Vintage and Classic International 14 open meeting at Rickmansworth Sailing Club
by Alastair Wilson 23 May 16:47 BST
17-18 May 2025
Vintage and Classic International 14 open meeting at Rickmansworth © RSC
Vintage and Classic Int 14's came to Rickmansworth Sailing Club over the weekend of 17th/18th May to race for two trophies. The Rickmansworth Open and Transom series Trophies. Boats travelled from as far as Cornwall to compete in this long standing event.
Sharing the Saturday with a strong fleet of Fireflys the 14's took to the water for race 1 in sunshine and winds that kept everyone working hard. Right off the start line the competition was strong with places swapping throughout the race in typical tricky Ricky breeze!
At the finish Sam & James Vaughan in Seawitch K935 comfortably took the win. In the evening there was a meal at the club for competitors and members with everyone enjoying the warm summers evening by the lake.
Race 2 on Sunday was another hard-fought battle, with the top three positions changing regularly. On the final lap, just as it looked like the positions wouldn't be changing, a wind shift opened everything up. At the finish line just ten seconds covered the first three places with Swansong K1053 just 1 second ahead of Tiercel K363 - a photo finish for the race team!
The relaxed schedule allowed for the traditional Ricky buffet lunch before the main trophy race - a 2 hour test of stamina and endurance.
Going into the final race of the weekend there was everything to play for with a number of boats in contention for the overall series win. The final race is also for the main trophy of the weekend, so tends to be the most hard-fought race.
The early stages were close but soon Swansong - K1053 pulled out a formidable lead. But as we had already seen things can change quickly, especially with changeable inland winds.
A special mention goes to Ian Tuffrey who decided to exit the back of the boat... with his crew Sean showing an excellent man overboard recovery, and they continued to finish the race!
However in the end the lead was just too good for anyone to break. Line honours and the prestigious Rickmansworth Open Trophy went deservedly to James and Erica Bradbury in Swansong - K1053.
Alastair Wilson & John Watling sailing Tiercel - K363, took the series trophy. At 89 years old Tiercel proved that old boats can still compete and win!
(The winners of the Trophy Race are not eligible to win the overall series)
Overall Results:
| Pos | Boat No | Helm | Crew | Series R1 | Series R2 | Trophy R |
|---|
| 1 | 935 | Sam | James | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| 2 | 363 | Alastair | John | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | 1053 | James | Erica | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | 1113 | Joe | Ollie | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| 5 | 1136 | Brian | Matt | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| 6 | 980 | Paul | Lucy | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| 7 | 885 | Ian | Sean | 7 | 7 | 7 |