British Moth Open at Leamington Spa Sailing Club
by Elaine Laverty 15 Apr 10:30 BST
13 April 2024
Leamington Spa British Moth Open © Jayne Whigham
The first open meeting of 2024 for the British Moth fleet dawned as a bright & breezy day and saw a fleet of eight boats competing on the small reservoir at Willes Meadow in Leamington.
At the request of the fleet there was a slight change in format with two early races and one in the afternoon, this was requested as it was forecast for strong winds to blow in in the early afternoon.
Race 1
The fleet had a clean start with Andrew Perrott making the first mark in first place & holding position despite having to do a penalty for nearly wiping the mark out! Normal service was quickly resumed though with Toby Cooper taking the lead before the end of the first lap, Andrew lost out further after being overtaken by Jonathan Carter. A mid-fleet battle ensued between Steve Baker, Gary Hogan & Elaine Laverty with Elaine coming out on top, Tom Billyard came through well at the end & overhauled Gary with Janet Smith sailing solidly to bring up the rear.
Race 2
The fleet made a clean start again & Toby showed a clean pair of heals with Jonathan & Andrew having a battle again for second & third place. The mid-fleet battle was raging again with Steve coming out on top this time followed by Elaine & Gary withTom was not far behind. Janet S was sailing well but as a much less experienced helm was struggling to keep up but once again stayed the course.
Race 3
This was held after lunch in somewhat more blustery conditions, Toby sat it out having already tied up the win, this left it open for Jonathan & Andrew to fight it out for the win with Jonathan coming out on top. In the mid-fleet Elaine came out on top again making her top placed sailor from LSSC.
Boats were quickly packed away & the annual ritual of tea & cakes commenced with an excellent choice of homebakes on offer. Prizes were presented, thanks were made & there was talk of our next open & training day at Emberton Park which is a new venue for us.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Helm | Sail No | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | Toby Cooper | 888 | Broxbourne | 1 | 1 | (DNS) | 2 |
| 2 | Jonathan Carter | 886 | Chelmarsh | ‑2 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | Andrew Perrott | 893 | Oxford | ‑3 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 4 | Elaine Laverty | 898 | LSSC | 4 | ‑5 | 3 | 7 |
| 5 | Steve Baker | 890 | LSSC | 5 | 4 | ‑6 | 9 |
| 6 | Gary Hogan | 894 | Emberton | ‑7 | 6 | 4 | 10 |
| 7 | Tom Billyard | 860 | LSSC | 6 | ‑7 | 5 | 11 |
| 8 | Janet Smith | 850 | LSSC | ‑8 | 8 | 7 | 15 |