 64th Endeavour Trophy Welcomes New Melges 15
New chapter for dinghy champion of champions event at Burnham-on-Crouch Despite the threat of Storm Amy disrupting proceedings at the 64th Endeavour Trophy (3-5 October), a total of 30 national champions gathered at the Royal Corinthian YC, Burnham-on-Crouch this morning for the opening day's training session. Posted on 3 Oct Walton & Frinton Hadron H2 Open
Sunshine, mild temperatures and fresh winds make for ideal sailing conditions The penultimate open meeting of the Hadron H2 year was hosted by the Walton and Frinton Yacht Club at the weekend in ideal sailing conditions- sunshine, mild temperatures and fresh winds. Posted on 8 Sep Hadron H2 and D-Zeros at Fed Week
Chichester Harbour witnesses another battle over a small ceramic plate Ten D-Zeros and four Hadrons lined up on the beach for the first day of CHRW - known to many as Fed Week - one of the biggest and best, in my opinion, dinghy regattas on the UK's South Coast. Posted on 20 Aug Harken Hadron H2 Nationals overall
A brisk south-westerly breeze and brilliant sunshine on the third day The three races of day 3 of the H2 nationals was sailed in a brisk 12-16 knot south-westerly breeze and brilliant sunshine. Posted on 7 Jul Harken Hadron H2 Nationals day 2
With the wind up, two races were held in Portland Harbour The forecast for day 2 of the Harken H2 Championships promised strong south-westerly winds so the race team prudently decided to hold this day's racing in Portland Harbour and to run two races instead of the scheduled three. Posted on 6 Jul Harken Hadron H2 Nationals day 1
A 12-14 knot south-westerly breeze at WPNSA provided a thrilling start to the event A 12-14 knot south-westerly breeze at WPNSA provided the competitors a thrilling start to the 2025 Hadron H2 national championships on Friday, 4th July. Posted on 5 Jul
Copyright 2025 YY Online Services Ltd. registered in England no. 7895890
Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy