International 14 2026 Prince of Wales Cup Week Day 2

Day 2 of the Prince of Wales Cup proved that on the Clyde nothing is ever straightforward. One abandoned attempt, a four-hour wait ashore and one wildly unpredictable race produced some of the most dramatic sailing many of the fleet could remember.

The fleet arrived at the club with the RO proposing three races if the weather permitted. While the fleet looked out over a glassy Firth of Clyde, the race team believed they had found 10 knots north of Cumbrae Island. Only they hadn't and the fleet returned to shore, not that they had got very far.

At 3:30 pm zephyrs of an Easterly appeared and once again the determined race team set about a potential race course, as the fleet headed slightly south, racing just off the club in an area the locals know as "Death Valley", where breeze tumbles unpredictably off the hills, and the name would prove well deserved.

International 14 2026 Prince of Wales Cup Week Day 2 - photo © Dan Challis

The fleet got under way with a clear start in a very light 4-6 knots, but a building breeze on the right saw lots of early tacks, and the ship end boats leading the way. Andy Penman / Chris Watkins and Jono Shelley / Graham Priestley led the tack and made a solid early lead with Andy Fitzgerald / Harry Kennedy close behind whilst the other overall front runners struggled to find the breeze.

As the fleet got further up the course the wind wound left and allowed Andy Shaw / Rob Struckett back into the front and they put the hammer down with an early gybe set at the windward mark and sailed into a big lead. But the shifting breeze wasn't done with them yet and as they "tactically' overstood the windward mark the trailing fleet were able to gybe inside and this gave Tim Saxton / George Yeoman the chance to lead round the leeward mark as the fleet compressed in a big hole at the bottom of the run, with ten boats abreast at one point. Tim / George's enthusiasm got the best of them as they capsized in a lightwind tack, which Andy / Harry capitalised on to take the other gate and lead back into the breeze and build what was starting to look like an unassailable lead.

International 14 2026 Prince of Wales Cup Week Day 2 - photo © Dan Challis

Andy / Rob and Jono / Graham set chase and as the fleet came into the top mark for the 2nd time the name "Death Valley" started to rear its head as 15+ knot gusts rolled down off the hills with 15 deg shifts. Boats were starting to get caught out, maybe a mix tiredness, slamming gusts, big shifts, or all three making challenging sailing in any boat. But quietly making their way through seemingly unfazed by all this were the local boats, Jono / Graham and an ever present Josh Kerr / Ali Kent.

Andy / Harry rounded the final lap with a big lead, but Death Valley wasn't done with them yet, and they had a capsize of their own which allowed the chasing pack to close the gap and the breeze at the top of the course made for some exciting bearaway and downwind battles with boats starting to see speeds of nearly 20 knots downwind. Andy / Rob picked up the charge with Jono / Graham and Josh / Ali right on their heels, Andy / Harry looking to regain their lead making up the boats on the right. Tim / George and the Partingtons had rounded on the left and as fresh breeze started pumping down the course there was still a lot to play for.

International 14 2026 Prince of Wales Cup Week Day 2 - photo © Dan Challis

Gust of 20 knots + were starting to become a regular occurrence and the lack of breeze at the bottom had tricked the fleet into lighter settings than ideal, except for the Scottish teams of Jono / Graham and Josh / Ali who had seemingly a bit of inside knowledge. A big shift on the final beat encouraged the fleet to tack and Andy / Rob and Tim / George were able to make the most of it, and the two boats extended into the lead with Jono / Graham and the Partingtons rounding closely behind....although at this point the rounding was not a piece of cake. As boats reached the power zone, nearly all of them spun out with the Partingtons having the worst of it and capsizing on the mark. Andy / Rob got away and then capsized on the hoist. Tim / George hoisted, got in an early gybed and boosted off back into the big breeze in a ball of spray in to a big lead with only one gybe to go. Jono / Graham took the right hand side to try to minimize maneuvers.

Just as Tim / George were planning their final gybe, the biggest breeze of the day had arrived, and the boat accelerated and left the team behind and they went in for a painfully slow capsize. By this point Andy / Rob had righted and gybed into the breeze also just overhauling Jono / Graham. These two had a drag race to the finish, Jono / Graham picked up even more breeze and sunk inside Andy / Rob but would they have enough runway? Andy / Rob had to gybe again, and as the two boats reached the bottom of the course the breeze subsided again and Andy / Rob were able to stick the gybe and cross just seconds ahead of Jono / Graham. A fantastic comeback for the new Scottish boat of Jono / Graham, after their boat breakages on day one. And they were followed up by Josh / Ali who had not put a foot wrong all day, kept dry and now had a podium finish to show for it. It was a brilliant race for Team Largs.

With the breeze continuing to spike, the remaining races were abandoned. Andy Shaw / Rob Struckett now hold a commanding overall lead, although the discard keeps both the Partingtons and Andy Fitzgerald / Harry Kennedy within striking distance ahead of Prince of Wales Cup Championship race.

Saturday looks windy and the RO will decide whether to run the POW Championship race in the morning.

Results after Day 2: