Vintage and Classic International 14 open meeting at Rickmansworth Sailing Club
by Alastair Wilson 27 May 09:02 BST
16-17 May 2026
Vintage and Classic International 14 open meeting at Rickmansworth © Vinny Francis
Eleven boats, made up of seven classics and four vintage came to Rickmansworth SC to take part in a three race series including a main trophy race sailed over two days. The Saturday was shared with a Firefly open meeting with 25 boats competing, so a busy schedule for the host club.
A good mix of ages, boats as well as people with seven visitors coming from as far away as North Wales and Cornwall. A number of new faces and some boats that had not been seen racing for a while all made for an exciting combination.
Inland sailing has its challenges and Rickmansworth served up good winds with gusts that tested the best of the fleet and even capsized a few. Anyone expecting the racing to be gentle was in for a surprise with start lines hotly contested and close racing throughout the fleet. Everyone had their moment in the spotlight.
However one boat set the pace for the weekend and Ian Marshall & Lyndon Beasley sailing Aquavit K1048 took the Rickmansworth Trophy win giving a master class in race craft, but they had to work for their well-deserved win. Second place was a local boat Swansong K1053 sailed by Paul Hills & Lucy Madley sailing a Classic 14 for the first time. Third was Phantom K1136 sailed by Brian Willmott & Matt Ej.
As winners of the main Rickmansworth trophy are excluded from winning the series, K935 Seawitch sailed by Sam & James Vaughan took home the series transom trophy.
Once again Rickmansworth Sailing Club served up a warm welcome, lunch, chilli on Saturday evening, and excellent cakes off the water and exciting racing on the water. A big thank you to PRO Jonathan Carter and his team for their work on the water and all those involved in the organisation of a great weekend.
Overall Results: (* indicates Vintage, not Classic)
| Pos | Boat Name | Sail No | R1 | R2 | R3 |
|---|
| 1 | Aquavit | K1048 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Phantom | K1136 | 8 | 4 | 3 |
| 3 | Seawitch | K935 | 9 | 2 | 4 |
| 4 | Billabong | K885 | 2 | 10 | 5 |
| 5 | Swansong | K1053 | 4 | DNS | 2 |
| 6 | Bare Necessities | K1113 | 5 | 8 | 6 |
| 7 | Daring | K201* | 3 | 5 | DNS |
| 8 | Pirate | K378* | 6 | 6 | RTD |
| 9 | Snoggledog | K996 | RTD | 3 | RTD |
| 10 | Uladh | K243* | 7 | 9 | DNS |
| 11 | Tiercel | K363* | DNS | 7 | RTD |