2022 Wetsuit Outlet UK Moth Class Nationals at the WPNSA - Day 1

The Moths are back in force in Foil Town and, as they are prone to do, have gone through another step change in development. On the surface the change is obvious, with the Bieker, Aerocet and Exploder designs looking unlike anything that came before them, but under the skin it's far more nuanced.

Foils, rigs, control systems and analysis are all evolving, meaning the entire fleet is much faster than it ever was before. The Exocet and Rocket Moths may be regarded as the previous generation of designs, but they're also much faster, and the entire fleet isn't taking long to complete the course.

An example of that on the first day of the 2022 Wetsuit Outlet UK Moth Nationals was evident to all when race 2 starts at 12:48 and race 3 started just 36 minutes later. Yes, the new boats are extraordinary, but the way the entire fleet has progressed is another level.

Portland Harbour is known as an absolute favourite venue of the Moths, but its physical dimensions have posed an issue for the class due to the increase in speed of the boats. Even by using almost every available inch of the harbour the leaders finished a two-lap course in under 16 minutes - that's an incredible 4 minutes a leg. To cater for the speedy lap times, and the subsequent fall in race duration, the number of races each day has been increased to four.

Race 1 First Beat on Day 1 of the 2022 Wetsuit Outlet UK Moth Class Nationals at the WPNSA - photo © Mark Jardine / IMCA UK

The racing was incredibly tight, but the leader after day one is the 49er gold medallist from Tokyo 2020, Dylan Fletcher, who is flying the first production Aerocet:

"It was a fantastic opening day to the Nationals, taking the Aerocet away from the training and seeing where it actually is on the racecourse. I was really happy with how I was going, a few mistakes on my part, but I'm sure that's the same for everyone. It's looking like it's going to be a close championship."

On the boatspeed jump Dylan had this to say: "The boats keep getting faster year-on-year, and I think we're all a bit surprised by just how quick they are, but I think the four races really kept it interesting, and I'm sure there were a few tired people, including myself, in the last race."

Dylan Fletcher on Day 1 of the 2022 Wetsuit Outlet UK Moth Class Nationals at the WPNSA - photo © Mark Jardine / IMCA UK

Hot on Dylan's heels after recently returning to the UK is Brad Funk, who has jumped straight back into the class in his Bieker design and is right on the money already, only a single point off the lead in the rankings:

"I'm just happy to be here and that the boat is going well thanks to Kyle (Stoneham) who looked after it while I was away. I'm excited to be back in England racing in the best boat on the planet. I'm enjoying it! It's a lot of fun racing against people like Dylan and Simon (Hiscocks) and it comes down to who can pull off the tacks in the puffy conditions, which is really tough as every tack is different."

Brad Funk on Day 1 of the 2022 Wetsuit Outlet UK Moth Class Nationals at the WPNSA - photo © Mark Jardine / IMCA UK

Another point behind Brad is the relative veteran Simon Hiscocks, who has been sailing fast all season in Tom Slingsby's 2021 World Championship winning Bieker Moth:

"I'm one of the older Moth sailors but I seemed to get better as the day went on. Unbelievable! When I got the boat from Tom it was set up, fast, easy to sail and I just got in and sailed it and it's been really good fun to do that. I may do boatwork for a living, but it was really cool to just buy a boat that was sorted and that means I now just go out and enjoy Moth sailing and don't have to do quite so much boatwork on my own boat!"

Simon Hiscocks on Day 1 of the 2022 Wetsuit Outlet UK Moth Class Nationals at the WPNSA - photo © Mark Jardine / IMCA UK

With the speeds getting so high, finding the balance between sheer boatspeed and VMG to the next mark is a delicate line, as Dylan explains:

"Although we can hit 21 knots upwind, what we've been finding is that the higher groove has been working better, not necessarily hitting 20 knots all the time, but carrying height instead. It's cool to see the progression and so many different boats at the front of the fleet."

Dylan and Brad on Day 1 of the 2022 Wetsuit Outlet UK Moth Class Nationals at the WPNSA - photo © Mark Jardine / IMCA UK

Simon doesn't see a problem with having more shorter races:

"I was just chatting with Dylan and we agreed that we're happy with the evolving format. We still sail the same distance in each race as we did before, and they don't make the 100 metres longer records come down do they? Most of the race is about covering distance, as you get the same number of things happen during the race, regardless of the speed. There are several points in the race which are significant factors, such as the start, foiling tacks, mark roundings, and fleet tactics which result in gains and losses, the number of factors are exactly the same regardless of whether the race takes 15 minutes or 30 minutes."

