Fourteens Forever - and ever?

The Daily Sail catches up with two people in the know

If you missed last weeks article on recent developments in the International 14 class you can click here. Do take note that it was published on April 1st.

Although a little far fetched (bungy launching the boat to 100 knots) it does make the point that if any class were to attempt such shenanigans it would be the 14s. To help set the record straight in terms of what is really happening in the class The Daily Sail caught up with Victor Brellisford and Colin Smith (UK Class President and World Secretary respectively) at the recent Sailboat Show. Victor had this early point to make, “the 14 is the oldest class at the show, but the 14 is actually the most technologically advanced of any of the classes, in terms of the materials used, the design and the construction.”


Victor Brellisford (left) and Colin Smith

Having it's roots way back in the 30s the International 14 remains a true development class at the forefront of small boat thinking and technology. The 1996 amalgamation of the International 14 and the Aussie 14 foot skiff has now enabled the class to grow in numbers and stature as the benefits of this marriage are now bearing fruit.

The two classes at the time were converging on a very similar solution to their two separate rules. Although there were some differences in principle dimensions in various areas, the performance of the two fleets at the 1997 Worlds in San Francisco was very similar. A number of rule changes were brought in to help unify the fleet and now, six years on, the second hand market has plenty of competitive boats in it, and this is seen as a very important stage for the class.

Rule changes for the foreseeable future are likely to be fairly piecemeal as the class are keen to avoid this type of disruption again. The latest development to be voted through was T-foil rudders and Victor suggests that the weight of the boat could be the next up for class to consider. “If you were to try and put another metre on the rig the chances of you getting this through are zero. I anticipate that at some point in the future we will go lighter, but by that time so many boats will have lead in them that it won’t actually create too much of a problem with the fleet.”

Owners of the latest boats want to look after their investment by not making them obsolete with a change in the rules. As Colin points out this is sometimes a tricky path to keep on. “Our role is probably to keep developing. But we are a class that is managed by the people in it and the thing is always how to manage the speed of development.”

The 14 sits in a environment where the sailors drive the market. There’s nothing stopping you converting the garage and building your own 14. However if you don’t want to spend the winter covered in carbon dust there are two main builders of the boat in the UK. These are Ovingtons and RMW Marine (who build the Niner and RS ranges respectively), so you can turn up and buy a brand new package straight off the shelf if you wanted.

Ovington are building the Bieker 4, which is a development of the Bieker 3 to take into account how the rudder hydrofoils have changed aspects of the 14 sailing technique. If you’re after a Morrison 10, then you can buy a complete boat for £10,500 (+VAT) from RMW Marine. Orders have also been taken for the Bieker 3J, which is specifically designed for lighter crew weights and has been popular with Japanese sailors.


A RMW Morrison 10, yours for £10,500

In all there are nine countries on the World Council, the main fleets being in the USA, UK, Australia, Germany and Japan. This is the main aspect of Colin’s role, pulling together the views from all the different countries and deciding on whether to go wider or use hydrofoils - for example, there is an Australian boat that has full hydrofoils (a la April 1st). Colin explains: “Historically people from different countries have different priorities. Historically the Americans have always been very development orientated”. The American fleet are also very Corinthian in their approach too and that is why the class does not actively seek sponsors for events, adds Victor, “In America they don’t really want to have to go sailing with a big sticker on their boat advertising something that they may not be interested in.”

Having big active fleets in these different parts of the world ensures a good selection of venues for the World Championships. Previous venues have been Bermuda, San Francisco and Melbourne, future venues include Japan and Auckland.

The Prince of Wales Trophy and the Europeans are to be held 7-13 June at the newly refurbished Hayling Island sailing Club. Last year's event was held in Falmouth, with 70 boats in attendance. This year the entry is expected to be higher. The UK programme is weighted towards earlier in the year, as the 15-16 boats going to the Worlds in Japan have to be in the container by July.

A warm welcome awaits the sailors in Wakayama towards the end of August, as Colin explains, “the Japanese have been sailing their boats for a long time. They have always made the effort to come to the Worlds. They are very enthusiastic, but they haven’t won anything yet.”

Victor is keen to point out the work that Colin has done to fully incorporate the Japanese in the World Council. With a slight grin he explains how Jeremy Pudney (Colin’s predecessor, and 14 stalwart) looked after the Japanese contingent; “When Jeremy was class secretary the Japanese just tended to say ‘whatever Mr.Pudney thinks, we’ll go along with.’ Whereas now they are very much taking a more active role in making their own decisions and have now come out from under the Pudney wing."

A feature of the World Championship is the team racing event that precedes it. This has been a significant feature of the class and the team racing used to be the World Championship itself. In the 70s the class adopted a standard fleet race to determine the World Champion but has kept the team racing as an integral element pre-Worlds. Victor, a university team racer at heart, describes the 14 team approach: “It’s such a laugh, there are no prizes for it. I think one year someone did try to present something for winning the team racing but it got thrown away or lost or something, because traditionally nothing is given for winning - it’s just for valour.”

We finish by talking about the various merits of holding a major regatta in Japan, the idea of sushi for lunch doesn’t go down too well but there is certainly going to be plenty of good quality lager and very welcoming hosts. Any pre-determined opinions you may have about the Japanese can be easily quashed by the characters involved in the Japanese 14 fleet, Victor swings the lantern on this one:

"On the last night of the team racing there is always some sort of skit and entertainment. A couple of years ago, one of their guys stripped down and only had a towel around himself, and as he wandered around the tables he would take his towel off and another of the Japanese would light his pubes, and he would go ‘Oooowww Yaa’, put them out and then go onto another table a repeat the display. It was just so funny, I mean, what the hell are they on? So if they have done that at the team racing dinner, what the hell is going to happen at the Worlds?"

Sailors are sailors, wherever they come from…