Data to Value International Moth Open at Queen Mary Sailing Club

28 eager mothies came together for the 1st of the UK traveller series at Queen Mary Sailing Club last weekend. Although a little cold, sailors were greeted with a lovely 12-18 knots of breeze. The first race (along with the whole weekend) was dominated by Chris Rashley who showed exactly why he can mix it with the best Olympic and Americas cup sailors. Ben Paton followed in second however stopped at the leeward mark a lap early, (probably to continue the great coaching from last weekend's moth class training for some of the sailors further down the track) what a nice guy. This allowed Ed Chapman and Dan Vincent through to take 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Race 2 followed with an individual recall of which Rashley and Paton were 2 of the culprits. Chapman Led around the windward followed by James Phare and Dan Vincent. Rashley was rapidly coming through the fleet and after a couple of laps was into the lead. The race finished with Rashley taking the bullet with the positions behind remaining the same.

The 3rd race of the day started in the same 12-18 knot breeze and still blooming freezing. The race once again was won Chris Rashley this time followed by Danny "Dog" Vincent, Ed Chapman and Dan Henderson. Dave Hivey in his newly purchased Exocet had his best race of the event to finish in 5th, followed by the Rocket lads Andrew Friend and James Phare.

The cold weather was starting to get to some of the sailors including 2nd place overall Ed Chapman whose arms were starting to hurt. Again, Rashley won the race by a good half a leg followed this time by Dan Henderson. Andrew Friend took 3rd followed by Dan Ellis in 4th who had the best race of his series in his new Exocet.

Day 2 of the Data to Value Moth Open started in a similar 12-18 knots breeze and possibly a little less cold, maybe due to everyone putting on 5 extra layers. Ed Chapman led the race but was hunted down by Chris Rashley who eventually took the race win. 3rd place was taken by Jason Belben, followed by Dan Henderson in 4th.

Race 6 was almost the same line up however James Phare slipped into 3rd place, pushing Jason and Dan down to 4th and 5th. Ed Chapman continued to put pressure on the world ranked number 4 Rashley, however Rashley eventually prevailed to take the win followed by Ed Chapman.

The last race of the day saw the breeze starting to die, especially at the windward mark which meant that it was crucial to stay on the foils as long as possible. Rashley made a good job of linking the pressure together as did Ed Chapman who had a good lead over the rest of the fleet. The race ended with the usual suspects taking 1st and 2nd, followed by Jason Belben and Dan Henderson.

The event was won easily by Chris Rashley (Stokes Bay SC) who won every race, followed by Ed Chapman in his new Exocet who was consistently putting pressure on the world number 4. The Podium was rounded out by Dan Henderson (Stokes Bay SC).

The Class would like to thank James Phare of Data to Value for sponsoring the 1st event of the year and to Queen Mary Sailing Club for their hospitality throughout the weekend.

Overall Results: