Noble Marine International Moth Grand Prix at Draycote Water Sailing Club

Event winner Ricky Tagg during the Draycote International Moth Grand Prix © Fabian Katz

Jamie Pearson celebrates his first race win during the Draycote International Moth Grand Prix © Fabian Katz

Upwind in high 20 knots during the Draycote International Moth Grand Prix © Fabian Katz

Draycote Water was the final venue this year for the Noble Marine UK International Moth Grand Prix Series and with the upcoming Draycote Dash it was an opportunity to experience the facilities and conditions the area had to offer.

A combination of boats still returning from the recent World Championships in Hawaii and Windguru predicting "fresh to fruity" conditions (gusts to 40 knots), podium places were up for grabs providing you could stay upright. Social networking sites suggested that many 'Mothies' would be staying at home in the warm so a fleet of just 10 hardy moths turned out to brave the extreme weather.

Saturday morning saw sailable conditions from the pleasant rigging area on the shores of the reservoir but this was due to change once all were afloat. The fleet of ten attempted to start racing in average wind speeds in the mid 20's but gusts reached the high 30's.

An exciting downwind ride to the start area saw people approaching 3o knots while others were not so lucky. Major pitch-poles and high speed crashes took out the majority of the fleet as the start time approached with damage ranging from ripped sails, through rigging failures to broken gantries and booms. Jamie Pearson used his local knowledge to good effect in Race 1 by spotting the start sequence, while many were watching and floundering, and the best route to avoid the major erratic gusts. As he approached the leeward mark a few competitors realised their error and set off in pursuit. Jamie took Race 1 with a convincing margin albeit that he finished standing on his main foil. Some while later Ricky Tagg, Glenn Read and Andrew Blee, emerged from the horizontal rain and 30 knot gusts to take the remaining finishing places. With the breeze increasing and visibility reducing the race committee hoisted the postponement flag and ordered those still standing to shore.

Sadly the planned bonfire and scheduled Draycote annual firework display were cancelled due to the weather conditions. However the strong winds didn't dampen the spirits of the local moth camper club. Following a few beers, it was back to the campervan in fine spirits and hoping it would keep the body temperature up during the cold night ahead.

After bacon butties, the breeze on Sunday was more down the lake with flat water again with an equally strong breeze, averaging mid 20 knots. The best strategy appeared to be to keep the bow down to stop the boat being blown off the foils, reduce the number of tacks and stay heeled to windward to avoid being blown sideways down the reservoir.

Race 2 started all clear Dylan Fletcher's port tack approach paid off as he led Ricky Tagg around the top mark. With each of them having the odd sketchy moment, the lead contracted and expanded for the first three laps but with Dylan maintaining control. Having rounded the leeward mark at the end of the third lap both thought they had finished but on closer inspection of the flags it became clear that the race was still on! With a single lap dash to decide the race they set about it again.The lead changed on each tack and an uncharacteristic poor tack from Dylan enabled Ricky to lead narrowly at the top mark. Both put the hammer down for the last downwind and with speeds approaching 30 knots at times Ricky managed take the win with Dylan following closely in second.

There was a close fight for much of the race between Glen Read, Ed Chapman and Jamie Pearson who finished in that order with the timing and number of capsizes proving to be a decisive factor. The fleet certainly provided entertainment for those on shore - a heady mixture of high speed and spectacular capsizes. With the PRO recording a gust of 40 knots the fleet was sent ashore and further racing was abandoned.

So with two races completed the event went to Ricky Tagg with Jamie Pearson taking second place on count back over Glen Read due to his tremendous performance on Saturday. Determination to finish in testing conditions from Andrew Blee was rewarded with fourth overall.

The class would like to thank Draycote Water Sailing Club for running the event in challenging weather conditions and providing both a warm and friendly atmosphere and generous hospitality and Noble Marine for their generous sponsorship of the class and the UK Grand Prix series.

Overall Results: