Noble Marine International Moth Grand Prix at Stokes Bay Sailing Club
by Jason Belben 18 Jun 2013 18:35 BST
15-16 June 2013
The unpredictable British Summer greeted the fleet of 25 Moths for the 3rd in the Noble Marine Grand Prix open meeting series at Stokes Bay Sailing Club over the weekend of 15th/16th June. Wind gusts of up to 40 knots meant the first day had to be postponed allowing competitors to get last minute measurements and boat preparation for the next day and the up and coming Nationals.
The forecast was much more favourable for the Sunday and with a prompt starts the fleet got on the water to a moderate South Westerly with the hope of putting in as many races as possible.
Mike Lennon was quick to establish a big lead after going left up the first beat and sailing round the rest of the fleet with Ricky Tagg second. This left some of the locals in the middle to fight their way back up. But Chris Rashley and Jason Belben finally came through to take 2nd and 3rd from Mike.
There was no mistakes from Chris in the second race as a pin end start heading left took him to the mark first. A battle then ensued with Mike but with a dying wind Chris gained victory. The wind slowly disappeared making it non foilable and time for lunch.
The promise of further racing looked slim and several competitors started to call it a day. However the weekend was to spring more surprises when a good SE came in allowing the fleet to get back on the water. This produced the best races of the weekend with a close tack in shore giving great spectator views.
The change in conditions didn’t change the pecking order and Rashley dominated the final two races with Mike and Jason changing 2nd and 3rd’s.
Despite a poor forecast the weekend produced some good racing leaving the fleet contemplating what they needed to do to beat the dominate Rashley at the Nationals the following week.
Thanks to Stokes Bay Sailing Club, SailTek for awarding Ronstan prizes and Dan Vincent for his unique Saturday evening quiz.
Overall Results: (top three)
1st Chris Rashley
2nd Mike Lennon
3rd Jason Belben