International 14 Prince of Wales Cup at East Lothian Yacht Club
by Chris Blackburn 4 Aug 2012 16:58 BST
21-28 July 2012
A small but elite band of 14 sailors travelled North of the Border to North Berwick for the Prince of Wales Cup week at East Lothian Yacht Club.
The first day of scheduled racing saw 30+ knots consistently across the boat park, and racing abandoned for the day.
Racing for the week got underway on day 2, with 2 races scheduled for the Lowestoft bowl. Ben McGrane and James Hughes won both races, followed closely behind in both races by Rob Greenhalgh and Alain Sign.
Tuesday morning dawned with the POW race scheduled. For the International 14's this is the one race National Championships, with all to play for.
At the start, the fleet split with a group of 3 boats heading hard left for the shore, the rest of the fleet choosing the right hand side of the course. The boats that had gone the furthest left had made big gains, and it was Andy Fitzgerald/Jeremy Williamson who arrived at the windward mark first followed by Rob Greenhalgh/Alain Sign and Ben McGrane/James Hughes. Fitz/Williamson team extended their lead over the next couple of legs gaining a sizable lead. McGrane and Greenhalgh slowly chipped away at Fitz's lead, and eventually managed to overhaul the initial race leader, which lead to a nip and tuck battle between Greenhalgh and McGrane with McGrane/Hughes taking the lead in the closing stages of the race. Congratulations to Ben McGrane and James Hughes for becoming the 2012 International 14 Prince of Wales Cup Champions.
In spite of a big evening celebrating their win, it was business as usual for team McGrane/Frank the Tank the following day with another race win for the Hunstanton Plate. The second race of the day was won by Katie Nurton and Alex Knight and with it the Weymouth Town trophy.
Thursday's racing was a series of 3 shorter races for the Island Comemerative Trophy. Ben McGrane and James Hughes won all three races on the day, the final race of the day being a long distance race around the Bass rock, which will be remembered by different people for different things, including dive bombing gannets, and acrobatics on the long run home.
Big Friday dawned for the final day of racing, and the fleet were greeted with 20knots on the race course, allowing the 14's to stretch their legs with some big breeze sailing. McGrane/Hughes won the first race. The breeze continued to increase through out the day, with the second race being a rollercoaster ride in breeze gusting over 25knots which was won by Dave Dobrijevic and Neale Jones.
Many thanks to East Lothian Yacht Club for such a warm welcome and to Jim Sinclair and his race team for organising some great racing.
Prince Of Wales Cup Results:
If you finished in the top ten in the Prince of Wales Cup then enter your Gear Guide information here
| Pos | Helm | Crew | Sail No | Club |
|---|
| 1st | Ben McGrane | James Hughes | 1517 | Netley Sailing Club |
| 2nd | Robert Greenhaigh | Alain Sign | 1530 | Stokes Bay Sailing Club |
| 3rd | Douglas Pattison | Mark Tait | 1519 | Itchenor Sailing Club |
| 4th | Katie Nurton | Alex Knight | 1520 | Itchenor Sailing Club |
| 5th | Andy FitzGerald | Jeremy Williamson | 1534 | Itchenor Sailing Club |
| 6th | Dave Dobrijevic | Neale Jones | 1538 | Hayling Island Sailing Club |
| 7th | Glen Truswell | Chris Blackburn | 1543 | RYA |
| 8th | Richard Bone | Chris Rodway | 1527 | Hayling Island Sailing Club |
| 9th | Andy Partington | Toby Lewis | 1540 | Hayling Island Sailing Club |
| 10th | Ed Clay | David Knight | 1484 | CUCrC |
| 11th | Daniel Holman | Jeremy Elliott | 1515 | Netley Sailing Club |
Prince Of Wales Cup Week Results:
| Pos | Helm | Crew | Sail No | Club | Lowestoft Bowl R1 | Lowestoft Bowl R2 | Hunstanton Plate | Weymouth Town Trophy | Island Commemorative Trophy | Llandudno Trophy R1 | Llandudno Trophy R2 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | Ben McGrane | James Hughes | 1517 | Netley Sailing Club | 1 | 1 | 1 | ‑5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| 2nd | Glen Truswell | Chris Blackburn | 1543 | RYA | 4 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | (DNF) | 20 |
| 3rd | Katie Nurton | Alex Knight | 1520 | Itchenor Sailing Club | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | ‑7 | 6 | 6 | 25 |
| 4th | Douglas Pattison | Mark Tait | 1519 | Itchenor Sailing Club | 3 | ‑6 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 25 |
| 5th | Dave Dobrijevic | Neale Jones | 1538 | Hayling Island Sailing Club | 9 | 3 | 8 | ‑10 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 27 |
| 6th | Richard Bone | Chris Rodway | 1527 | Hayling Island Sailing Club | 6 | ‑11 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 3 | DNF | 36 |
| 7th | Daniel Holman | Jeremy Elliott | 1515 | Netley Sailing Club | 7 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 9 | (DNF) | DNS | 41 |
| 8th | Andy Partington | Toby Lewis | 1540 | Hayling Island Sailing Club | 8 | 8 | (DNF) | 9 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 42 |
| 9th | Andy FitzGerald | Jeremy Williamson | 1534 | Itchenor Sailing Club | (DNF) | 10 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 45 |
| 10th | Robert Greenhaigh | Alain Sign | 1530 | Stokes Bay Sailing Club | 2 | 2 | DNS | DNS | 11 | (DNC) | DNC | 49 |
| 11th | Ed Clay | David Knight | 1484 | CUCrC | ‑10 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 9 | DNF | 51 |