First raced for in 1927 from Cowes, the Prince of Wales Cup for International 14s remains one of the most respected trophies in dinghy racing.
It's a trophy liberally decorated with a 'who's who' of dinghy sailing. The winner is the national champion of the International 14 class. Unlike conventional courses, the race for national champion is sailed on one day. It lasts upwards of three hours and is a test of endurance and skill.
Many international contestants have raced in this event over the years. Notably, the trophy itself is not handed out perpetually. Replicas are presented to the top six boats.
Irish entrants are thin on the ground; the International 14 is not commonly sailed here.
Recently, one of the class enthusiasts in Ireland has been Rob Bateman from Monkstown Bay in Cork Harbour. His first PoW was in 2000, crewed by Marcia D'Alton, and took place at Beer in Devon during the 2000 World Championships.
Taking a break to raise a family and producing a few young sailors along the way, Rob returned to the 14 fray last week with a twist. With an entry led by his son Chris, using a previous generation 14 from 2003, they made the trip to the Royal Torbay Yacht Club to compete in the 2024 Prince of Wales Cup.
On the day of the PoW, the committee boat measured a steady 22 knots of breeze. Gusts up to 28 knots were regularly seen, and no one in this high-powered fleet needed reminding that the decision to launch and sail lay solely with the helm and crew of each boat.
The AP was hoisted to let the breeze settle and get the fleet in place. Launching through the narrow harbour entrance was challenging for the highly powered 14s.
Starting after 1230, the fleet set off on a complex course to allow the 14s get their race distance in. Rounding a weather mark of a trapezoid course, the 14's sailed high on a two-sail reach twin trapezing at over 20 knots of boatspeed to get onto a smaller triangular course using the outer loop windward mark. By now, the breeze had piped up considerably in a series of squalls, taking the 14s into the purest of survival conditions. Bearaways were vicious, and it was necessary to wait for an opportunity rather than steer at will. Developing spinnaker hoist issues early on, helm Chris elected to white sail downwind rather than retire. The entire fleet was struggling at this point with many capsizes. Downwind sailing became an exercise in protecting the boat, with one squall coming through at over 30 knots. Having left the slipway at 1030, the fleet was very happy to see the shore again at 1630. The race itself was over three hours long.
At the finish, Chris Bateman had managed to pilot his 14 around the course without capsizing. A feat only matched by the winner of the race, Glen Truswell, who was crewed by Ed Fitzgerald. The Irish pair finished in sixth place, giving them a coveted replica of the Prince of Wales Cup in reward for their efforts. Class chatter on the day held that it was one of, if not the windiest, PoW in living memory.
