Classic Moth Nationals

Last weekend I competed in the Classic Moth National championship sailed in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. I sailed my wife's boat, Aftermath, a mid-'60s Shelley that I modified by raising the sheer and building a huge foredeck. Last year I finished second in the same boat to Jeff Linton. This year Jeff was tied up with the Lightning Worlds so didn't compete. This year's winner was Mike Parsons from the Philly area. Second was Annapolis's John Zseleczky. I finished third.



It's interesting that the three of us also have built foilers. Maybe we just like building stuff, but probably it's that we want to try new stuff, even if we aren't very good at it. In the Classics, Mike pulled off the win after many years of plugging away. The boat he sailed was his third home build, a mistral that he built with an unstayed rig that cants forward quite a bit off the wind. (Both John and I use conventional stayed rigs.) One ingredient of Mike's success is that he has consistently campaigned his boat up and down the east coast, proving once again that time in the boat can make a huge difference. My klutzy boat handling included falling off the boat one race when rounding the leeward mark in the lead, and completely blowing the start of another race.

My foiler is yet to be put together, but I have registered for the Heineken High Performance Dinghy Open to be sailed in a couple of weeks in Rye, NY (about a 9 hour drive.) John Ilett says he's shipping me a replacement main foil so I should be set-up okay if I can repair my rudder gantry. Stay tuned for more details. In the meantime I'm really busy at work (and can hardly justify writing the post) but am lurking in the Mothosphere. Pictures above by Ingrid and Elisabeth Albaugh.

...later...

-TRVTH-

RE: Bruce's latest Mothcast.

As the "winner" of the 2009 Moth Blog Worlds, I can attest that success in blogging is inversely proportional to success on the water.

Phillippe, be forewarned. Back away from the keyboard....

Here's my interview:

I'm Going Home

You’re reading the last post for a while. After this gets uploaded I’m hopping on the bike for the 45 mile ride into Portland, where I will drop off my steed at a bike shop to get it boxed and shipped back to Norfolk. Then I’ll jump on the Trimet transit for the ride to PDX, then a seven hour flight back home, arriving in Virginia at 9:00 a.m. Tomorrow I’ll report to work to prepare for the new school year.

My crated boat should leave West Coast Sailing on Wednesday and arrive in Norfolk five days later. I plan on unpacking it and putting it away in the garage. Obviously I have some boat (and foil) work to attend to, but that will wait for the winter. The Classic Moth Nationals are the third weekend in September, and I’ll probably make a short post following that effort, assuming I even sail there. I don‘t think I’ll make the eight hour drive up to October’s HPOD regatta. At any rate, for me it’s back to the real world.

Thanks for all who have followed the 160 different posts over the past eleven months, from my first post on July 25th of last year, until this one today. Thanks to the Moth World Blog Championship Committee (Andrew, Mat, and Glenn) on choosing my blog as the winner. I hope you’ve had some enjoyment reading and listening; I know that I’ve enjoyed thinking about mothing for the past year, and I trust the mothosphere will be fine without me.

Thanks, again. Enjoy Daughtry.

Home, by Chris Daughtry (2007)

I'm staring out into the night,
Trying to hide the pain.
I'm going to the place where love
And feeling good don't ever cost a thing.
And the pain you feel's a different kind of pain.

Well I'm going home,
Back to the place where I belong,
And where your love has always been enough for me.
I'm not running from.
No, I think you got me all wrong.
I don't regret this life I chose for me.
But these places and these faces are getting old,
So I'm going home.
Well I'm going home.

The miles are getting longer, it seems,
The closer I get to you.
I've not always been the best man or friend for you.
But your love remains true.
And I don't know why.
You always seem to give me another try.

So I'm going home,
Back to the place where I belong,
And where your love has always been enough for me.
I'm not running from.
No, I think you got me all wrong.
I don't regret this life I chose for me.
But these places and these faces are getting old,

Be careful what you wish for,
'Cause you just might get it all.
You just might get it all,
And then some you don't want.
Be careful what you wish for,
'Cause you just might get it all.
You just might get it all, yeah.

Oh, well I'm going home,
Back to the place where I belong,
And where your love has always been enough for me.
I'm not running from.
No, I think you got me all wrong.
I don't regret this life I chose for me.
But these places and these faces are getting old.
I said these places and these faces are getting old,
So I'm going home.
I'm going home.

Worlds Wrap-up

A US sailor has again claimed the Moth World Championship title, breaking a 33 year absence. Bora Gulari from Detroit, Michigan will now the third American to claim the Carling Trophy, joining Blair Fletcher (1967) and Ted Causey (1976). Bora credits his training partner, George Peet, his boat mechanic, Matt Pistay, and the West Coast class organizer, Charlie McKee for his success. Certainly his dedication to sailing as often as possible has resulted in optimized equipment, polished boat handling, and blazing speed off the wind. Bora bested Nathan Outteridge from Australia (who finished 2nd) and Arnaud Psarofaghis from Switzerland (in 3rd). Rounding out the top five are Dalton Bergan from the US and Simon Payne from the UK. The complete results are here and on the event site.

