International 14 PoW Week: Final Day
by Tom Partington 6 Jul 2015 10:34 BST
27 June - 3 July 2015
Thursday dawned with the prospect of 3 races and another very dubious forecast. The fleet arrived at the beach with more stereotypical Welsh weather (Mist and Rain) but more importantly what looked a sailable breeze. The race committee wasted no time and racing was set to kick off at 12pm. Unfortunately the Prince of Wales Cup race had taken its toll on the Italian team; Dom was left on the beach due to a bad back, so instead an all girl team took to the water. Immi Smith stepped in to steer for Simona Saccani, using their stumped rig to allow the girls to sail at full throttle despite being at the lightest end of the scale!
Race 1
As the fleet entered the 5 minute sequence the breeze had built to a solid 14-18 knots and the rain had cleared, things were really looking good! It was a clear port end bias and the enthusiasm to get racing was a bit much for Jones/Fitzgerald as they attempted a speculative port flyer only to find the front runners all approaching the pin end at some pace. The resulting carnage resulted in Neale Jones winning the cowboy of the week award as three boats all had to duck him to avoid his 5 day old Ovington Beiker 6 ending up speared into multiple pieces... fortunately for all, a General Recall gave those involved another chance.
The next start got away cleanly with the Partingtons making the best of the first beat to lead Team Truscoe (Truswell/Pascoe) at the windward mark. The Partington's, to their surprise, were able to keep a loose cover on the fleet for the next lap and a half until getting over excited and hoisting on the first triangle leg while everyone else opted for a two sail approach, this allowed Team Truscoe to sneak through and for Massey/Hillary and Jones/Fitzgerald to get right in on the action. The Partington's then found weed up the next beat allowing Massey/Hillary and Jones/Fitzgerald through and Team Truscoe to stretch his legs for the win.
Race 2
The wind had become slightly less stable and had dropped off to a variable 7 knots. Team Truscoe, Partingtons and Massey/Hillary all came off the pin end heading out to what looked like the favoured left hand side. Massey/Hillary was first to tack off and sailed into less pressure while Truscoe made the best of the dropping breeze to sneak away from the fleet to lead at the windward mark, while Nurton/Ash came charging in from the port layline to get in at the windward mark just ahead of the Partingtons. A kite issue for Nurton/Ash allowed the Partingtons through and Fitzgerald/Dobson into third. Andy Fitz then turned on the afterburners up the third beat to climb past the Partingtons into second while Team Truscoe took another easy win.
Race 3
The breeze was back up for the final race of the day and after the disappointment of his second race Massey/Hillary came out all guns blazing. They hit the committee boat at full speed rolling the Partingtons and the Aussie contingent of Cunningham/Patterson while Truscoe and Peake/Oliver nailed the middle of the line. With a two way battle for the lead Massey/Hillary got one over Team Truscoe with the Partingtons pulling through past Jones/Fitzgerland and Peake/Oliver to take third. Tight battles continued all the way through the fleet, with a number of boats crossing the finishing line within a few boat lengths of those around them.
Most sailors returned home to reminisce on what was one of the best day's racing people could remember for years. The standard of the fleet has really moved forward, with a few new faces in the class meaning that boat speed is no longer enough to guarantee a good result. Any mistakes throughout the week were being punished, much to the amusement of the spectators and competitors alike.