International Prince of Wales Cup Week - Runners & Riders

Katie Nurton & Nigel Ash (1557) and Neale Jones & Ed Fitzgerald (1555) during the 2016 Prince of Wales Cup © VR Sport Media

International 14 Prince of Wales Cup Week at Exe © Tom Hurley / www.devondigital.co.uk

International 14 Prince of Wales Cup Week at Exe © Tom Hurley / www.devondigital.co.uk

26th - 30th August signals the International 14s trip to Falmouth, having held the nationals in this patch of water a few times, and there is a sense of excitement in the fleet knowing the sort of conditions we can get.

POW Week and the Prince of Wales Cup race are always hotly contested and this year is no different. We have six International 14 World Champions, a handful of European Champions and more National Champions than you can shake a stick at!

The event will also feature four Ovington Beiker 6 production boats. This is Ovington's latest foray into the 14 fleet and thus far has had a great reception with a World Championship, second at the Europeans and all of the boats seeming to get faster every sail. It is truly an off-the-shelf package to get you at the front of the fleet! This will also be the first nationals which will be included in the International 14 ranking!

So, down to the runners and riders:

• Neale & Ed
  Current European & National Champions, so far 'the kids' have had a good year, leading the rankings but being caught by a few other boats so looking over their shoulders.

• Andy & Tom
  Current 14 World Champions, not much more needs to be said about the longest standing team in the fleet. They know the boat and they know each other but will a lack of practice this year be their undoing? One thing is for sure, they will be there or there abouts!

• Archie & Harvey
  Having had a tricky time with their green boat, they have found a new lease of life with the new production Ovington Beiker 6. The boat has been fast out of the box and having pushed 'the kids' all the way at the Europeans, they will be looking for one better.

• Dan & Alex
  Le Cheval Noir has shown great pace in patches this year and my spies tell me he has been tinkering further. Super-fast but sometimes inconsistent, they will be ones to watch for the PoW Cup race!

• Andy Fitz & Rich Dobson
  Another production Beiker 6 which will have only sailed a handful of times before the event, however it seems to not have any teething issues and looks beautiful. Because of secret squirrel training nobody has sailed against them yet but with the experience of Mr Fitz it won't be long before they are on the pace!

• Jack Hawkins & Chris Thomas
  Having managed to borrow a boat for the event this 49er team are chomping at the bit for their first PoW Week and as the icing on the cake it's on their home waters! They are complete unknowns having never sailed the boat but obviously being incredibly well-practised in the 49er.

• The battle of the locals!
  Our local competitors know the waters around Falmouth better than anyone else and have been gearing up for the event, with excellent boat prep and time on the water hopefully paying off for the teams. Peter Crockford & Tom Stackpole in their cuckoo's nest design have been going well and newcomers Jack Elsby-Hartman & Hugo Helene will be taking part in their first PoW. There are also rumours of Liam Stackpole's new boat being ready in time for the event, however time will tell.

Liam Catchpole's new International 14 in build - photo © Liam Catchpole

Socials

• Sunday 25th 1900 welcome drinks reception
• Wednesday 28th 1900 AGM followed by BBQ
• Friday 30th 1930 Prize giving dinner

Rankings

The Ranking system is hotting up for this event with a huge opportunity to pick up points with both the week and the race counting for points. The battle for the podium spots is fierce, all of the top 6 could in theory get into the podium spots in just this week if results go correctly.