James Clarkson – Class President
To start off, we introduce the class President, James Clarkson.
What is your roll on the board?
– I have been President of the US I14 fleet for the past 2 years. I joined the board and became president because I’m excited about the fleet and the boats.
Where do you sail out of?
– I sail out of Richmond Yacht Club, on the SF Bay, where several other I14s are based. RYC has a long history with the I14 fleet including being host to two World Championships. In general, there is a choice of wind and wave state, depending on how the wind and Angel Island are lined up.
How long have you been sailing/ sailing 14s? What is it about 14s that got you into the class and what keeps you sailing them?
– I learned to sail on a sunfish at a small lake in Mississippi and at summer camp on 420s in New Orleans. I restarted sailing in grad school and got connected with the 14 fleet at RYC. I’ve been in the fleet for about 12 years now and enjoy it for several reasons. The boats and fleet are just exciting and awesome. The development class enables your brain to keep working on tweaks to your systems and maximizing performance, or at least entertain you. Sometimes you just need to keep it simple. The fleet members are extremely friendly and helpful. They will share tips on sailing technique, rig tuning, rigging systems, and repairs. And finally, it’s a boat that I feel that I can sail competitively for 30 years or more. People sail these boats into their 60s and 70s and still kick ass.
Personal goals for the class for the future?
– I’m interested in getting some coaching set up in the various regions (San Diego, LA, SF Bay, and Seattle) to make each region a bit faster. I’ve spent my 14 career sailing with some of my best friends (and my now wife), fumbling through a technical and physical boats. We aren’t half slow and with some input, we might be 3/4 fast. I’m also excited to see where the foil designs and development go.The boats are getting faster, so the foils can get thinner, lower drag, and a bit tweakier.
