Newport Harbor Sailing Foundation: Sailor Stories

Morgan Pinckney at the i14 Nationals and the 505 North Americans

505 NA Results

A year ago I met my i14 skipper Garett Brown. We were sailing 505’s when he asked me if I wanted to sail on his i14. I took it out for a rip with him and instantly fell in love. After a couple sessions he asked me if I wanted to sail i14 Nationals and I delightedly accepted his offer. 

After a month or two of training it was time to show up and do some racing. We arrived in Bellingham, Washington two days early to practice. It was especially nice because we had a couple world champions to line up against for some speed tuning. I learned a lot about how to specifically tune and rig an i14. The most interesting aspect is the angle of the rudder foil. The skipper plays it upwind and downwind but I can feel the whole boat rise and fall in the water with just the slightest adjustment. It is truly a wild experience.  

We had a little bit of a tough first day. We were still getting adjusted. It was also very windy (about 15-18 knots) and we were one of the lightest teams. One of the other cool things about the i14 is that they require a long distance race at the national championship. They decided to host the distance race on the first day because of the champagne conditions. The race was about 20 miles and we were instructed to “round some island way out there and come back.”  The only issue was there were about 15 islands. So Garrett and I decided to wing it and try to figure it out when we got further upwind. After about 45 minutes we decided that we were going to round the biggest island in sight. Fortunately, we guessed the right island. Unfortunately, we flipped right when we got underneath the island. We got a weird 30-knot gust and the boat just went all the way over.

However we still rounded the island in third even with the flip. When we turned the corner to go downwind the boat really lit up. In fact, it lit up a little too much because I was struggling to pump the kite. The downwind was by far one of the coolest experiences of my life. It was a ten mile leg through the prettiest ten miles of land I’ve ever sailed around and some of the best conditions I’ve ever sailed in. We probably averaged pretty close to 20 knots the whole down wind. We managed to out gybe the world champion, Kris Bundy, and finish second in the race. This was by far the most unique and cool experience I’ve ever had in sailing. When we finished the race I couldn’t stand and I just flopped on the deck to catch my breath. It was exhausting. It is especially exhausting because there is no limit to the kite area on the i14’s. 

When the first day wrapped up we were in a tight third. The forecast looked a little better for us the next day. It wound up being 8-10 knots and we finished the day with all top threes and took a commanding lead.

The last day looked even more auspicious for us. It was 5-6 knots and we put up a picket fence to win i14 Nationals. It was one of the best experiences of my life. It is very rare that I get to learn as many lessons as I did and still win a National championship. It was inspiring to be around such talented, bright people and world class sailors. I am truly grateful to have had this opportunity.

The next event on my list was 505 North Americans, with crew Reeve Dunne, a week or two later in Newport, Rhode Island (my favorite place in the world). Somehow the competition looked stiffer than that of i14 nationals. We counted 20 of the 30 boats entered that should be in the top 10! The event also had about 10 boats that had been top 3 at the world championship. 

Luckily we had two days in the boat to get back in the groove. The first two days of the event were very rough. I was not accustomed to the gate starts and I could not figure out the challenging venue. We had a very unstable gradient wind which was very tricky. We found ourselves in 20th.

But our luck changed as soon as we got the sea breeze.We had one epic day where it blew 25 and we finally decided to pick up the pace a little bit. We rounded the weather  mark top 3 every race (even winning a couple first legs). However, my moment of glory was quickly ruined when I looked back and saw Mike Martin (5 world titles in 505), Howie Hamlin (1 world title and numerous seconds), and Mike Holt (4 world titles) hot on my tail. We could match their speed upwind, but we couldn’t match it downwind. Even with our downwinds we still managed to put up a couple top 5’s. The last day of the event was more of the same. Fortunately we managed to finish 9th overall. I think this event had the most legends and stiffest competition out of any event I have been to by far. It was a humbling experience and I learned so much from the best in the business. I am looking forward to applying the lessons I learned at the next event.

I am so thankful for the NHSF support as it allows me to travel to these extraordinary regattas.  The experiences I'm having thanks to the Foundation have shaped me into a far more accomplished sailor than if I would have been just sailing in my home bay. 

505 North American Championship
Morgan Pinckney | Reeve Dunne