International 14 Prince of Wales Cup Week at Tynemouth Sailing Club - Day 2

International 14 Prince of Wales Week at Tynemouth Day 2 © Caroline Gosford

International 14 Prince of Wales Week at Tynemouth Day 2 © Caroline Gosford

Another day, another taster for the big event. The single race shootout starts tomorrow!

Coming from Restronguet SC in Cornwall, we are the feather weight pairing of Liam Stacpoole and Wayne 'Bam Bam' Barnicoat sailing the self built Cuckoos nest design 'the red boat' 1568.

We have sailed together in our boat since finishing it for our home POW in Falmouth 2019. Having pretty much sailed on our own for the past 4/5 years we always love few opportunities we get a year to line up against other 14s and the relatively short three and a bit hour drive to Weymouth is our first opportunity this year to see how we are going. The lively forecast for the week has been a little bit daunting however it does offer us the opportunity to bust out our small sails 'chicken sails' and have a blast. So far we have surprised ourselves and sit higher up in the fleet than normal even given the bigger breeze of today. For any of the smaller crews out there a smaller mainsail really helps! Looks like much of the rest of the week will be the same so fingers crossed we can keep it up.

After day 1 provided champagne sailing for everyone the forecast promised a rather different affair with 20knts plus and increasing as the day went on. A wise decision the day before was taken by the race team to bring racing forward an hour to make the most of the time before the wind was due to ramp up.

There were definitely some nervous sailors in the dinghy park (myself very much included). The prospect of battling 20knts plus was not appealing to all and a number of teams elected to give it a miss. With the strong wind blowing through the dinghy park It was a day for those who had them to put up their 'chicken sails'. Smaller jibs and in our case a smaller main were selected in anticipation for what was ahead of us.

Time to launch! And there we have the first proper challenge of the day. Getting of the slipway with a perfect offshore breeze proved challenging for many of us and trying to get the boats to bear away and not sail back up the slipway took some skill and a bit of luck. There were some capsizes and some that had a couple of attempts. For us this was probably the toughest part of the day that resulted in a rather challenging body drag holding onto a foot loop and the tiller desperately trying to keep the boat bearing away and not wrecking into the wall on the left. Another 5 seconds and my arms would have given in but the boat just turned away enough to drag myself over the transom.

International 14 Prince of Wales Week at Tynemouth Day 2 - photo © Caroline Gosford

Once out of the harbour the 12 boats that ventured out were met with a slightly lighter breeze than anticipated and race one got under way in 15-16 knts gusting 20knts Windward Leeward 2 laps. It was the usual suspects at the front with Glen and Ed 1553 narrowly leading Andy and Rob 1569 at the windward mark. The first Downwind ride was a wild one and thankfully being inside the sound we had flat water as any decent sea when hammering along at 18knts + would have inevitably ended in disaster for many. Glen and Ed held onto 1st place by 10 seconds with Andy and Rob in second and Martin and Harry 1567 solid as ever in third. All 12 boats finished the race.

Race 2 was to be a 3 lapper as the wind had backed off a fraction. Again it was the usual couple up front joined by Andy and Tom Partington 1559. By the end of the race the breeze was peaking. Andy and Rob took this one from Glen and Ed. An unfortunate Breakage took third away From the Partingtons right before the finish allowing the Big Northern new comers to the fleet Danny Boatman and Bill Maughan 1565 to their first podium spot in third having only sailed their 14 less than a handful of times!

International 14 Prince of Wales Week at Tynemouth Day 2 - photo © Caroline Gosford

The wind was really peaking after race 2 and we were asked if we wanted another race. Having had a pretty successful day so far keeping the stick in the air, our answer was a definite 'NO' as we were cooked and sitting on two keepers. However unsure of what was going to happen the Class flag went up and we were in for a third one. Thankfully only 2 laps! It turned out to be a fantastic call from the race committee who have be faultless so far as the wind backed off a bit and we had another cracking race. Good battles were had all the way through the pack with 10 boats sticking it out for the last race of the day and all finishing.

Today definitely turned out allot better than expected for most. 3 snappy, quality races with a great job from the race committee who have who have made the right call on every occasion. For us in the red boat 1568 it was just great to keep the stick pointing up and not get kicked out of the back of the pack. We had some good battles and some good luck at points. Thanks to all those who binned it on the last gybe in the second one! It was a nice to feel that its is possible to get these boats going in breeze even weighing in at the perfect weight for a 29er. Long live the chicken sails.

Caroline on the Race Committee Boat:

Race 4, 12 boats started, 15-16 gusting 20 kts. WL 2 laps, 1553 narrowly lead at Ww1 from 1569, epic downwind jousting with both overstanding gate and 2 sailing in. Close up 2nd beat, 1553 won from 1569 by 10 seconds, with 1567 a distant 3rd. All 12 finished,

Race 5, 14 boats started slightly less breeze 14-16knots, WL 3 laps ckear start 1569 leading top mark just ahead of fast charging 1559 and 1553. 1569 held lead to lw gate with 1553 and 1559 close pursuit.lap 2 breeze picked up and lead boat stretched away followed by 1553 and 1559. Coming to finish 1569 followed by 1553, 1559 was lying 3rd when rudder failed close to finish ending their day, leaving 1565 to pick up their first podium. 13 boats finished some with the aid of W flag!

Race 6, 10 boats started WL 2 Laps I. Wind built to fairly steady 17-18 knots. 1553 lead at 1st mark and built a good lead to finish ahead of 1569 as the breeze dropped off a bit. 1565 collected another podium with 1567 in 4th and 1572 5th. Congrats to the 10 boats that finished all 3 races!

Results after Day 2: