Hamlin, McNicol clinch I-14 world title

by Rich Roberts on 16 Sep 2006 Howard Hamlin and Euan McNicol can sleep in late Saturday because the only item on their schedule is the awards dinner on the Queen Mary Saturday night. The Long Beach skipper and his Australian crew don't plan to sail the seventh and last race after locking up the International 14 Class World Championship Friday.

Third place behind Tina Baylis and husband/crew Trevor Baylis and 17-year-old Samuel (Shark) Kahn and crew Paul Allen made them mathematically unbeatable.

The victory was remarkable in that this was only the winners' third I-14 regatta, although both have enjoyed big careers sailing other kinds of skiffs. Hamlin, 53, has won world titles in the 18ft Skiff and 505 classes and just this summer has collected other crowns in the European 18s, the 18 Skiff International Regatta at San Francisco and the I-14 U.S. Nationals on these waters last month, as well as his sixth second in the 505 Worlds. McNicol is also an 18 Skiff world champion.

Over dinner one night last year McNicol, 30, talked Hamlin, 53, into racing an I-14, which is a skittish handful in any conditions.

'He didn't have to talk very hard,' Hamlin said. 'I'd sailed against Euan for 10 years and have my highest regard for him. I was honored that he wanted me to do it with him. I thought we'd be competitive.'

To say the least. They could have finished eighth Friday, but that would have been far off the pace they set all week with successive scores of 1-4-2-2-2-3 in a full range of conditions, allowing them to spend their discard by taking Saturday off. Friday it blew 15 knots, with puffs to 17.

McNicol said, 'Training together and getting to know each other better, I learned that Howie thinks in the same clear and direct way I do, and I'm at the stage where I have to sail with people of the highest caliber.'

With the wind back up after two light air days, Kahn and Allen found their groove again to move from fifth place back up to third, five points behind the Baylises. In fact, they led for most of the race until the final tack for the finish when they stalled, allowing their fellow Santa Cruz competitors to tack on top of them and win by about 10 seconds.

'He had kelp on his rudder and almost capsized,' Tina Baylis said. 'I thought, hey, we can tack here and have a boat race.'

Their finishing smiles were almost as bright as Hamlin's and McNicol's.

Stronger wind also meant the usual toll in capsizes and dropouts. Of 71 entries, 64 started and 56 finished.

The last race Saturday will start at 1 p.m., conditions permitting.

Supporting sponsors for the International 14 World Championship are West Marine Products, Ronstan, North Sails, Glaser Sails, Irwin Sails, SailingProShop.com, Magic Marine, Acqua di Gio Georgio Armani, Shackle Dog and Labatt's.

