OD-OY Covers

Back in the archives, I've posted about a Yachting magazine cover that featured International 14's in 1960. The magazine One-Design and Offshore Yachting (now in modern times Sailing World) ran several photos on the International 14's on it's cover back in late 60's and early 70's. Not surprising since Bruce Kirby was an editor at OD-OY. I've posted them below.
  
Cover February 1967: Two International 14's in a big gust during the Canadian Currie Cup.

Ian Bruce

Cover October 1967: Another Currie Cup photo.

Ian Bruce

Cover March 1970: Jeremy Pudney in K-925 during the 1969 Team Racing in Kingston. Pudney would win CORK, the first International 14 trapeze regatta, the week after the English dominated the Team Races. 

Cover November 1971: Dick Rose, in US 850, the captain of the winning U.S. West Coast Team in the 1971 Team Races.

Cover July 1970: Not an International 14 photo but a photo featuring two of the more famous Canadian International 14 sailors. Bruce Kirby with his brother David at the 1966 Star Class World Championship in Kiel, Germany. David Kirby was also a top flight International 14 helmsman with many trophies to his name.

  

Four Early Canadian 14's

North American International 14 history kept trickling in during my hiatus at posting to this blog. Interesting history of four early Canadian 14's popped up over the last three years.

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KC-166

Mark Merritt has been pursuing the history of his Corneil International 14 and reached out to Rob Mazza, Canadian International 14 historian, who sent this email and photos of Peter Jarvis's Corneil, KC-166. From Rob's email:

"I finally heard back from Peter Jarvis, who I ran into at the Toronto Boat Show in late January. He sent me the attached photo and note on his George Corneil Fourteen KC 166 from 1956. This was the 2nd to last 14 built by George Corneil. So that KC 142 sail number on the battens in the boat may not be that improbable!

I have in my records:

KC 127 - Nimbus - Paul McLaughlin - 51 Bourke
KC 133 - Moonbeam - Harvey Bongard, Bruce Kirby Harry Jemmett - 51 Bourke
KC 144 - Wee Irish? - Bud Whitaker - 54 Bourke
KC 166 - - Peter Jarvis - George Corneil - 1956
KC 173 - Soo-perb - Mike Pruett, Dick Vine? - 1st Proctor 1 in Canada - 1954 in England?

Mark, there seems to be no question that the boat you have is indeed a George Corneil, and probably dates from the early 1950s, and may well be the 3rd to last Corneil built if the 142 sail number is to be believed.

Rob"

Peter Jarvis KC-166

And Peter's note to Rob  Mazza.

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KC-5

Maureen Flagler sends along photos and a history of two Bourke "bones" boats that have been in their family, KC-5 and KC-25.

"My sister... was able to find some photos. In addition she has attached photos of an earlier I14 that my Mother and Father sailed from Ottawa during WWII. It was originally named Alisada and renamed to Eagle II. The registration for that one is KC5. We don’t know when that boat was sold or to whom."

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KC-25

"After the war, our parents lived in Oakville and we believe the Chinook (KC25) was built there with Bill Gooderham... We think he is from the Gooderham family of Gooderham and Worts Distillery. KC25 (Chinook) has small ribs throughout the interior. The photo shows the interior of Chinook – KC25."

Maureen says that KC-25 was last splashed into the water in the 1980's. (The date that this photo was taken.)

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KC-26

Ryan Grinnell from Toronto Canada sent this email and photos about a famous Canadian 14.

"...International 14 that has been in my family for over 50 years. Her name is Conneda and I even saw a reference to this name linked to Charlie Bourke. Could this be the same boat? The sail number is US 424 and according to my dad, via my late grandfather, it was the first molded plywood I14."

Ryan Grinnel's grandfather sailing.

Again, from Rob Mazza's International 14 history, published in the RCYC newsletter, we have the history of Conneda.

"In 1946, with the help of Prof Parkin and technician Jack Noonan (a Brittania member and dinghy sailor, as was probably Parkin). the National Research Council hot-moulded three Bourke designed 14's and, according to Kirby, a very special fourth one for Bourke himself, called Conneda. Her clean rib-less interior was admired by all. "You don't take a sponge on board, just a duster," said Paul McLaughlin. The first three boats stayed in Ottawa to further build that fleet, while Conneda went to RCYC and was later sold to sailmaker Colin Ratsey in New York."

My records indicate that sail number US-424 was indeed registered to Colin Ratsey, so it is a good bet that Ryan Grinnel's family does indeed own the famous hot-molded Bourke "Conneda".

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From Tom Vaughn's International 14 history, here is a photo of Conneda. Certainly the most naked 14 ever. There couldn't be a more stark difference between the Uffa and Bourke "bones" 14's of the pre-war era and this new-fangled hot-molded 14.

Ladies Aids

I mentioned in the post about the 1969 Kingston CORK regatta, the use of "ladies aids" in the pre-trapeze era; hiking aids that were essentially aluminum tubes you hung out from when hiking out. They seemed most popular with Stuart Walker and Sinjin Martin of the Annapolis fleet. I started crewing with Sinjin Martin as a teenager and remember hiking for all I was worth, hanging from one of those tubes, in the mid-60's.

I asked Sinjin about who invented them. He wasn't sure but he did say they were around at the very beginning of the Annapolis fleet, the mid 1950's. Back then they were steel conduit, attached to a track on the gunwhales, with a wire running from the conduit tube down to the centerline. The later versions were aluminum tube slotted into a slightly larger aluminum tube.