Simon Hiscocks on Day 1 of the 2022 Wetsuit Outlet UK Moth Class Nationals at the WPNSA - photo © Mark Jardine / IMCA UK

So effectively they're doing the same thing, but in fast forward... not that they were going slowly beforehand.

A sailor who has upgraded boats in the fleet is Alex Barone - familiar in previous years from the shark mouth artwork on the bow of his boat, but now in a Rocket SSD R2 - who is very much enjoying his progression:

"It's definitely a lot faster than the old boat, and I'm just trying to get more confident in the boat. I really haven't been out in it too much, so I'm still getting a feel for it. Having four races is quite tiring and you definitely start to feel it towards the end of the day, but I'm quite young and have some fitness so it's not too bad."

Alex Barone and Chris White on Day 1 of the 2022 Wetsuit Outlet UK Moth Class Nationals at the WPNSA - photo © Mark Jardine / IMCA UK

On the improvement shown throughout the fleet Alex said:

"It felt really tight today, with all the upgrades people have done, the fleet is really condensed, which makes the racing a lot more interesting."

Emily Nagel on Day 1 of the 2022 Wetsuit Outlet UK Moth Class Nationals at the WPNSA - photo © Mark Jardine / IMCA UK

Friday may well see the fleet racing in Weymouth Bay, to try and give the fast foilers a longer race track, especially with the 2023 Worlds being held at the venue. It will be interesting to see how everyone handles the waves, and whether the change meets with approval. Racing in the bay will be the equivalent of offshore racing for these incredible racing machines, and should make for some spectacular footage!

IMCA UK would like to say a massive thank-you to the event sponsors, who have been very supportive to the Moth class, especially during the challenging times over the last 2 years:

• Wetsuit Outlet - Wetsuit Outlet is Europe's largest technical watersports clothing and equipment retailer. Priding themselves on friendly, expert customer service, Wetsuit Outlet stock a huge range of the top watersport brands including Zhik, Gill, Musto, Sail Racing, Gul and more.

• Optimum Time - Optimum Time, design and build timing devices that are precise, practical, and robust enough to perform in the competitive sailing environment. Pioneers of the game-changing sync function, their 'big yellow timer' is the badge to wear out on the water.

• Lennon Sails - Lennon sails have been at the forefront of Moth sailing since its formation in 2014. Winning multiple World, European and National titles. Working with cutting edge design tools the latest materials and some of the best sailors on planet. Lennon Moth sails are made to fit any moth design - Mike lennon is at many events and happy to discuss moth developments any time!

• Blueteq - Blueteq develops bespoke software for the NHS as well as many private healthcare providers. Its systems are used in every NHS Hospital Trust in England and Wales as well as 75% of the Commissioner Organisations which includes National systems for NHS England. Blueteq is proud to have been involved with the class over so many years, providing the membership and entry systems as well as financial support.

• Maguire Boats - Builders of the Exocet Moth, Simon and the team are in the process of producing the Aerocet. Dylan Fletcher says of the Aerocet "Its exciting to get the first production Aerocet racing, Simon and the team at Maguire boats have put in a huge amount of time developing this concept alongside Kevin Ellway. P1 has racked up over 7500kms of sailing since it first hit the water, testing every last detail. The goal every year is to win the worlds, the nationals will be a great shakedown for the boat as I start to find the potential within the boat."

• Allen - UK manufactures of performance sailing hardware. The Allen design team works closely with many of the World's best Moth sailors and builders to design, create and produce race winning hardware that meet the demands of the International Moth Class.

• Shock Sailing - Shock Sailing is located in the heart of the Osprey Quay development adjacent to the National Sailing Academy. Specializing in high performance sailboats, the Moth Class is in our dna. We have an extensive range of parts and accessories.

• Mainbrace Rum - Born in Cornwall, Sourced in the Caribbean.

The class encourages Moth sailors to support our sponsors wherever possible, since they are so good at supporting us.

For all UK Moth class event updates and news on how to enter, follow us on our FB events page at www.facebook.com/MothClassUK or on our UK class website at www.internationalmoth.co.uk

Results after Day 1: