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HORNBLOWER (1971)
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While the excitement of the performance of the Hotspurs was at its height, my friend Don Hearn asked me to design a successor to his successful Xpectant, incorporating the maximum beam allowed in the class (7'2"/2.18m). To our great pleasure, Spud Rowsell agreed to build the boat, which was called 'Hornblower' (MR 2455). Spud and his young apprentice, Jon Turner, made a superb job of the boat. I wrote an article about the Hornblower, which was published in Yachts and Yachting in June 1971. See the Y and Y article Don, crewed by Robbie Roberton, came 7th in the 1971 Nationals at Plymouth - his best ever performance. More of the top guns started to look seriously at my designs. Some were not keen on the ultra-wide beam, so I produced a less extreme variant, at 6'9" (2.06m).By the end of the 1971 season, it was clear that my designs were in the forefront of Merlin Rocket development. Hotspurs and Hornblowers had won a third of all the Silver Tiller events, including more than half the sea events. It was the narrower variant of the Hornblower that most helmsmen chose for the 1972 season. By now I was crewing for Patrick Blake, and he commissioned a Hornblower from Spud Rowsell. He called it "Myth Isle". She was a very handsome boat, and we hoped she would prove a championship winner. We put much thought into the rig and layout over the winter of 1971/72, and fitted out the boat with great care. She was ready for the Hamble Warming Pan series in early 1972, but she would be up against new designs from Greg Gregory, and also the new design from Phil Morrison - Satisfaction. In the event, Myth Isle won by a huge distance. But those who had opted for Morrison designs were not downhearted, and the Satisfactions and Phantom Kippers had their share of success in 1972. The Nationals AND the Silver Tiller were our goal, but in the event we won neither. A disqualification in the first race, after finishing second, put paid to our championship hopes (we finished fourth), and Harry Haynes in his Satisfaction 'Bosanova' beat us into second place for the Silver Tiller, though we won six Silver Tiller meetings. In spite of the obvious success of the Hornblower, Patrick and I agreed that it was time for a new design - the Hexagon. A total of 32 Hornblowers were built |
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Last updated 1 March 2005