What a fleet! The AYC roster shows about fifteen of these stable little “double-hander” boats owned by AYC members and ten more ASF 14.2s to draw upon for the Tempe Town Lake racing. Theoretically we could have twenty-five 14.2s on the water at one time, without a doubt the largest one design fleet in the Arizona Yacht Club.
You can build plenty of sailing skill on a 14.2 as you can see by 14.2 sailors represented on the AYC championship Trophy. The 14.2 Fleet has produced the overall Champion three times (Martinelli-once and Hester twice). And if you count the dual representation Martin Lorch of the Catalina 22 fleet has won two of the four times he has won with the boat sailed being the 14.2. Several times 14.2 members also have been crew on the Club Champioship team.
The boat is easy to sail – has plenty of head room clearance to the height of the boom. And it is somewhat forgiving on skipper + crew weight. The hull is 14 feet two inches long. The mast is almost 21 feet and light enough for one person to easily rig from a trailer towing position. This sturdy boat weighs in close to 300 pounds. It is inexpensive to maintain (only Dacron racing sails allowed for instance) and fairly roomy and comfortable to sail. Also the 14.2 is nice for lazy day sailing for two or three folks.
Our local 14.2 fleet has sent several boats to the 14.2 Nationals held each year on the middle weekend of September at the beautiful Mission Bay Yacht Club. It’s a welcome relief to those of us who get away. We Zonies have never won the gold fleet, but we have had lots of trophies come home to AZ. In the Silver fleet there have been first, second and third place trophies to AYC, and AYC 14.2 sailors have broght home Gold Fleet awards for all but first.
With the AYC Adopt-a-Boat program making 14.2s available to qualified AYC members on TTL race days (entry fees apply) why not give our fleet a try?
For more information Contact George Tingom (480 948 3814). He doubles as the 14.2 Fleet Captain and also as US Sailing level one certified instructor for High School students on Tuesday afternoons.