Pink and McGrane claim PoW week

Racing held for the International 14s after two days lost due to strong winds

After two days lost due to too much wind and the PoW race yesterday, the series races for the International 14s were reduced to three short races on Sunday in Hayling Bay. After a delay for a broken down rescue boat the fleet set out into 18 knots of wind and a typical Hayling Bay chop, though there were fewer big waves than the day before.

The first race, for the Lowestoft Bowl was won by Jon Pink, who had ably stepped into fill Roger Gilbert’s shoes, and Ben McGrane. Tom Heywood and Ed Clay were second followed by Andy FitzGerald and Lieth Shenstone.

In the second race Jon and Ben led in from the left of the first beat, closely followed by visiting Germans Georg Borkenstein and Eike Dietrich and Tom and Ed. Downwind both Jon and Ben and Tom and Ed fell in on the gybe, giving Georg and Eike the lead at the bottom mark, pursued by Andy and Tom Partington and Charles Duchesne and Andrew Handasyde-Dick. Georg and Tom lost their lead after they were forced to capsize to retie a broken jib halyard and a misjudged layline and a quadruple tack from the Partingtons meant they rounded the top mark neck and neck with a hard chasing Jon and Ben. Jon and Ben managed to roll over the top at the start of the run, but overstood the finish and let Andy and Tom through, until a broken daggerboard cost them the race. Tom and Ed recovered to finish second, followed by Archie Massey and Damian Ash who just caught Charlie and Andrew on the line.

In race three Tom and Ed lead Jon and Ben up the first beat, both coming in from the left hand side, followed by Georg and Eike who had worked up the middle. Jon and Ben judged the layline downwind better and had the inside line to lead around the bottom mark ahead of Tom and Ed. Round the next lap the two boats were never more than a few lengths apart and on the second run it was Tom and Ed who called the better layline and got to the bottom mark just ahead. However a late drop and over-exuberance meant they luffed too early at the bottom mark and capsized, giving Jon and Ben the lead, which they held to the finish. Tom and Ed recovered quickly to finish third, followed by Georg and Eike and Archie and Damian.

While the weather meant a much shorter event than planned and a frustrating two days, three close races, in near perfect conditions at least partly made up for it. Finally our thanks to race officer Ossie Stewart and his team for making the most of the weather, Hayling Island Sailing Club for their hospitality and Oceanair for their sponsorship.

Top 5 results:

1st GBR 1541 John Pink and Ben McGrane, HISC, 3.0
2nd GBR 1484 Tom Heywood and Ed Clay, HISC, 6.0
3rd GER 28 Georg Borkenstein and Eike Dietrich, WSCW, 19.0
4th GBR 1496 Martin Pascal and Robin Pascal, Itchenor SC, 25.0
5th GBR 527 Steve Fisher and Neil Barber, HISC, 27.0