STANDINGS (71 boats; after 6 of 7 races):-

1 67 1168 USA Howard Hamlin Euan McNicol 1.0 4.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 3.0 10.0pts
2 04 600 CAN Tina Bayliss Trevor Baylis OCS 5.0 5.0 3.0 5.0 1.0 19.0
3 62 1173 USA Samuel 'Shark' Kahn Paul Allen 5.0 2.0 1.0 14.0 14.0 2.0 24.0
4 42 1519 GBR Archie Massey George Nurton OCS 9.0 12.0 1.0 1.0 4.0 27.0
5 63 1498 GBR Michael Lennon Jon Blackburn 4.0 8.0 3.0 5.0 19.0 8.0 28.0
6 56 1163 USA Kris Bundy Jamie Hanseler 3.0 25.0 7.0 6.0 4.0 10.0 30.0
7 07 631 AUS Lindsay Irwin Andrew Penny 9.0 1.0 9.0 11.0 11.0 6.0 36.0
8 58 1524 GBR James Fawcett Dave Dobrijevic 8.0 6.0 DNF 7.0 6.0 9.0 36.0
9 73 1526 GBR Robert Greenhalgh Dan Johnson OCS 7.0 4.0 8.0 18.0 5.0 42.0
10 40 640 AUS Grant Geddes Daniel Wilsdon OCS 3.0 11.0 9.0 13.0 11.0 47.0
11 37 1520 GBR Katie Nurton Nigel Ash 2.0 DNS 19.0 4.0 3.0 23.0 51.0
12 01 592 CAN Bruce Edwards John Vincze 12.0 10.0 8.0 13.0 12.0 DNC 55.0
13 21 637 AUS Brad Devine Denis Paul Jones 24.0 11.0 6.0 10.0 25.0 7.0 58.0
14 52 639 AUS David Alexander John Bannister 11.0 15.0 13.0 15.0 9.0 15.0 63.0
15 55 597 CAN Fred Eaton Jason Lemieux 7.0 20.0 27.0 12.0 7.0 18.0 64.0
16 43 1522 GBR Ian Turnbull Adam Ovington 10.0 DNF 14.0 18.0 10.0 12.0 64.0
17 24 638 AUS Alex Newman Derek Layfield 16.0 18.0 15.0 16.0 8.0 27.0 73.0
18 11 625 AUS David Hayter Matthew Johnston 17.0 13.0 10.0 34.0 33.0 13.0 86.0
19 09 644 USA Stewart Vickery Matt Balmer 25.0 16.0 18.0 19.0 16.0 17.0 86.0
20 38 1512 GBR Jarrod Simpson David Cunningham 14.0 17.0 20.0 20.0 30.0 16.0 87.0
21 59 1164 USA Kris Henderson Matt Noble 6.0 27.0 24.0 17.0 32.0 24.0 98.0
22 20 1505 GBR Roddy Bridge Lewis Toby OCS 14.0 16.0 28.0 23.0 19.0 100.0
23 39 1150 USA Ron Boehm Peter Mohler 15.0 21.0 23.0 22.0 21.0 25.0 102.0
24 23 1159 USA Steve Goodson Alan Diercks 22.0 19.0 21.0 41.0 27.0 14.0 103.0
25 68 1504 AUS Grant Rollerson Simon Nearn 26.0 12.0 17.0 29.0 36.0 20.0 104.0
26 50 593 CAN Christian Pavey Billy Gooderham 20.0 28.0 25.0 23.0 22.0 22.0 112.0
27 10 1161 USA Brad Ruetenik Patrick Murray 21.0 24.0 31.0 21.0 34.0 30.0 127.0
28 22 1479 GBR Andrew Penman Jason Merron OCS 23.0 30.0 30.0 17.0 32.0 132.0
29 06 214 GER Axel Reinsch Joern Schulze 19.0 DNF 29.0 26.0 29.0 33.0 136.0
30 19 1137 USA Ted Rogers Tim Burna 13.0 29.0 36.0 33.0 31.0 35.0 141.0
31 02 1147 USA Paul Galvez Leon de la Barra 27.0 26.0 28.0 32.0 28.0 DNF 141.0
32 36 590 CAN Peter Hayward Matthew Lusty 34.0 22.0 26.0 35.0 38.0 26.0 143.0
33 25 1480 GBR Matthew Critchley Dion Houghton 23.0 31.0 38.0 38.0 DSQ 29.0 159.0
34 08 1525 GBR Charles Tavner Edward Clay 28.0 DNF DNC 25.0 15.0 21.0 161.0
35 34 1148 USA Tracy Smith Ezra Smith 32.0 41.0 DNF 24.0 24.0 42.0 163.0
36 35 587 CAN Andrew Yates John Curtis 18.0 DNS DNF 27.0 20.0 37.0 174.0
37 28 1111 USA Lawrence Henderson Kurt Schmidt 35.0 DNS 33.0 43.0 39.0 28.0 178.0
38 54 88 GER Peter Roocks Timo Wigger 38.0 DNF 34.0 31.0 44.0 31.0 178.0
39 45 584 CAN Chris Leigh Nick Searle 29.0 36.0 41.0 36.0 43.0 51.0 185.0
40 27 1149 USA Steven Grimes Brad Cole 33.0 DNS 22.0 46.0 RDGb RDGb 187.6
41 47 1169 USA Kurt Lahr Chris Ganne 31.0 DNS 39.0 39.0 49.0 34.0 192.0
42 46 553 AUS Ed Blackman Oliver Merz 46.0 30.0 32.0 50.0 61.0 43.0 201.0
43 03 1167 USA Kirk Twardowski Tony Basso 47.0 DNF 44.0 40.0 35.0 36.0 202.0
44 17 1143 USA Rand Arnold Gary Gremaux 42.0 33.0 42.0 51.0 45.0 41.0 203.0
45 48 115 JPN Yoshihisa Fujii Tatsuhito Kawanishi 39.0 40.0 37.0 47.0 52.0 47.0 210.0
46 53 604 CAN Leith Shenstone Dave Bradley 37.0 32.0 DNF 57.0 48.0 38.0 212.0
47 72 1153 USA Harold von Sydow Justin Doyle 40.0 34.0 DNF 45.0 50.0 44.0 213.0
48 31 111 JPN Kenichi Hagiwara Satoshi Ishida 30.0 43.0 DNF 49.0 40.0 54.0 216.0
49 32 106 JPN Takashi Furugaki Yasunobo Yanagisaw OCS 38.0 46.0 48.0 41.0 46.0 219.0
50 26 1477 GBR Paul Ravenyill Dough Walker 36.0 DNF 35.0 42.0 37.0 DNF 222.0
51 33 112 JPN Kensuke Kita Takao Wahino 43.0 39.0 43.0 54.0 64.0 48.0 227.0
52 49 1160 USA Andrew Bates Richard Argall 53.0 42.0 40.0 56.0 51.0 45.0 231.0
53 29 602 CAN Ryan Hulsker Michael Leitch 49.0 DNF 47.0 44.0 46.0 53.0 239.0
54 16 628 AUS Philip Strong Jeffre Klemm 54.0 DNF 45.0 52.0 55.0 40.0 246.0
55 70 594 CAN Michael Smits Christopher Johnston OCS DNS DNF 37.0 26.0 55.0 262.0
56 13 1144 USA Alan Laflin Eric Arens 44.0 35.0 DNF 62.0 54.0 DNC 267.0
57 15 1438 GBR Peter Lloyd Martin Robb 51.0 37.0 DNF DNC 42.0 DNC 274.0
58 05 1156 USA Gregory Mitchell David Berntsen OCS DNS DNF 53.0 47.0 39.0 283.0
59 51 603 CAN Doug Ranahan Christian Dechamplain 45.0 DNF DNF 58.0 59.0 50.0 284.0
60 71 1151 USA Joel Truher Stanl