Southworth wins UK Nationals

Chris McLaughlin reports from the J/24 main event last week at the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club

Ian Southworth and the crew of Hedgehog, current European champions, are winners of the 2006 J/24 UK National Champions, held at the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club.

The eight race series was closely fought in a variety of conditions from 5 mph to 26mph as light local winds were pushed out by the arrival of a front at mid-day on Saturday.

Southworth and crew have put yet more effort into their restored boat Hedgehog. Over winter it has been re-faired and its keel re-profiled to the USA Compukeel template.

Says Southworth: “ Hedgehog was sticky down wind at the 2005 Europeans, so we went for a new hull before the Worlds in Weymouth. That boat, Echidna was certainly an improvement, but with our budget forcing its sale we went back to the drawing board. We are very happy with the winter works”.

Hedgehog also changed rigs over the winter. Continued Ian: “At the Melbourne Worlds in January we used a Sparloft New Zealand rig. It seemed softer than the Proctor and easier to set up. So with the sale of the Weymouth boat, we changed rigs. Its interesting that the Etchells fleet has also moved to Sparloft”.

Hedgehog won the series with a race to spare and an 18 point margin over the next competitor, Duncan McCarthy, sailing Madeleine. McCarthy has clearly also worked hard on his boat preparation and fought a close battle with Falmouth favourites, Roger Rabbit helmed by Gavin Watson. All three of these boats are mid-eighties Jeremy Rogers hulls. And all three have been subject of fairing and keel profiling. Madeleine was formerly the infamous Fuzzy Duck, and the fourth placed Johnny Bravo is an original Contessa J-24 demonstrator brought into the UK.

Comments Southworth: “I don’t know of other sports boats that offer this kind of sailing life. The J/24 has great international competition, can be bought cheaply and remains challenging to tune and sail. It has pedigree”.

Racing began on Thursday 6 July with two wins for Hedgehog, chased in the opener by Madeleine and Roger Rabbit and then by Stuart Jardine’s Stouche and John Allen’s Legal Alien in winds around 12-14 mph - comfortable genoa weather.

Friday saw very different conditions, with light zephyrs of wind, 20-30 degree shifts and speeds from zero to 5 mph. Roger Rabbit took the morning race from Hedgehog and David Ellis in Hitchhiker.

Race four started in very light conditions, with local boat, Johnny Bravo taking the lead. Southworth in Hedgehog found himself last at the end of the first run, but worked his way through the shifts, upwind and down, to take the lead on the final run to the finish line. Gybing to cover boats in pressure on the port side of the course, he could only watch as Johnny Bravo slipped ahead again to take the gun. Said Ian: “ All credit to the father and son team of Chris and John Derbyshire. They kept it together and took the advantage when it came. We were very happy with our second”.

The final race of the day saw wind swinging through 30 degrees and generally trending to the Port side of the course, as land effects dominated the approach to the windward mark. Johnny Bravo got away to be caught up by Southworth in Hedgehog on the final run. As wind died across the course, Duncan McCarthy, positioned to leeward and parallel to Southworth gained by gybing onto port into pressure. The final beat saw Bravo and Madeleine move forward as Southworth moved up again from fifth to fourth, crossing Ben Williamson in Rumble, before returning to the Port lay line to the finish. Rumble tacked to clear him and was rewarded with a fifteen degree lift to the line to regain third place. Said Ian, "we looked at pushing to the left and I think we would have won the race if we had done so. But halfway through a series is not the time to play heroics”.

At the end of day two, Southworth led the championship with a six point margin. Day three and a promised front begin to arrive. Race six began in 16 mph winds concluding around 20mph, as many in the fleet switched to jibs from the genoa, down the run.

Passing Madeleine on the first run, Hedgehog stayed with genoa throughout the race to take the first win of the day. The second race saw all boats change to jib as the strong frontal breeze white-capped Falmouth Bay. Again Hedgehog pushed through the fleet, working to leeward of Stuart Jardine and Falmouth crew, Roger Rabbit.

With wind swinging 20 degrees, Southworth worked middle and right to cover the approach to the weather mark, gibing immediately for the run to the finish. Strong gusts and big waves provided an exciting run down for the fleet. As a he crossed the finish line, Southworth retired from the final race of the day. He comments, “We had a new jib up, so it seemed sensible to head for home and conserve the sails”.

Ian Southworth’s crew were: Andrew McLelland, Cockpit; Chris McLaughlin, Tactics; Nigel Smith, Mast and Mark Hayman, Bow. They used an all Ullman sail inventory with deck gear from Harken UK.