Tom’s grandparents raced International 14s before the Second World War. His grandmother’s first boat was a West of England Conference Dinghy, one of the classes around which the International 14 rules were created, which she raced growing up in Falmouth. This heritage made it very special for Tom to race there in the 1990 Prince of Wales Cup in Simply Red, a one-off designed by Nigel Colley, crewed by David Vialls.
He also raced Simply Red with Tim Oldham on the first occasion that the class raced on Lake Garda and with Tim Eccles at the 1991 World Championship in Torbay during which the photo below, shot by Ian Ball, appeared on the back page of the Independent:
