Hadron H2 National Championship sponsored by Allen Brothers at Royal Torbay Yacht Club - Day 2
by Keith Callaghan 13 Sep 2020 09:38 NZST
11-13 September 2020
The start of race 6 on day 2 of the Hadron H2 Nationals in Torbay © Keith Callaghan
After the revels of the Class Dinner in the hospitable environment of the Royal Torbay YC on the Friday evening, the bright light of a sunny Saturday morning greeted the H2 competitors with a faint zephyr from the south west - or thereabouts.
This was not good news for one of the two leading contenders - Richard Leftley - who wanted more breeze against his rival Ian Sanderson. But it was what it was and after a short delay race 4 got under way. Sure enough, those who were betting on Ian got a good return on their money as he won the first race of the day, with Richard literally in the Doldrums in fourth place. Dave Barker had his best result so far with a well deserved second place, ahead of Robin Parsons in third.
What Richard did not need in race 5 was to be over the start line and by the time he had restarted he was last H2 away. However, he recovered to 5th place at the weather mark but Ian Sanderson was already on his way to another win. Richard could not improve his position in the very light airs. Second place went to Grand Master Ian Dawson who just squeezed in ahead of Simon Hipkin, with 'Dark Horse' Robin Parsons gaining another good result just behind.
The wind started to fill in for race 6 and Richard took full advantage, leading from start to finish. Ian had to settle for second place with Andrew McGaw third and Adrian Williams having a good race in fourth place.
The leader board (after one discard) now shows Ian Sanderson ahead on 7 points with Richard Leftley on 9 points. Richard will have to win both races tomorrow to win the Championships but at this stage it must be current champion Ian Sanderson who is the favourite. Third place is likely to be decided between Robin Parsons and Ian Dawson.