Interview with Jack Hawkins ahead of International 14 Prince of Wales Cup Week

49er sailors Jack Hawkins and Chris Thomas are trying an International 14 © RYA

With the International 14 POW week fast approaching we took a moment to sit down with Jack Hawkins, a 49er sailor within Team GB who, alongside his crew Chris Thomas, will be doing his first Prince of Wales Cup Week having borrowed a boat from a generous fleet member. This event will also be extra special for them being in their home waters.

This will be your first PoW, how are you feeling about it?

This will be my first PoW, we are pretty excited to get going hopefully we have enough time to get our head around the boat as there are slightly more ropes to pull than our 49er and the style of sailing is very different. I'm hoping that we are sailing well but we will have to see in the first race on Monday, either way it's pretty cool and exciting.

Also, a massive thank you to everyone who has enabled us to take part in the week.

Have you sailed a 14 before?

I have never raced the 14 however my crew Chris has. It will be a good experience to do it together. It will also be a good way to test and learn new skills.

How easy do you think it will be to transfer your skill from the 49er into the 14?

Hopefully the tactics will be a straight swap over. Rig knowledge and our boat handling should help us too; however we have found the boat very different to the 49er.

49er sailors Jack Hawkins and Chris Thomas are trying an International 14 - photo © RYA

You must know these waters very well, how does it feel to be doing a championship at your home venue?

We haven't got to sail at home for a long time but its still one of our favourite places to sail in the world. Nice and shifty inside and it can get pretty big outside in the bay. We have always found the Carrick Roads challenging, rewarding and a major part of our learning process.

Any tips for competitors?

Hold on as it can get pretty windy and lumpy! But mostly enjoy the sailing as it's a beautiful place to sail.

Could you see this as a class to get into once you've finished with 49er sailing?

After sailing the boat a handful of times the week prior to the regatta I can see why you could fall in love with the 14. I also like the idea of the open development of the class. As its really exciting to see different and experimental ideas that people come up with and how that affects the way the boat sails. The T-foil is a clear example of that. So I guess we will have to see how we enjoy the week of racing, you never know you might see again us next year.

49er sailors Jack Hawkins and Chris Thomas are trying an International 14 - photo © RYA