International 14 Prince of Wales Cup Week Overall
by Anyd Loukes 4 Aug 2002 23:52 BST
A break with tradition meant the Prince of Wales cup was sailed on Tuesday. After the now normal general recalls, the fleet started in a F4 easterly in an area to the west of Pendennis Point. The sea was flat which set the race up for a drag race to the first mark. Mark Upton-Brown and Ian Mitchell were leading after the second visit to the windward mark. Stewart Sloss was on port on the port lay-line beating to the mark and when a gust hit Upton-Brown, Stewart was unable to take enough avoiding action to stop a collision. The spinnaker downhaul caught Stewart round the neck and pulled him off the wire. Both boats capsized, Mark's spinnaker was torn and he had to retire. The subsequent protest disqualified Stewart but it took another day for the jury to conclude that they couldn't give Mark redress as it was a one-off race.
Paul Vine and Dave Dobrejivic worked their way to the front for a deserved win and now join a very select group who have won the most prestigeous trophy in dinghy racing.
The rest of the week provided more exciting racing. Wednesday was cold, wet and was blowing F3. The sailors spent as long as possible huddled in the beachmasters tent. The influence of Pendennis Castle tested the fleet by producing gusty and shifty winds at the top mark. Mark Upton-Brown and Ian Mitchell put Tuesdays disappointment aside to beat Paul Vine and Dave Dobrejivic. The rest of the fleet had yet more unbelievably close racing with places changing thoughout the fleet on every leg.
Thursday brought another change to the normal POW week, with two races. The sun was out but overnight there had been quite a lot of breeze and when the competitors arrived on the start line they found a testing swell and a F4 breeze. Colin Goodman and Sam Gardener won this race showing excellent boat speed, most competitors were finding it very difficult to get the boats in the groove. Paul Vine had his worst results of the week with a 4th. Andy Fitzgerald, with Martin Borritt, showed used his experience to out-sail the relative newcomers in the tricky conditions to achieve a 3rd, his best result of the series.
For race 5 the wind continue to drop and the sea calmed down at a slower rate, keeping the frustration high with the crews struggling for boatspeed. The usual suspects made it to the front; 1st Paul Vine and Dave Dobrejivic; 2nd Colin Goodman and Sam Gardener; 3rd Mark Upton-Brown and Ian Mitchell. James Fawcett with Bruce Grant continued to show excellent consitstency with a 4th.
The Prince of Wales cup dinner was held in the Falmouth Hotel on Thursday night so the dinghy park filled more slowly than usual. The light winds and sunshine were pleasant, although some people were rather hoping the breeze would be light enough to cancel racing. The fleet did sail out and managed a start, but the wind was dropping and veering all the time and when spinnakers started to appear on the right hand side of the course the race was abandoned, much to the relief of the sailors.
The full results are online at gbr.i14.org/pow2002
This years Prince of Wales Cup week was a huge success, the fleet enjoyed excellent hospitality from the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club. The highlight for many sailors was a chance to crew in a Falmouth working boat. 14ers seem to particularly appreciate classic yachts, it must be a reaction to the high technology and frantic racing they are used to! The classic fleet only produced one entry but it was pretty special. Peter Dixon sailed K670, a beautiful boat designed and built by Uffa Fox.
The turnout may not be up to the levels of the 1990s but most people agreed the standard was even higher, the slightest mistake costing several places. With the latest sailnumber up to 1476 there have been over 100 boats built since the rules changed in 1996. The class is keen to encourage people with Ovi 1s, Morrisons 8s and Ovi 2s to come to events, the 12th in the Windwhisper and 6th in the Europeans by Tony Dencher in his 4 year old Morrison 8 show that the boats are still competative.
Next year is a biggy for the UK fleet, we are hosting the European Championships with POW week at Hayling Island in June 2003. We are expecting boats from Australia, North America, Switzerland, Denmark and Germany. We are then off the Japan for the World Championships in August.