British Moth National Champions at Northampton Sailing Club

Action from the British Moth nationals at Northampton © Karen Collyer

Action from the British Moth nationals at Northampton © Karen Collyer

Strong winds greeted the British Moths when they returned to Northampton Sailing Club for their 2006 National Championships; however as always the food was warm and the beer was cold and the welcome was terrific.

The wind made for a fascinating spectacle with many of the 30 boats going faster than they had ever been before; this in turn led to most sailors inspecting their hull finish as the boats were being righted, and a very busy event for the rescue crews.

Tim Davison (Medley) started the week showing the same form as he did last year, but this time he had competition from not only last years runner up Colin Hall (Hunts) but also Roger Witts (Frampton on Severn) and Rob Wilder (Tamesis).

These four boat were to provide the lead battle for the whole Championships, with Davison winning the first two races for the Teddy Hicks Trophy and the Coup De Laon, Witts winning the third (Marlow Ropes) and Wilder winning the fourth and fifth(Thompson and Amethyst). This led to a final race decider for the Solent Cup between Davison and Wilder who started with a two point advantage.

The wind for final race was even stronger and had risen to a steady force five gusting six by the start. With only eleven boats venturing out, the start line was somewhat empty and Wilder made the best start covering Davison up the first beat with Hall in close attendance. These positions were held until Wilder capsized at the second gybe mark and both Davison and Hall powered through leaving Wilder with a lot of work to do to try and catch Hall. These positions were held until the final beat and with Davison having crossed the line for the win a very determined Wilder caught a tiring Hall to take second place and the Championship.

The Ladies Trophy saw a new name on it with Abby Hurden from St Edmundsbury SC braving the conditions to beat Elaine Gillingham (Hunts) into second place.

The Veterans Salver also had a new winner and was won by Barry Graver (Rollesby) who triumphed over Terry Mason (Medley).

This year’s Vintage Boat award went to Richard Wynn-Jones (Medley) in 351 and the Endeavour Trophy was won by Andrew Perrott (Chippenham) for a sterling performance in finishing every race for eighth place in his first Nationals.

Due to general exhaustion on the part of the competitors the Transom Team trophy was not competed for this year, but an enlarged version will be run next year to compensate.

As always Northampton’s race management and rescue facilities were first class and much credit is due to Bruce Merry, Chris Harris, Ian Castle and the rest of the team for running such a smooth event under difficult conditions. On shore the catering provided by Elaine Tebbutt and Vicky Wayling was superb, and the competitors voted unanimously for a return next year to celebrate the Seventy Fifth anniversary of the Class.

Overall Results: