Kayospruce H2 Travellers Trophy at Warsash Sailing Club

Just 8 months ago this boat was winning the Concours prize at the Dinghy Show for Richard le Mare - Kayospruce H2 Travellers Trophy at Warsash © David Henshall

Breaking the tie!

One of the byproducts of the explosion in dinghies and small boat racing during the 1940s to the 1970s was the country-wide open meeting scene. But we can thank the Merlin Rockets for taking this a stage further when they created the Silver Tiller, a yearlong 'all points of the compass' series that remains to this day the benchmark for a class specific Travellers Trophy award.

Little wonder then that the H2 Class, with their strong thread of Merlin Rocket DNA courtesy of designer Keith Callaghan, have their own Travellers Series with this being one of the high spots for their racing year. However, this has been so closely fought for this year that the Class are having to look hard at the small print in the RYA Appendix of scoring to see who just might win the coveted trophy.

Going into the final event of the year, the picture at the top of the ranking is complicated to say the least, as the series comprised eight events with the best four to count.

Keeping things anonymous (at this point) boat A has scored to date 1,2,4,8,2,1,3 whilst boat B has a card showing 4,9,1,3,1,2,2. The first attempt at working out the overall showed A winning to date, courtesy of an eighth place as against a ninth as all other scores were equal. Then wiser minds said "not so" because after the first four results were taken (with both scoring 1,1,2,2) everything else is ignored.

Instead, the second line of tie breaking has to be applied and that relies on the result of the last race in the series in which B came second to A's third and is thus the current series leader.

The situation then gets even more complex as there's boat C to consider, who currently has a 1,2,2,3. Now should he sail and win his best four results will match those of A and B but he'll take the chocolates courtesy of the best result in the last race.

A very rewarding picture for the H2 Class: 102, almost the oldest boat, sailing gunwale to gunwale with 202, one of the newest (ten years between the builds, nothing between them on the water) - Kayospruce H2 Travellers Trophy at Warsash - photo © David Henshall

And if all this wasn't enough, the XC Weather forecast for the weekend showed a remarkable lack of any breeze at all. With strong tides running across the race area at Warsash, the Race Team will do well to get any sort of event completed because for A, B and C, this will be the defining moment. They could be the last three boats in the scoring on the day, but their positions relative to each other will determine the final result.

This then was the situation as the fleet headed to Warsash for the Kayospruce sponsored final TT event of the season, where the fears were that the Trophy would end up being awarded with the boats still being held ashore. As early as the Thursday, the forecast was so determinedly one-sided that the Race Team for the Endeavour Trophy had pulled their event.

Warsash though seemed confident that the fleet would go racing so as the boats all started heading for the south coast there was a great deal of finger-crossing going on.

Saturday morning presented a windless Solent to the gathering fleet, but at least there was a little more clarity as the helm for boat C had fallen foul of a previous engagement and was unable to make it to the Hamble, so it would be a straight A v B shoot out. As the time to go afloat drew near, C's non-attendance looked a good move as a limp AP flag was flown from the flagstaff.

After a two hour delay the fleet were finally released, but now the problem was getting out of the mouth of the Hamble in very light airs and with a strong flood tide running. With the course already laid by the slick race team the mark RiBs were tasked to tow the boats out and soon a start sequence was under way in conditions that were on the light side of marginal.

The accepted wisdom at Warsash dictates that in these conditions you start at the pin on starboard and go right, as if heading for Portsmouth. Tim Garvin (all can now be revealed, as in translation he is boat A in our story) was looking good until about a third of the way up the beat when the wind dropped away on the left-hand side and left the boats there to struggle.

Meanwhile, Gavin Fleming, aka boat B, had picked his start, played the middle of the course and after rounding the windward mark leading with a safe margin just continued to extend until the finish. In conversation afterwards, Gavin was quite clear that this was all part of a well thought through strategy, to start well, control the race, be conservative and sail fast and free (he was sailing with a demonstrably freed leech) and was not trying to point but focused on keeping the boat moving to great effect.

Behind him Ian Little, Richard le Mare and Adrian Williams from the host club enjoyed a good battle for the minor places but the win was never in doubt. Meanwhile Boat A, Tim Garvin, struggled to get back on terms after going 200m too far to the left but with the race only having one lap, there was never going to be the opportunity to make up the distance.

The wind had settled for the second race, still on 215 degrees, about 5kt +/- 2 and after winning the start again, it was clear that Gavin Fleming was in a class of his own on the day. He never seemed to be in the wrong place as he led the fleet around for his second bullet with Garvin, his closest rival, fighting other boats for one of the minor places. Another quick turn around for Race 3, but now rain was threatening with the fear that if it did pour down (the sky was menacingly black) that it would kill what wind there was as the breeze was already hinting at softening.

After another cracking start ahead of a line shy fleet, Gavin was first to the windward mark and looked very comfortable in conditions that were getting ever more testing, as he claimed his third straight win to be comfortably at the top of the rankings at the end of the day.

Tim Garvins challenge for the coveted TT Trophy fell at the final hurdle, but he gets the media boat prize for the biggest (and most consistent) smile! - Kayospruce H2 Travellers Trophy at Warsash - photo © David Henshall

At this point it the Warsash Race Team really deserve a big shout out as in conditions that might well have defeated a lesser team they got three good races in on a day when many thought that we'd be staying ashore, the forecast though for the morrow was 'less than today' leaving the fleet heading off to dinner wondering if covers would even be removed on the Sunday.

Their worst fears seemed to be realised as come the time for getting changed, the usual Solent landmarks were hidden by dense banks of rolling fog, with a mini briefing from the Kathryn Clark, the Race Officer, making clear that if things didn't improve she would pull the plug at midday. No one should doubt the efforts of her Race Team, as they headed out to the expected race area only to find both wind and sunshine, prompting the dropping of AP and the usual rush to get afloat and out of the river.

It was all looking so good, as the initial wind of 280° quickly backed to around the 215°, with 5 kt of breeze and soon a start sequence was initiated. From the media boat, a third of the way up the beat, we were able to watch the unfolding of a slow-motion car crash as with the boats barely clear of the line, the breeze softened, swung in all directions (we saw it go as low as 150°) and then stalled completely, leaving the RO little option other than a speedy abandonment.

Over the next hour or so marks would be moved around but what breeze there was showed no inclination to settle and eventually the fleet was sent back to shore for the legendary Warsash afternoon tea and cake.

This left the results of the weekend as they were at the end of the Saturday, with Gavin Fleming firmly in charge of the Travellers Trophy series. Second place on the day would go to Tim Garvin, so the two sailors who had dominated the season rightly ended up taking the two top spots at Warsash.

Boat C held on to third place in the TT for Richard Leftley, whilst Richard le Mare, Ian Little and Chris Brown all showed consistent sailing but lacked the event winning cutting edge that the front two possessed.

That the competition should be so tight and intense after a full season of races around the UK augers well for the success of the H2 Class as they set out into their second decade with a strong expectation that come October next year, Warsash will once again be holding an end-of-season shoot out.

Gavin Fleming won the weekend with a display of careful conservative sailing; even when the wind dropped out he still kept his boat moving - Kayospruce H2 Travellers Trophy at Warsash - photo © David Henshall

Travellers Trophy Series Overall Results: (best 4 from 8)