Pinnell makes a fast start

the International 14 PoW week is being lead by Ian Pinnell as the fleet prepares for the PoW Cup

Ian Pinnell and Ian Mitchell are leading the International 14 Prince of Wales Week after a very strong first day on Weymouth Bay yesterday. In the first race Martin and Neale Jones were leading up the final windward leg, but had failed to log the change of course to a new mark, allowing Pinnell and Mitchell to take the Pinnell & Bax boat across the line in first place, followed by Hyde Sails sailed by Mike Lennon and Andy Rice.

In race two, The Pinnell & Bax team made a strong bid for the right hand side of the course and took an early and comfortable lead around the course. Jones father and son team were lying second but were pipped to second on the final gybe to the finish by Hyde Sails. The first two races were for the Lowestoft Bowl, so Pinnell and Mitchell won with perfect scores.

In race three another father/son combo, Damon and Alan Roberts found awesome pace up the first beat to lead around the first mark, and despite many others snapping at their heels, held on for a famous victory to take the Hunstanton Plate. Spinnaker retrieval problems for Lennon and Rice saw them relinquish second place in the latter stages, allowing Andy and Tom Partington (yes, another father/son team) to grab second, with Pinnell and Mitchell playing catch-up to take third place just ahead of Hyde Sails.

Overall, after three races, Pinnell and Mitchell lead the series, followed by Lennon ans Rice and the Partingtons.

Today, however, is the Prince of Wales Cup, the one-race, do-or-die battle for the International 14 National Championships. Yesterday, in many sailors' eyes, was merely a day of three practice races.