British Moth National Championship at Staunton Harold Sailing Club

by Jenni Heward-Craig 30 Aug 2015 09:50 BST 12-15 August 2015

Conditions ranging from rain-down-the-neck, no wind miserable to sunny and feisty greeted the competitors in this year's British Moth Nationals at Harold Staunton Sailing Club. Over fifty percent of eligible class sailors turned up to compete, and for the first time, over a quarter of the competitors were female, with three of them having never competed previously.

Wednesday afternoon, and the practise race gave all the sailors a taste of the conditions and layout of the reservoir. Toby Cooper (887), mindful of the superstition that the boat that wins the practice race doesn't take the championship, did his best not to win, but was forced into first by the conditions. Tim Davison (892) and Robbie Claridge (893) took the minor placings.

Race 1, a couple of competitors were a little too eager across the line, causing Race Officer Alan Bennett to bring out the 'I' flag. The long first beat spread the field, with competitors breaking into three or four groups. Boats were tested, with at least two breakages – Tim Davison (892) doing a reverse pike into the lake after his toestrap broke, and Roger Witts (890) hurriedly repairing a mainsheet failure.

With Andy Matthews (881) and Toby Cooper incurring pre-start penalties, and Robbie Claridge still getting used to his new boat, first place was taken by Witts, second by Abby Freeley (883) and third, Robert Paynter (839).

Day two. The wind had strengthened. The lesson of the 'I' flag well-learnt, all but one sailor, Robert Paynter (839) – later disqualified – made tentative starts in Race 2. Davison took an early lead from Claridge and Cooper, while throughout the race, places were being keenly fought over further down the fleet. On the final lap, Claridge overtook Davison who, at the final approach to the finish line, continued his run of bad luck when he fell out of his boat, ceding Cooper second place.

Toby Smith's (838) second place at the start of Race 3, behind Davison and ahead of Claridge, didn't last long. He was soon passed by Claridge and Cooper, who, with Claridge getting ahead of Davison, made the top three.

In what was becoming a familiar story, Davison got away with a commanding lead, ahead of three other boats (and the rest of the field) at the first mark. Cleanly ahead, the first four boats battled for position. By the second lap, Claridge got ahead of Davison, who kept Cooper at bay for his third second place of the competition.

Day three. The rains and wind fell. Race 5 started in murky conditions, with Andy Mathews (881) taking the lead in the three-beat-leg course. Dead spots in the wind, particularly at the club-side marks, meant that places changed often, but the leaders continued to do what they had been doing all championships. The three top places were familiar – Claridge, Cooper, Davison. In Race 6, the same weather conditions prevailed. Claridge, Cooper and Davison, along with Mathews, fought for first, but with Cooper passing Claridge, and Mathews third ahead of Davison. Despite his second placing, Claridge's four firsts had guaranteed him the overall championships. It was between Davison and Cooper for the minor placings.

Race 7's conditions could not have been more different to the previous day's. Sun and a brisk wind made exciting sailing, and Claridge took his fifth first of the Nationals. However, Davison's fourth second was not enough to put him ahead of Cooper (third), who was second overall – the curse of the practice race strikes again! Abby Freeley took out Ladies' champion, while Davison had to be content with Veteran's champion.

Overall Results:
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Pos	Fleet	Sail No	Boat Name	Helm	Club	Practice R	Teddy Hicks	Coupe de Leon	Marlow Ropes	Obelisk Trophy	Ameythst Trophy	Thompson Trophy	Solent Trophy	Pts
1st	Senior	893		Robbie Claridge	Lymington	‑3	‑5	0.75	0.75	0.75	0.75	‑2	0.75	3.75
2nd	Senior	887	There is no Spoon	Toby Cooper	Broxbourne SC	‑0.75	(OCS)	2	‑3	3	2	0.75	3	10.75
3rd	Veteran	892	Mulligan	Tim Davison	Medley SC	‑2	‑9	3	2	2	3	‑4	2	12
4th	Senior	881	X Moth	Andy Mathews	Chew Valley SC	‑4	(OCS)	4	5	‑7	4	3	4	20
5th	Senior	890	Dakota	Roger Witts	Frampton on Severn SC	‑5	0.75	5	‑6	‑8	5	6	6	22.75
6th	Senior	838	Polyanna	Toby Smith	Medley SC	‑6	6	6	4	4	6	‑9	‑10	26
7th	Lady	883	Lapwing	Abby Freeley	Hunts	‑9	2	‑10	7	9	9	8	‑14	35
8th	Senior	839	Panic	Robert Paynter	Medley SC	‑12	3	(OCS)	8	6	11	‑13	7	35
9th	Senior	882	Little Wing	Gary Tompkins	Hunts	‑14	7	‑16	11	‑13	7	5	8	38
10th	Veteran	856	Okhams Razor	Colin Hall	Hunts	‑10	4	9	(DSQ)	10	‑14	12	5	40
11th	Senior	828	Gromit	Graham Pope	Severn SC	‑8	‑12	7	(DSQ)	5	12	11	9	44
12th	Senior	880	SameSame	Tony Latham	Frampton on Severn SC	‑11	‑13	8	10	‑12	10	10	11	49
13th	Lady	757	Lilac Beauty	Nicola Barrett	Frampton on Severn SC	‑7	10	13	(DSQ)	‑17	8	7	13	51
14th	Senior	817	Painted Lady	Jonathan Twite	Nottingham SC	‑15	11	11	9	11	‑13	‑14	12	54
15th	Veteran	854	This way up	Ian Edwards	Earlswood Lakes	(DNC)	8	(RET)	14	‑15	15	15	15	67
16th	Veteran	871	Scruff	Ian Heywood	Frampton on Severn SC	‑13	14	12	13	16	17	‑18	‑18	72
17th	Veteran	836	Fidgit	John Pickford	Earlswood Lakes	‑17	15	15	12	18	‑19	‑21	16	76
18th	Senior	847	Ghost Swift	Simon Hall	Maidenhead SC	‑16	17	17	17	14	‑20	17	‑19	82
19th	Senior	394	Twit	Andrew Cooper	Shearwater SC	(DNC)	16	14	(RET)	21	16	16	(RET)	83
20th	Lady	504	Hawkmoth	Elaine Gillingham	Hunts	(DNC)	18	18	15	‑19	18	‑19	17	86
21st	Lady	837	Uncertain	Ann Widdows	Frampton on Severn SC	‑18	21	19	18	(RET)	‑22	22	20	100
22nd	Lady	818	Madge	Jenni Heward‑Craig	Maidenhead SC	(DNC)	19	20	19	22	‑23	‑24	RET	102
23rd	Senior	870	Grafifiti Rat	Paul Leafe	Girton SC	(DNC)	(DNC)	(DNC)	16	20	21	20	DNC	103
24th	Veteran	245	Aeolus	Morris Metcalf	Rye Harbour SC	(DNC)	20	RET	20	RET	(DNC)	(DNC)	RET	106
25th	Lady	700	Tabitha Twitchit	Jennfer Bentley	Maidenhead SC	(DNC)	22	RET	(DNC)	(DNC)	24	23	21	111