B14 blast

The B14 World Championship is underway at Restronguet Sailing Club, UK

The seventh B14 World Championships, hosted by Restronguet Sailing Club in Cornwall kicked off in fantastic sailing conditions for the first two races on Monday 9 July. A north-westerly 15-20 knots coming off the Falmouth shoreline produced relatively flat water but shifts of 20 degrees. The conditions were perfect for the B14 skiffs with upwind planning and a full on blast downwind.

Following the surprise PRO Ian Fraser had at the speed of the boats in the practice race he extended the course to one nautical mile and four laps. Even then the leading boats were finishing in 45 minutes showing just how electric the sailing was.

In race one the charge up the first beat saw those who had hit the left and right corners converging together with the top 12 boats together. Early leaders Mark Watts and Tim Rogers succumbed to leading Australian challenger, Guy ‘Bangers’ Bancroft and James Patterson who held the lead for a couple of laps. 2004 World Champions Tim Fells and
Shaun Barber were slowly picking their way through the fleet and hit the front on the final lap extending to win by 100 metres. Mark Barnes and Pete Nicholson did remarkably well to recover from a capsize near the last leeward gate to finish second ahead of Bancroft and Patterson and Chris Bines and Dave Gibbon.

The second race was a repeat of the first with Fells and Barber hitting the left corner and arriving at the first mark together with Bines and Gibbon who had gone hard right. Over the next three laps Fells and Barber continued to play the left and steadily pulled out a comfortable lead to the finish. Bines and Gibbon persisted with the right and dropped back into traffic but managed to pull through on the last run to take second ahead of Watts and Rogers and leading Australians Ian and Scott Cunningham and Bancroft and Patterson.

With a forecast for the breeze to hold up all week everything is set for an adrenalin packed regatta.

Results:

1-GBR 773 (AT&T), Tim Fells and Shaun Barber, 2pts
2-GBR 775 (CSC), Chris Bines and Dave Gibbons, 6pts
3-GBR 772 (Ince & Co), Mark Watts and Stig Rogers, 8pts
4-AUS 373 (Bone Works), Guy Bancroft and James Patterson, 8pts
5-GBR 768 (Seavolution), Mark Barnes and Pete Nicholson, 10pts
6-AUS 370 (The Plumbers), Ian and Scott Cunningham, 10pts
7-GBR 757 (MJF), Dave Hayes and Rich Bell, 14pts
8-AUS 374, Kelvin Boyle and Rhys Bancroft, 18pts
9-AUS 369, (Craftsman Homes) Adrian Beswick and Josh Phillips, 18pts
10-GBR 753, Alan Davis and Toby Barsley-Dale, 19pts