International 14 Prince of Wales Cup at Exe Sailing Club
by Neale Jones 13 May 2018 07:16 BST
12 May 2018
International 14 Prince of Wales Cup Week at Exe © Tom Hurley /
www.devondigital.co.uk
Saturday 12th May dawned with a rather uninspiring forecast and cold overcast skies for the International 14 Prince of Wales Cup. For those that are not familiar, the International 14 National Championship is decided on a single race which must consist of six laps, three triangles and three windward leeward legs, with a target time of two hours.
Principle Race Officer, the legendary Phil Morrison, held the fleet ashore in hope that the clouds would clear and a sea breeze would arrive, which slowly but surely filled to a relatively steady 5 to 7 knots.
The fleet got away cleanly with the early front runner, Andy Fitz and Richard Dobson, hitting the right hand side, but come the windward mark Dan Holman & Damo Ash had a slender lead over Neale Jones & Ed Fitz who made the best of the left hand side.
The breeze was shifting around with some real snakes and ladders to be found on the course. Unfortunately for Dan Holman he found the snake of the day to drop back to 10th up the second beat while Douglas Pattison fired in from the right.
Over laps three and four Jones & Fitzgerald managed to maintain control after a flurry of attacks from Archie Massey. With the tussle ensuing this allowed the Partingtons, who had made steady progress through the fleet, to join the battle for the lead.
The last two laps were a one-on-one duel between the Partingtons and Jones & Fitz. As the race was reaching the two hour mark Jones and Fitz managed to reach the windmark first for the last triangle leg without relinquishing the lead, effectively ending the Partingtons surprise challenge in a light wind affair, to take a well deserved victory.
A historic family victory for the fleet young guns who now can join the exclusive list of winning the POW trophy, along with both their fathers.
Here is the low-down of the first six places and the kit used. Five different hull designs, many different sail makers and foil combinations!
Prince of Wales Cup Results: (top six)
1st - Neale Jones and Ed Fitzgerald
Hollom hull, Selden rig, Lennon sails, Composite Craft foils
2nd - Andy and Tom Partington
B6 hull, Selden rig, Lennon sails, Tingtong foils
3rd - Archie Massey and Harvey Hillary
Holman, CST rig, Alexander sails, Composite Craft / Woody
4th Katie Nurton and Nigel Ash
Hollom, Selden rig, North Sails, Composite Craft
5th Andy Shaw and Rob Struckett
Tingtong Hull, C-Tech rig, Lennon Sails, Woofy / Synergy Marine
6th Douglas Pattison and Mark Tait
B5, Selden rig, Lennon Sails / Sailtech Sails, Woofy foils