A photo of Stuart and Sinjin, full-on, hanging from the "Ladies Aids". This was the 1967 POW at Cowes.

Bekens of Cowes

Apologies for the non-PC term "Ladies Aids" but this was the 1950's and 1960's. The guy crews used them as much or more than the lady crews.

A PSI Kirby III emerges in Saratoga

John Power from Darien Ct., who sails out of Saratoga N.Y., sends along photos of a Classic 14 pickup. Looks like a primo restoration of a glass PSI Kirby III.

John Power fills in the details:

"I found The KIII in Old Lyme. Connecticut. A fellow by the name of Charlie Ritrovato had her listed on Craigslist. He told me it was in the garage when he bought the house, and he had no idea what kind of boat is was. His neighbor helped him rig it and he had it painted and updated some of the rigging. She still needs some rigging work and spin gear. He may have some pics of her sailing as he had posted them in his CL ad. The boat has a centerboard and rudder that seem small, but I could be wrong - I bought her last November, and never got to sail her yet due to COVID."

Well it turn out I did have a email back-and-forth with Charlie in 2014. He sent me a photo of the sail number. So... originally a Canadian KIII.

Given the sail number, I replied to Charlie:

" A Kirby III designed by Bruce Kirby and built in fiberglass by Ian Bruce (who started his company, Performance Sailcraft to build the Kirby Mk III International 14). Ian Bruce would build about 100 of these Mark III's before collaborating with Bruce Kirby and producing the Laser dinghy, the world's most popular dinghy (and also an Olympic class). KC378 would make this boat one of the last Mark III's produced because Ian would start making the Int. 14 Mk V's starting somewhere after number KC389 (the KV would have a distinctive notch in the transom which your 14 does not have)."

Looks like Charlie did an admirable job at restoring this Kirby III given where he started from.



In somewhat of a coincidence, the original Canadian owner of KC378 was another Charlie; Charlie Eckenfelder, who occasionally flashed a good result in regattas in the early 1970's. According to Sinjin Martin, the Performance Sailcraft Kirby III's didn't come out until the fall of 1968. With the switch-over to the K V in 1971, the Performance Sailcraft Kirby III was produced only over a span slightly greater than 2 years.

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In the previous post about the 1969 Team Races held at Kingston Ontario, most of the Canadian Team in the photos were sailing Kirby III's.

The 1969 CDA and International Team Races: The Transition Regattas

The 1969 International Team Races and the 1969 CDA, both held in Kingston, Ontario Canada, was a watermark event in the International 14 class.

The International 14 class came late to the trapeze. For the post-WWII years, through the 1950's and 1960's, the 14 was a two man hiking boat even though most of the other crewed performance dinghies of that era; the Flying Dutchman, the 505, the Fireball, had already quickly adopted the trapeze. In 1969, the single trapeze was allowed on a trial basis at the Canadian National Championships (CDA), held at the CORK regatta. It obviously made an impression as during the CDA regatta, the International 14 World Council approved the single trapeze, beginning with the 1970 season forward. This set up a very rare situation. The International Team Races, ran the week before CDA had remained a hiking only competition. The 1969 Team Races and the 1969 CDA were to be the old and the new; a transition compressed over two weeks.

I have some grainy photos of the old; the International Team Races held before the CDA, the hiking only event. These feature the U.S. East Coast team taking on Canada. I can identify the U.S. numbers but unfortunately not all the Canadian ones, KC 349, KC 353, and KC 334. I do know at least three of the Canadian skippers; Graeme Hayward, Harry Jemmet, and Andre Julian

US-851 is Sinjin Martin (KIII)

Graeme Hayward KC-354. One thing that is noticeable is the sideways bend of masts for the hiking International 14's. This would go away with the addition of the trapeze.

Frank and Judy Lawson in US-802 leading Graeme Hayward, KC 354.

Stuart Walker and Lev Huntington in US-848 (Kirby IV) covering Graeme Hayward.

US-802 Frank and Judy Lawson (Souter-Casson)

Stuart Walker and Lev Huntington using "Ladies Aids" for extra power upwind.

Bob Reeves and Ted Spivey; US855 (Kirby IV)

A stern shot of US855 going upwind

The trapeze finally arrives on the International 14

The English would dominate the International Team Races, winning all the races. Jeremy Pudney, the English maestro, would win the CDA, the first 14 regatta with a trapeze.

1969 was also a transition year for some of the old guard. 1969 would be the last International event for Stuart Walker. He would win the International 14 U.S. Nationals that year at Saratoga Lake but he was already taking up racing the Soling, a class he would remain in for the rest of his life. Bruce Kirby, who had released his iconic International 14 designs, the KIV and KV, the previous two years, borrowed Stuart Walker's International 14 for the CDA. He was working in Chicago as a sailing journalist and would pop into 14 regattas occasionally in the 1970's.

Stradivarius Gets Out This Summer

Doug Lupe sends along some photos of Stradivarius, his Kirby IV out in this summer of Covid-19. Doug was sailing with his daughters, alternating who got to be the trapeze hand.

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Stradivarius has quite a pedigree. She was the 14 that Steve Toschi and Dave Klipfel used in winning the 1975 POW, the second American to do so. It was the 14 I had my most success in, when I was teamed up with Bill Moss in the early 1980's. It is good to see the old girl, US 960, still going strong. She brings back many memories.

Here's a small, grainy photo of Bill and I taking Stradivarius down a spinnaker reach, probably 1980.