Hurricane 5.9 SX National Championship at Paignton Sailing Club
by Howard Warrington 25 Jul 11:53 BST
18-20 July 2025
Fleets from Starcross, Thorpe Bay, Stone, Datchet, Bala and Gurnard made their way towards to English Riviera. With a tally of 2 punctures, 2 lost trailer wheels and a broken mast, it was a miracle we got there at all!
The team at Paignton SC were very welcoming and had us all parked up on the town green just behind the sea wall. With boats rigged and ready we set off to the club house for our briefing with racing due to start the following morning.
Events Secretary, Julian Reichert, had revived an old Hurricane tradition of the "Numpty Hats". It must be said that the class has a long standing record of good banter and mick taking off the water and no-one was spared. As it transpires, myself and son George were the first recipients for having a blow out on the M25 and causing the motorway to be temporarily closed whilst our mudguard and other debris were collected from the carriageway.
Friday - Day 1
Race 1 - We woke to sunshine and not a lot of wind. Race Officer Nick Ripley set our course but had a difficult day with the shifty conditions and he and his mark layers did a great job of wind chasing.
Richie & Matt from Stone SC took the 1st bullet with a master class of sailing in difficult conditions, Adam & Richard from Stokes Bay also did a great job coming home 2nd and Ash & James from Gurnard SC in their first Nationals (and our Spinlock Sponsor) came 3rd.
Race 2 - George & Howard from Thorpe Bay did an astounding job (even if I do say myself) up the first beat taking a huge lead over the fleet only to go and throw it away by tipping it in downwind when a couple of rare puffs of wind crossed the fleet. Thankfully not the only ones to do so! A comment from a passing boat "you can keep the Numpty hats" - sure enough, that evening, we did! In the meantime, new chairman Jack & Hugo from Stone took the win, Dan & Bertie Stone & Thorpe Bay were 2nd and Starcross couple Paul & Vicky in 3rd. Others to mention; from Starcross was Tesni and dad Bill, with not a lot of weight on board seemed to spend the entire day on one hull and flying, much to the frustration of us heavier pairings!
Race 3 - Thorpe Bay's Alex & Alex, who up to now, had found new surroundings in the mid fleet, returned to form and won, Richie & Matt 2nd, Jack & Hugo 3rd.
A great day's sailing in very challenging conditions, certainly mixed up the rankings with great results coming from some. Overnight leaders were Richie & Matt from Stone. A good evening out was deserved and we even got to see the Lioness penalty shootout.
Saturday - Day 2
Again, we awoke to find flat calm conditions and not a lot going on. RO Nick decided to postpone, confident that wind would come. Which it did.
Race 4 - With the wind now filling in quite nicely although still on the lighter side for most. Alex & Alex maintained their new found winning streak and were 1st,, Trevor and Tom form Stone also found the sweet spot and were 2nd with Richie and Matt 3rd.
Race 5 - The wind held on quite nicely and was much kinder to the RO with easier course adjustments. Alex & Alex kept on the pressure and were 1st again being hard chased by Jack & Hugo in 2nd and Trev & Tom in 3rd.
Race 6 - Choosing which way up the beat was getting tricky. Right paid one beat then left the next. Alex & Alex were well in the lead and looking good for 3 bullets. Jack & Hugo took the right hand option on the last beat along with Ash & James and boy did it pay! Jack & Hugo took the lead by some margin and won leaving Alex & Alex the 2nd boat home and a great podium 3rd for Ash & James.
The club laid on dinner for us all which was superb. Resident amateur photographer Tom Wildy showed us the photos he'd been taking of the event. Let's just say he won't be amateur for long - they were superb. See tomwildyphotos.squarespace.com
Oh! And the numpty hats were duly won by Class Chairman Jack for wearing his shirt inside out for the duration of the AGM earlier in the day and Starcross's Joe Buxton-Smith for managing to fall of his boat!
Most ventured out to sample the Paignton night life for another well deserved night out.
Overnight leaders: Jack & Hugo but still some hefty discards to come out, it was definitely not all over yet!
Sunday - Day 3
OK, here we go! Proper breeze now and big surf left from the overnight thunder, rain and wind - which was pretty epic!
Race 7 - General recall, which was very handy for us, and now under U Flag for the duration. Jack & Hugo, the latter now suffering with man-flu, managed to claim the win. Alex & Alex were 2nd and Ash & James 3rd.
Race 8 - Again, the left right debate was raging on. Throwing a Hail Mary was the order of the day again! This time Julian & Jeremy from Thorpe Bay, running near the back after a disastrous first leg, did just that and popped out well in the lead with Ash & James doing similar. Both pairings sailed a great race from there and were 1st and 2nd. This left the championship battle heating up with Alex & Alex in 3rd with Jack & Hugo in 8th.
This one was going down to the wire. With some trying to recall their schoolboy maths, who needed to beat who and by how many points was uncertain....
Race 9 Having been such a great windy day with some wonderful wave jumping downwind sailing, the last race started off ok and then the wind decided to pack up and go home! Oh! Now that favoured right side - where most were headed, had more holes than Nora Battie's tights -for the over 40's that one! The fleet was turned upside down. It was a Tindale master class up front. Jack & Hugo won the race with Richie & Matt in 2nd and Dan & Bertie in 3rd. Alex & Alex came home 4th.
2025 National Champions - Jack Tindale and Hugo Bull - Stone Sailing Club
Many congrats to our retained champions. They sailed a great regatta and although only 1 point in it, thoroughly deserved the win.
Thorpe Bay YC's Alex Farrall and Alex Warrington put up an amazing challenge and pushed Jack and Hugo all the way. Great effort boys!
Only a few points away in 3rd was Stone's Richie Hanmore and Matt Kimber, showing just how tight this fleet is.
At the prize-giving a special tribute and award was given to Starcross SC Hurricane veteran John Donovan. John has been sailing Hurricanes for over 30 years. His dedication and support to the class in that time has been tremendous, he has on the committee for many years on the Rules & Tech side. Although this will be his last Nationals, he will still be seen sailing his unique red 5.9 SX at Starcross SC and we look forward to sailing with him soon. Well done John.
And finally... The day's Numpty Hat was won by Matt Kimber for managing to fall off the boat!
Thank you to Paignton Sailing Club for being so hospitable and RO Nick and his team for setting some of the best sea racing we've done in a long time. We would also like to thank our sponsors: Spinlock, AW Sailboats and Sailing Chandlery for their generous contributions to the class and the wonderful prizes.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Helm Club | Crew | Crew Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | R9 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 229 | Jack Tindale | Stone SC | Hugo Bull | Stone SC | ‑6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ‑8 | 1 | 13 |
| 2nd | 420 | Alex Farrall | Thorpe Bay SC | Alex Warrington | Stone SC | ‑13 | ‑14 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 14 |
| 3rd | 370 | Richie Hanmore | Stone SC | Matthew Kimber | Stone SC | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ‑6 | 3 | ‑6 | 2 | 19 |
| 4th | 316 | Dan Tindale | Stone SC | Rob Palmer | Thorpe Bay SC | 5 | 2 | 4 | 5 | (RET) | ‑13 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 28 |
| 5th | 360 | Ash Holmes | Gunard SC | James Gadsby | Gunard SC | 3 | ‑20 | 5 | ‑8 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 32 |
| 6th | 455 | Julian Reichert | Thorpe Bay YC | Jeremy Sandford | Thorpe Bay YC | 7 | ‑11 | ‑16 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 7 | 42 |
| 7th | 481 | Trevor Bawden | Stone SC/BurnhamSC | Tom Wass | Stone SC | ‑17 | 8 | ‑15 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 45 |
| 8th | 431 | Adam Charlesworth | Stokes Bay SC | Rich Robinson | Stokes Bay SC | 2 | ‑16 | 8 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 9 | (RET) | 53 |
| 9th | 487 | George Warrington | Thorpe Bay SC | Howard Warrington | Thorpe Bay SC | 11 | ‑12 | 10 | 10 | 8 | ‑12 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 61 |
| 10th | 333 | Gregory Reed | Datchet Water | Helen Leighton | Datchet Water | ‑15 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 9 | 9 | ‑15 | 14 | 9 | 64 |
| 11th | 315 | Tesni King | Starcross YC | Bill King | Starcross YC | 10 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 15 | 5 | 10 | ‑16 | (DNC) | 70 |
| 12th | 454 | John Donovan | Starcross YC | Nigel Hingston | Starcorss YC | ‑14 | 6 | 13 | ‑18 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 72 |
| 13th | 500 | John Tuckwell | Bala SC | Mike Cleaver | Swanage YC | 12 | ‑18 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 8 | ‑14 | 13 | 13 | 79 |
| 14th | 173 | Paul Raven | Starcross YC | Vicky Raven | Starcross YC | 4 | 3 | 9 | ‑20 | 18 | 14 | 20 | 20 | (DNC) | 88 |
| 15th | 448 | Rupert Greeves | Starcross YC | | | (DNC) | (DNC) | DNC | 7 | 11 | 16 | 18 | 12 | 6 | 93 |
| 16th | 102 | Adrian Bunting | Thorpe Bay SC | Jessica Bunting | Stokes Bay SC | ‑19 | 10 | ‑19 | 9 | 14 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 94 |
| 17th | 372 | Simon Boygle | Thorpe Bay SC | Sophie Boygle | Thorpe Bay SC | 16 | 13 | 14 | 16 | (DNC) | (DNC) | 11 | 19 | 12 | 101 |
| 18th | 390 | James Fellows | Starcross YC | Oliver Fellows | Starcross YC | ‑20 | ‑19 | 17 | 17 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 11 | 16 | 105 |
| 19th | 421 | Joseph Buxton‑Smith | Starcross YC | Rowan Greeves | Starcross YC | 9 | 15 | ‑20 | ‑19 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 17 | 10 | 106 |
| 20th | 456 | Geoff Tindale | Stone SC | Zach Bradon | | 8 | 7 | 18 | (RET) | 16 | 17 | 19 | (RET) | DNC | 108 |
| 21st | 485 | Graham Buxton‑Smith | Starcross YC | Gylfi Greeves | Starcross YC | 18 | 17 | 11 | 15 | 17 | ‑20 | ‑21 | 18 | 17 | 113 |
| 22nd | 428 | Johnathon Gillies | Thorpe Bay SC | Jojo Gillies | | (DNC) | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | 161 |
