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A CLASS OF OUR OWN
The Jacqueline Class - Tommy Robertson’s own design, the boat he built and the one HHSC claims as its own. The boat pictured below is "Eyas".
Demanding open-water conditions off the Haven entrance combined with sheltered water inside dictated the sort of centreboarders sailed from Hill Head for many years - steady boats, well-behaved in a seaway, generously-built without the concern for lightness that is important now that so many boats are kept ashore between sails. So it was interesting to see how Tommy Robertson, when he formulated ideas for a new class of 12-footers for the club in the mid-Forties, combined this Hill Head tradition for seaworthiness with a boat not too hefty for young members to handle.
The Jacqueline Class eventually achieved enduring fame - and lots of admiration from visiting sailors - as Hill Head's one and only "home grown" One-Design class.
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According to Tommy Robertson, the initial inspiration came from the 14 ft. navigating dinghies designed for Service use by C. E. Nicholson. These boats had a firm midship section, running out fore and aft to the gentle curve of a rakish stem which ended, well above the waterline, in a small transom. There was a small deck fore and aft on these double-enders, and they were fitted with sliding thwarts. The boats had a jaunty well-sprung sheer, and their purpose was to get in safely through surf, land men on exposed shores and be able to be rowed off again without having to turn the boat bows on to the sea.
"I visualised this design with the fore transom taken out and the bow allowed to follow its curve up to a Viking ship-type stem," explains Tommy. "At the stern, the transom could be enlarged, to develop a boat suited for beach work, and for the conditions well-known off Hill Head, a boat which would sail well, row easy, and which would convert happily to an outboard-powered runabout. She had to be a boat in which youngsters could learn the basics of good boat handling."
By 1961, four boats had been built, owned by the late Charles Jeram, Colonel Brady, the late A. F. Lingard and the late Wilson Houlder. It was through the efforts of Mr. Houlder that the club gave its blessing to the Jacqueline with One-Design class status, at the 1961 Annual Meeting.
More than 30 years (44!) later, there can be no doubt that the class has amply fulfilled the purposes for which it was designed. They remain a testimony to the fact that a well-designed and well-built boat never loses its appeal, whatever its age.
Article taken from the Jubilee HHSC magazine. 1980
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