2015 International 14 Firecracker at Itchenor SC overall

by Ed Fitzgerald on 5 Nov 2015 2015 International 14 Firecracker – Another weekend, another cracking series of 14 races at the one and only Itchenor Sailing Club. It has been the centre of many International 14 battles over the years and once again over the four races there were some intense (some may prefer to swap this for vocal) battles taking part.

The weekend started well with a decent forecast for Saturday and lighter winds for Sunday. Saturday presented the nine boat fleet with challenging conditions, a 7 to 15 knot easterly with 20 degree wind shifts giving every team a headache. With fickle breeze expected for Sunday, four races were planned. Race one set the tome for the day, with a group of four featuring Katie Nurton/Nigel Ash, Andy Fitzgerald/Dan Holman, Kimball Morrison/Jeremy Fowke and Neale Jones/Ed Fitzgerald all screaming in to the top mark. Jones/Fitzgerald came in just in front of Nurton/Ash, only for the young 'uns to make a complete hash of a simple tack around the mark, to hand the lead to Nurton/Ash. Fitzgerald/Holman saw their opportunity and pounced as Fitzy so often does, sneaking through to leeward as Jones/Fitzgerald put on the reversing lights.

Once amateur hour had finished, Jones/Fitzgerald rounded with Morrison/Fowkes right on their tail heading to the leeward mark. This was where the first of the many course variations showed (something that we will leave to later!). With gusts coming from all angles downwind, choosing the right way proved a challenge, but with experience in abundance Fitzgerald/Holman picked their way around the lulls like a ballerina to end up leading around the leeward mark. They were followed by the recovering Jones/Fitzgerald, Nurton/Ash and Morrison/Fowkes. This lead to the rather controversial second beat that featured a gate; Fitzgerald/Holman lead through the gate followed by Nurton/Ash and Morrison/Fowkes. Jones/Fitzgerald however thought otherwise and went through the start line (very wrong). After much gesticulation they ended up sailing downwind and correcting their error, still sounding very much like their respective parents, they sailed off to try to rejoin the race for the win. The next two laps were a close battle between Nurton/Ash and Fitzgerald/Holman for the lead, culminating on the final downwind with Fitzgerald/Holman overstanding the laymen, making life easy for Nurton/Ash and allowing Jones/Fitzgerald to repay the favour from the first windward mark to sneak through for second.

The second race ended up being a Fitzgerald family feud, with the lead swapping multiple times between Fitzgerald/Holman and Jones/Fitzgerald. By the end, despite still not quite knowing what the right course was, Jones/Fitzgerald managed to sneak it with Andy Penman/Chris Watson in third. After a tough second race, Nurton/Ash came back with a bang, fighting over second was Jones/Fitzgerald and Fitzgerald/Holman. With the latter catching out the young team with their shorter daggerboard on the second downwind, Jones/Fitzgerand hit the bottom and capsized. With Jones/Fitzgerald feeling somewhat incensed by these tactics they set about regaining second with a vengeance, managing to get Fitzgerald/Holman on the final downwind.

By the time the final race came around, it had been a tough day for all the crews, apparently showing the most in the youngest boat... a little awkward! With a strong start from Nurton/Ash, Fitzgerald/Holman and Morrison/Fowkes, they were the leading trio at the top mark. There followed a long battle between the three for the win, with Fitzgerald/Holman showing great stamina to pull away in the final lap, leaving Nurton/Ash in second and Jones/Fitzgerald in third. Sadly the forecast was optimistic for Sunday; with absolutely no wind the racing was abandoned. This left Nurton/Ash as the overall winners, with Jones/Fitzgerald one point behind and Fitzgerald/Holman one point behind them in third.

Full results