Harken Hadron H2 National Championships 2025 at Weymouth & Portland Sailing Academy - Day 2
by Keith Callaghan 6 Jul 09:23 BST
4-6 July 2025
Gavin Fleming leads Richard Le Mare in race 4 – but not for long - on day 2 of the Harken Hadron H2 Nationals at the WPNSA © David Henshall
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.
The forecast wind duly arrived, howling through the rigging of the yachts in the nearby marina. Half the fleet prudently decided to stay ashore and of the remainder who went afloat several boats returned before racing started.
At the scheduled start time the anemometer at Portland Harbour Fort Head was showing an average wind speed of 27 knots with a maximum of 33 knots. Seven bold helms set off for the weather mark through a short, steep sea. Some harbour!
Your reporter was safe ashore, over a mile away from the competition, so details of the racing are sketchy but Dougal Henshall was out there taking some super photos, some of which are included in this report. Competitors found the runs particularly difficult as the very short wave interval made it almost impossible to sail directly downwind.
Alasdair Hood, who had travelled to the Champs from Scotland, was determined to get value for money from his trip south and scored a 7th and 7 and a 6, which dramatically improved his over all position.
A relative newcomer to the H2, Martin Orton, scored a 5 and a 4, while the versatile Barry Wolfenden scored a 6 and a 5.
Tim Garvin, temporarily back in the class in a borrowed boat, scored a 3rd in race 4 but had to retire in race 5 because of a rudder problem. Tim had a camera aboard which should provide some exciting views from the cockpit.
Gavin Fleming, another relative newcomer to the H2 but a very experienced sailor, revelled in the conditions and scored a 4th and a second place.
Day 1 leader Richard Leftley notched up a 2nd and a 3rd – the latter in spite of a fall in the boat which left him with a battered chin and blood running through the bailers.
But the master of these conditions was Richard Le Mare. The stronger the wind, the faster he and ‘Alice’ go. At the 2023 Champs ‘Alice’ recorded 15 knots but I think she may have exceeded that today, with 2 wins.
Day 3 will now include the race postponed from today. With a more benign forecast the new H2 National Champion will be decided on Sunday afternoon.
Results so far can be found here.