Please select your home edition
Edition
GOAT Marine

International 14 Gorge Regatta

by Andy Penman 11 Aug 2004 07:49 BST

The Gorge regatta is a legendary feature of the International 14 calendar. It is North America's Garda, in the shadow of 11,000 feet Mount Hood's year round skiing, where the west wind generated by the hot desert inland is funnelled by the cliffs above the Columbia river, normally. This year an unhelpful system brought rain then light winds for two days but delivered a vintage conclusion with 25 knots and more from the east giving big waves.

14 boats from the fleets in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego took part with representatives from the GBR, France, Canada and Western Australia fleets. Most of the fleet were Bieker 2s several now 8 years old but still light and now sporting t-foils. This year some RMW boats have been imported from the UK and there is a Seattle building programme for Bieker 5s, the new 'very fine forward and flat aft' design first seen at the Prince of Wales Cup in July.

Three boats showed consistent pace and success in dealing with the shifts in the 5 light races on Friday and Saturday. Andrew Penman (GBR)/John Vince (CAN), Bieker 3 with Bieker mast and Alexander/P&B sails, led from Chris Henderson/Guillaume Vernieres (Bieker 2 & Irwins) with Kris Bundy/Jamie Hanseler (Bieker 2 & Alexanders) several points adrift after kite launching problems in races 4 and 5. Later Henderson played bass in Saturday night's band "Hoist".

Sunday's conditions were similar to a big day at Garda. The overnight leaders together with Steve Goodson/Alan Diercks again made the running with Bundy scoring 3 bullets. Penman hung on just enough to win a very close series by one point from Bundy and two from Henderson. Penman and Vince also added their names to the Gorgeo Bastardo trophy for the series with no discards.

Thanks to the Columbia Gorge Racing Association for running the event at a great venue.

Overall Results:

1 Penman/Vince
2 Bundy/Hanseler
3 Henderson/Poisson frere Vernieres
4 Goodson/Diercks
5 Ted Rogers/Tim Burks
6 Brad Ruetnik/Todd Czarnecki

Related Articles

International 14 Prince of Wales Cup Week overall
No racing on Day 5 in Weymouth A sensible decision was made by the fleet and the race officer to cancel the racing planned for Tuesday and complete the PoW Week a day early, leaving PoW dinner to be a rather more open ended affair than might have otherwise been possible. Posted on 27 May International 14 Prince of Wales Cup Week Day 4
Tales of a great rivalry The McDanell vs Penman rivalry has been raging for well over 30 years. In the most recent years this rivalry has intensified and sometimes nothing more matters than who crosses the line in front of the other. Posted on 26 May International 14 Prince of Wales Cup Week Day 3
Andy Shaw and Rob Strucket take the Prince of Wales Cup after a 98 minute race Sunday dawned and it was the day of the big one, the intimidating, the iconic Price of Wales Cup race. A race steeped in tradition and history and for those that don't know, a unique winner-takes-all shoot out. Posted on 25 May International 14 Prince of Wales Cup Week Day 2
Another day, another taster for the big event Another day, another taster for the big event. The single race shootout starts tomorrow! Posted on 25 May International 14 Prince of Wales Cup Week Day 1
Where the Wind Blows and the Ego Grows Hailing from the frothy shores of Tynemouth Sailing Club, the dynamic duo of Andy Brown and Stu Keegan made landfall at Prince of Wales Week aboard their trusty steed—a Beiker 4 that's seen more flying wire than a Marvel film set. Posted on 23 May Rickmansworth Classic International 14 Open
At 89 Tiercel proved that old boats can still compete and win Vintage and Classic Int 14's came to Rickmansworth Sailing Club over the weekend of 17th/18th May to race for two trophies. The Rickmansworth Open and Transom series Trophies. Boats travelled from as far as Cornwall to compete in this long standing event. Posted on 23 May International 14 Easter Tray at Itchenor
Three days of varied conditions as teams prepare for the Prince of Wales Cup in Weymouth The traditional season opener of the 14 calendar is the Easter Tray. Three days of varied conditions saw a total of 14 boats launch. For some this was the first outing since the worlds in Garda, others had been out training for three weekends already. Posted on 1 May Flying start to 2025
An embarrassment of riches for sailing fans Happy New Year to you all! The beginning of 2025 is an embarrassment of riches for sailing fans, with a cornucopia of events to follow, ranging from offshore yachts around the world to traditional dinghies. Posted on 6 Jan International 14 Perry Pot Series Finale
The fleet had the harbour to themselves on a typically grey December day On a typically grey December day with wind ranging from 8-15 knots, the 14 fleet had the harbour to themselves for the final racing of the Perry Pot series. Posted on 4 Jan International 14 Perry Pot weekend 3
Looked past the December bliss to go sailing! Following a weekend blown away by Storm Bert, the Perry Pot was back again. With the forecast showing a wide range of breeze, a few members of the fleet woke up to a grey and miserable day and thought there were better things to do, like staying inside! Posted on 2 Dec 2024
Copyright 2025 YY Online Services Ltd. registered in England no. 7895890
Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy