Page 16 - Holiday Issue

INTERNATIONAL 14 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2018: POINT RICHMOND CALIFORNIA
Eric Tulk Between August 12th and 25th boats from around the world competed in the 2018 International 14 World Championships at the Richmond Yacht Club California USA USA Sixty-one teams representing Canada USA USA Great Britain Italy Germany and Australia competed in in the event Ten Canadian boats eight of which are from the RCYC shipped their boats to California for for the the event Racing was held on on the Berkeley Circle race course on on San Francisco Bay Both Team and Fleet Racing events were held with the Fleet Racing championship being decided by seven races across eight days The boat launching area in in the ‘Richmond Rivera’ was generally calm and warm though this did not in any way reflect the the conditions on on on the the race course Racing conditions on on on ‘The Bay’ ranged from challenging to carnage and always cold Typically racing would begin in in in approximately 10 – 15 knots and increase to to 20-25 knots at at the the top of the the course (near Alcatraz
Island) by the the end of the the race The shallow water on the race course (10 – 15 ft deep) and strong tidal currents were instrumental in in in producing steep chop across the race course Teams were required to bring their sailing A-game hang on tight and leave all nerves at on shore The wildest sailing was on the downwind legs After rounding the windward mark and dodging any capsized boats the the crew moves into the the boat boat and launches the the spinnaker Both crew and skipper then go onto the the trapeze and shift their weight as far out and aft as possible The hydrofoil rudder is adjusted so that the bow is pointed more ‘upwards’ to help in in in in preventing the the bow from crashing into the the steep bay waves On the trapeze alone crews are very vulnerable to sudden changes in the the speed of the the boat such as that brought on by digging the bow 16
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 • KWASIND
SAILING