International Moth UK Grand Prix at Paignton Sailing Club

International Moths at Paignton © Nathan Gribbin

International Moths at Paignton © Nathan Gribbin

A small but perfectly formed fleet of Moths travelled to Paignton on the weekend of 19th/ 20th September for the latest in the UK Grand Prix Series. Saturday's forecast of 7 to 8 knots held off until mid-afternoon so the race team sensibly postponed for 3 hours. By 3pm the wind started to fill in and the fleet launched to a lovely afternoon of sun and breeze.

Race 1 had the fleet foiling to the top mark in a pretty tightly bunch. A lull at the mark meant a bit of low riding and the race was then on to see who could get back up foiling first. Ricky Tagg and Nic Streatfeild popped up quickly and managed to stay on the foils down to the bottom mark and finish in that order with James Phare coming in third.

Race 2 was classic low riding with the odd puff tempting people to foil. Light but consistent breeze saw the leaders split tacks on the first beat. Nic Streatfeild went left out to sea, Ricky Tagg and Dan Ellis going right. Both Ricky and James popped up on the foils but their increased speed was offset by their low angle and extra distance but at least they enjoyed foiling for a while! So at the end of the first beat Nic Streatfeild came in on port by a few boat lengths and was able to hold on to the lead down the run to win his first ever Moth race.

After 2 well-executed races and the breeze beginning to fade, the Race Team made another good decision to postpone Race 3 until Sunday and we all headed in for a superb curry and drinks.

Sunday morning started with a mist, which was soon burnt off returning the "Riviera" feel to Torbay. Another short postponement and the forecast 8 to 10 knots appeared after lunch. Race 3, the first one on Sunday was also counted towards Bart's Bash so an extra bit of spice was added to the mix. Glen Read joined the fleet on Sunday but unfortunately having enjoyed foiling around for a while he suffered a wing bar failure taking him out of the racing for the day.

With light airs there was always a danger that there may not be enough breeze to foil. A number of the boats ensured that they were on the foils in the minutes leading up to the start sailing up and down the line and gybing round aiming for a timed run in to the start. This tactic worked well for most who exited upwind on the foils.

The topography meant that there was a big right shift on the right side of the beat but the danger of less wind. Now the tactical conundrum - go left with probably better consistent breeze or go right with a good shift but with the danger that the wind would be less and so no foiling?

At the windward mark, you could throw a blanket over the first three boats lead by James Phare using local knowledge and the bid shift followed by Dan Ellis and Ricky Tagg who had favoured consistent better breeze. By the leeward get it was nip and tuck with Dan and James electing take the starboard rounding and out to sea and Ricky the right side of the beat. The top mark showed that the favoured shift paid and Ricky rounded with a small lead from Dan and James and over the next lap extended his lead. On the last run with the Bart's Bash victory in sight Ricky managed to grab defeat from the jaws of victory with his last gybe in to the finish ending in a crash - will he never learn? Do not ride so high going into a gybe. So James foiled majestically through to take the first race and Bart's Bash win from Ricky and Dan.

International Moths at Paignton - photo © Nathan Gribbin

Race 4 was again a tightly contested battle initially between Ricky, James and Dan but after 2 laps Ricky was able to eke out a small lead and, maybe lesson learned from Race, finished ahead of James and Dan.

Going into Race 5, Ricky had the event but with only 3 points separating James, Dan and Nick the podium was up for grabs. At the start, James headed right for the shift with Dan, Ricky and Nick heading for better breeze. A non-foiling tack in lighter airs dropped Nick off the leading group so his fate was now outside his control. It was another tight rounding for Ricky and James with Dan stalking both looking for a mistake and needing a race win if he was to stand a chance of 2nd overall. Despite patches where the breeze would be too light if you came off the foils and the potential for snakes and ladders, the first three avoided too many snakes and at the finish, Ricky held on for the win followed by James and the ever-consistent Dan

So overall, Ricky took the event from James who had a strong day on Sunday and Nic "first moth race win" Streatfeild took third from the ever-consistent Dan Ellis. Special mention must go to Chris Tilbrook who, amongst others, is championing the class objective of getting more of the older boats racing again. Suffering slightly in the lighter airs on Saturday, in true moth style he applied thought and heavy instruments to his foil to change the angle of attack. The rest of us watched in awe and disbelief as he did this but the result delivered earlier and more consistent flight for Sunday so job done really. Along with the increasing home build group, we hope to attract more older boats to events in 2016. Watch this space!

International Moths at Paignton - photo © Nathan Gribbin

Our thanks go to James Ripley and his race team who made excellent calls on starting time and courses ensuring good races in difficult conditions backed up by a great team of mark layers. The club's hospitality was tremendous and combined with the typical Riviera weather everything bodes well for the UK Nationals that they are hosting in 2017.

Overall Results: