International 14 World Championship - The endless progression

10:49 AM Wed 9 Dec 2009 GMT

'i14’s on Sydney Harbour' i14/Neil Pachett Click Here to view large photo

Defending champion Archie Massey may be British but he is taking on an Aussie tint for the upcoming CST Composites International 14 World Championship in Sydney.

Massey will be sailing his all-black . well, it is really a dark gun-metal grey . boat George 1st in the event. George 1st has certainly served him well. It is a carbon Bieker 5a, built in time for the 2008 Worlds in Warnemunde, Germany. He later shipped it out to Australia and contested the 2008-09 National I14 Championship on the Swan River in Perth.

Massey was impressive on the Swan and finished in second place overall but it was a regatta local favourite and defending Australian champion Brad Devine was always well positioned to win. Devine learnt to sail amidst the white caps on the Swan and honed his fresh-wind sailing skills over many seasons under the watchful eye of his wellcredentialled dad . former 14 World Champion Bill Devine.

Brad Devine won that Australian Championship regatta but for the Worlds in Sydney he is sailing with a different crew and has built an entirely new boat. Meanwhile Massey is sailing his well-travelled black boat but with some key upgrades courtesy of a New South Wales mast builder and a South Australian sailmaker, with an American foilmaker thrown in to keep it multinational.

When asked if he has made any significant changes since last season, Massey says: 'Not too much to report from us but . we're using a new CST HM2 mast. This is about 30 per cent stiffer than the original CST14s and a little narrower and lighter. We're matching it with Dave Alexander sails (out of South Australia).

'We've also got a one-of-a-kind Waterat rudder, who normally make 505 foils. The rudder foils are very narrow and hence very low drag.' Which just goes to reinforce the reputation I14s have gained over more than 100 years, as
a class for those who love to experiment in search of extra speed.

At the centre of one laboratory is CST Composites Industrial Designer Luka Damic who says mast development continues with the company that has a factory in southern Sydney.

'The HM2 is a new stiffer mast that has just been released to the market,' Damic said. 'Specifically designed to suit sailors over 175kg combined weight, it is made of high modulus carbon fibre to offer the ultimate stiffness for minimum weight.

'Our well established HM1 is still available and being 15 per cent softer remains the preferred choice for lighter crews. Both of these masts are a part of the new HM Club series, smallest diameter I14 Masts on the market!'

Apart from Massey, other sailors known to have opted for the new HM2 CST Composites masts are David Alexander and Chris Dixon. By the way HM stands for Her Majesty and also for high modulus.

The I14 World event begins on 28 Dec with Teams Racing and then the World Championship Invitation Race on 3 January 2010 and Heats from 4-11 January out of Manly 16ft Skiff Sailing Club, Manly, Sydney Harbour.

Regatta site: www.i14worlds.com/

by Neil Patchett

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