Noble Marine International Moth Northern Championship at Rutland Sailing Club

Noble Marine Northern Championship at Rutland © Alex Adams

Noble Marine Northern Championship at Rutland © Alex Adams

A very excited fleet arrived at Rutland Sailing Club for the Noble Marine Northern(ish) Championships. With signs of a foiling breeze and clear blue skies the fleet had all launched before the race officer was ready to say there was enough wind. This meant there was a bit of a wait as the wind pulsed through, at which point everybody started flying around before the wind dropped again.

Eventually after a false start the fleet got away with enough wind. Henry Wetherell took an early lead that only looked in danger at the first windward mark when the whole fleet ran out of wind. After that the wind filled in enough for the leading group to complete a dry final lap. Jason Belben and Eddie Bridle closely followed Henry into the finish, before the wind died for the day leaving a slow finish for most of the fleet.

A standout performance from the day was Simon Goodwin who has recently rejoined the fleet sailing a Mach 2 who climbed as high as third at one point before finishing 5th.

The second day was very different to the first with a much stronger colder wind blowing. Combined with the fresh water it was strong enough for the 30 Knot club to gain at least one new member.

The first three races formed a pattern with Henry striking out early and leading commandingly to the finish. Behind things were much closer with Gareth Davies, Ross Harvey, Ronan Wallace, Alex Adams and Jason Belben all taking turns to lead the chase. By the end though the top three were always Henry, Jason and Alex.

The final race of the day did add some extra excitement though when the cold caused Henry to fumble in his tack and get stuck head to wind. Sensing an opportunity for the victory a group headed by Ross struck out to go for the win. Unfortunately Henry was too fast and by the finish the top three were back to the now familiar order.

It was great to see the fleet keen to get the season going, with this year's season opener attracting double the number of boats to last years. Included in that was Andrew Friend with his brand new home build with a few interesting ideas. Teething problems meant we will have to wait a bit longer to see what the boat is capable of.

This year we have a competition to win a free nationals entry for the first Mach2 and the first Exocet over the four events before the nationals at Restronguet sailing club. That competition is being led by Simon Goodwin in the Mach2 and Paul Myerscough in the Exocet. But don't worry there is still plenty of time for your chance to win, as it is the best two of four events to count. So the next event, Queen Mary sprints, on April 13th is a great opportunity to get your first result in.

Overall Results: