International 14 Pornic Cup at Pornic, France

by Charles Duchesne 14 Jun 2005 08:51 BST 3-5 June 2005

The French International 14 fleet welcomed 16 boats from the UK, Switzerland and France to Pornic, on the Atlantic coast, for the 2005 Pornic cup.

Race 1 was held in a freshening southwesterly breeze of about 20 kts. Big courses were the order of the day with the windward mark set on a compass bearing and out of sight. With the exception of the Larkin’s who capsized on the line, the fleet got away cleanly and by the windward mark Patterson/Ash led followed by the swiss team of Schiess/Kanzigg and Duchesne/Broom. A capsize by Patterson on the bear away and a wide rounding by Scheiss allowed Duchesne to gybe immediately after the hoist and break away down the left of the run. Duchesne built up a half a leg lead on the run that he held to the finish. The Larkin’s sailed an impressive race to recover from their pre start swim to take 2nd. The wind continued to build and the race officer postponed all further racing until Saturday.

With Saturday’s slightly later tide and approximately 18kts of breeze the conditions were significantly less demanding at the start of race 2. At the windward mark Duchesne once again led the pack but overstood the leeward mark allowing 6 boats to slip inside. Up the second beat Bridge led but Patterson overtook in Bridges old boat to lead down the second run. Patterson, having overstood the leeward mark on the first lap, overstood again handing the lead back to Bridge. Duchesne recovered from his first lap error to finish 3rd.

By the start of Race 3 the wind had increased to over 20 kts and the tide was starting to turn heralding a return to the wind against tide conditions of the day before. At the windward mark, the leading boats of Duchesne and Bridge who had gone left and right respectively rounded in close order. Down the first run they both went left however Duchesne who made an earlier move extended his lead on Bridge at the Leeward mark. Further back, Patterson and Penman rounded 3rd and 4th chasing hard. Up the final beat Duchesne threw a loose cover on Bridge and rounded the windward mark with 5 length lead which was held to the finish. Further back, the Larkin’s were battling Patterson and Penman for the number 3 slot however on the run the order was settled and Patterson held 3rd with Penman coming in 4th.

Race 4 saw a Colin Smith over the line at the start and in returning to round the committee boat he capsized. Upon righting the boat his crew noted they were low in the water and further investigation showed the inspection hatch to have fallen out and they were indeed sinking. A rescue boat was dispatched to escort them back to the beach. Back in the race the leaders were closing on the windward mark. Leading in from the left Duchesne tacked but capsized allowing Penman/Bastow through into the lead, which they extended on the testing conditions of the run. Bridge, the Larkin’s and Schiess were chasing hard up the second beat but were unable to make inroads into the lead held by Penman. The Larkin’s rounded the leeward mark 2nd however their 2 sail gybe left them wide of the mark and low for the finishing line. Bridge trawled his kite opening the door for Duchesne to slip though into 3rd. On the short reach to the finish, Duchesne footed away for speed over the top of the Larkin’s following their wide rounding to take 2nd behind Penman.

After 3 races in the strong conditions, the sailors were glad of the opportunity to come ashore for a rest before the event dinner at a seafood restaurant close to the club. Once again many of the fleet partied until the early morning.

Sunday dawned with conditions could not have been more removed from the previous 2 days. In the light winds, the fleet split once again with half going inshore on the promise of less foul tide and the other half staying out in what seemed to be better pressure. By the windward mark Dann, Bridge and the Larkin’s were closely bunched and a demanding run followed. Peter Dann, having broken his foil mechanism when striking a particularly aggressive jellyfish, lost out on the lead however he worked the shore hard on the next beat and wriggled back past Bridge. Downwind however the broken rudder was too much of a brake and both Bridge and the Larkin’s breezed though to claim 1st and 2nd.

The series was going to be close once the discard was applied. Bridge now had two 1st’s, one 2nd and a 4th however Duchesne had just squeaked to victory with two 1st’s, one 2nd and a 3rd. The prizes were lavish with every competitor receiving a prize and the leaders getting enough fittings, ropes and accessories to fit out a new 14 from scratch!!! All in all a very well run regatta in a fantastic venue and one which the 14’s will return to in future years, hopefully with more local competitors. There was even talk of a French hosted European championship in the not too distant future.

Overall Results:

1st GBR 1495, Jungle Fever, DUCHESNE Charles & BROOM Will 7pts
2nd GBR 1505, Granny in Disguise, BRIDGE Roddy & LEWIS Toby 8pts
3rd GBR 1499, LARKIN Matthew & LARKIN Geoff 12pts
4th GBR 1479, SP/White Hare, PENMAN Andreww & BASTOW Tim 13pts
5th GBR 1426, Demolition Gran, PATTISON Douglas & ASH Nigel 17pts