All set for 4 days of intense racing at the Wetsuit Outlet UK Moth Nationals 2021
by Dave Smithwhite 11 Aug 2021 07:49 BST
12-15 August 2021
Wetsuit Outlet UK Moth Nationals day 1 © Mark Jardine / IMCA UK
The Moth Class is proud to announce that it will continue its successful partnership with Wetsuit Outlet who will once again act as title sponsor for our National Championship. The event will take place at Stokes Bay Sailing Club from 12th to 15th August. In addition to Wetsuit Outlet we also have great support from Maguire Boats, Ronstan, Noble Marine Insurance and Blueteq. Thank you to all of our sponsors for their involvement and great support of the event.
There is nothing quite like the feeling under you when you are sailing an International Moth downwind in a nice 15 knots of breeze. The waves bob up and down underneath you, never touching the hull but the boat itself, if set up well, will just sail smoothly along at 25 knots, only rising and falling as the waves get bigger. However, if it gets windy and the waves start to stand up and if your boat is not set up perfectly, you will nose dive so expect to make good use of your wetsuit as you fly through the air and land in the water! I'm expecting to experience both of those things heading into our nationals at Stokes Bay!
There is a significant amount of excitement about change in the class at present with a number of new designs showing excellent speed during the past 18 months or so. A group of fast Moth sailors based at WPNSA and sailing on Portland Harbour, mainly using fixed Wing Rockets have been pushing each other ever faster and should put on a good show at the Nationals. Given the likelihood of breeze against tide at Stokes Bay we could easily have days that are "a bit fruity" which will likely bring a few of the Exocet sailors into play as well. As is usually the case we will have a few home built boats that come with new innovations and ideas that get the rest of the fleet thinking.
There has been a tendency in the Moth fleet of late to increase the length of the foot of the sail that sweeps the deck thereby end plating the sail and reducing drag. The other benefit of these so called long deck sweepers is that more of the sail area is lower so heeling moment is reduced. The downside of the long deck sweepers is that you get much less deck space for the helmsman (see photo above of Brad Funk in his Beiker Moth) when executing manoeuvres which makes boat handling even more of a challenge. As is often the case the fleet will probably reach a workable compromise but it may take some time to work it all out. The Nationals will be a great place to do so prior to the Word Championship in September on Lake Garda.
At our 2020 Nationals held on Portland Harbour the top three positions were taken by two fixed wing rockets and a Beiker Moth which is built by Mackay Boats in New Zealand. Expect to see these designs along with the Exocets which have won the Worlds the last 4 times to come to the fore this year. We also have a number of Thinair boats entered which are also competing at the top of the fleet.
An intense 4 days of racing is expected throughout the fleet and particularly amongst a very strong and talented top ten. Dylan Fletcher and Stu Bithell have just won Olympic Gold in the 49er, both of whom sail Moths on Portland Harbour and have been pushing the pace for the last few years. Surely Dylan must be one of the favourites for the Worlds this year, sailing his new low foredeck version of the fixed wing rocket from Aardvark Tech.
Top racers expected to hit the top ten at the Nationals this year are Brad Funk from the US Sailing a Beiker Moth, Billy Vennis-Ozanne, Alex Adams and Kyle Stoneham all three in Rocket SSDs, Jim McMillan Exocet, Eddie Bridle Thinair, Mike Lennon Thinair, local sailor Jason Belben in an Exocet and Dave Hivey Exocet.
Look out for our daily race reports and videos to keep up with all the latest during and after the event.
IMCA UK would like to say a massive thank-you to the event sponsors, who have been so good to the Moth class, especially during these times.
- Wetsuit Outlet - Since 2004, Wetsuit Outlet has grown from humble beginnings into Europe's largest supplier of watersports clothing and equipment. Last year Wetsuit Outlet celebrated shipping over 2 million orders since starting 16 years ago. How did they do it? By offering quality products at competitive prices whilst having the best customer service in the business. Wetsuit Outlet stock top brands including Zhik, Gill, Musto, Gul, Crewsaver and more!
- Noble Marine - continued support has allowed IMCA to subsidise entry fees for this year's championship, the support we receive is directly linked to the policies they provide Moth sailors with a discount for class members.
- Blueteq - as well as hosting the online entry system, they are sponsoring beer and pasta during the event.
- Maguire Boats - Builders of the market leading Exocet Moth, Simon and the team will be on site for the whole event providing support for their four-time World Championship winning boats.
- Ronstan - From the outset of Foiling Moths, Ronstan have supplied light, strong and efficient hardware in the UK and Internationally to all level of sailors. With a range of blocks designed by sailors specifically for the class it is the choice of recent World Champions.
The class encourages Moth sailors to support our sponsors wherever possible, since they are so good at supporting us.
Find out more about the class on the their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/MothClassUK