Andrew McDougall's Mach2 is now established as the fastest production moth in the world. The Dubai Worlds is a scant eight months away and it will be interesting to see if the top helms move en masse to from the BR to the M2. It will also be interesting to see the Ninja in the mix. The Assassin still has teething problems but perhaps they will be sorted on the coming year. Home builds are not necessarily uncompetitive, my result notwithstanding – Bruce reminds me that the fastest moth in Australia is Dave Lister’s home build.

As far as sailors are concerned, the US fleet is strong, with five of the top fifteen finishers. The program that Bora used to win included lots of sailing – he was on the water 6 days a week. It seemed to me that the first twenty finishers were sailing at the top of their game. It's just that the top has gotten consistently better. Perhaps for large regattas we will move to a two-tier fleet: pros and the amateurs.

I have to congratulate Nige and Charlie on their organization and Bill Symes and the CGRA for their committee work. Marilyn and her crew organized great shoreside activities. The media coverage was great, and Rohan's emcee duties definitely added to the crowd's pleasure. Well done all!




For Bora, representing the US Moth Class, I had to include Queen. Enjoy!

We Are The Champions, by Freddie Mercury (1977)
I've paid my dues -
Time after time -
I've done my sentence
But committed no crime -
And bad mistakes
I've made a few
I've had my share of sand kicked in my face -
But I've come through

We are the champions - my friends
And we'll keep on fighting - till the end -
We are the champions -
We are the champions
No time for losers
'Cause we are the champions - of the world -

I've taken my bows
And my curtain calls -
You brought me fame and fortune and everything that goes with it
-
I thank you all -

But it's been no bed of roses
No pleasure cruise -
I consider it a challenge before the whole human race -
And I ain't gonna lose -

We are the champions - my friends
And we'll keep on fighting - till the end -
We are the champions -
We are the champions
No time for losers
'Cause we are the champions - of the world -

Day 4 Results - It's a Young Man's Game

Bora increases his lead.

As shown on the event site, after three races today, Bora has lengthened his lead over Nathan. Two more bullets with wins coming on the downwind legs. There were more breakdowns today, including me on the way to the start line.

Shortly after I was dragged in, Naomi, Gerold, and Giovanni also came in. When I asked "What broke," the response from all three was "the body." I know I'm battered and bruised. The breeze seemed to be about 15 with puffs into the low twenties. The W course in the relatively narrow river, requires lots of tacks and gybes. No banging a corner at this venue! I have to give major props to Amac and to Simon, who continue to soldier on, both with physical injuries - Amac's shoulder from Weymouth and Si's knee from yesterday.

Tonight it's the Bar-B-Que. I have to decide if I can affect another repair and attempt the two races tomorrow. If not I'll probably pack up the boat so I can get an early start on my bike ride into Portland on Sunday.

Here's the Village People

YMCA, by Henri Belolo, Jacques Morali, Victor Willis (1978)

Young man, there's no need to feel down
I said, young man, pick yourself off the ground
I said, young man, 'cause your in a new town
There's no need to be unhappy

Young man, there's a place you can go
I said, young man, when you're short on your dough
You can stay there, and I'm sure you will find
Many ways to have a good time.

It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.
It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.
They have everything For young men to enjoy.
You can hang out with all the boys.

It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.
It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.
You can get yourself clean
You can have a good meal
You can do whatever you feel.

Young man, Are you listening to me
I said, young man, what do you want to be
I said, young man, you can make real your dreams,
but you've got to know this one thing.

No man, does it all by himself
I said, young man, put your pride on the shelf
And just go there, to the Y.M.C.A.
I'm sure they can help you today

It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.
It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.
They have everything for young men to enjoy.
You can hang out with all the boys.

It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.
It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.
You can get yourself clean
You can have a good meal
You can do whatever you feel.

Young Man, I was once in your shoes,
I said, I was down and out with the blues
I felt, no man cared if I were alive
I felt the whole world was so jive

That's when someone came up to me
and said young man take a walk up the street
There's a place there called the Y.M.C.A.
They can start you back on your way.

It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.
It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.
They have everything For young men to enjoy.
You can hang out with all the boys.

Y.M.C.A.
It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.
It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.
Young man, Young man, there's no need to feel down
Young man, Young man, pick yourself off the ground

Y.M.C.A.
just go to the Y.M.C.A.
Young Man, Young Man, I was once in your shoes,
Young Man, Young Man, I was out with the blues

Y.M.C.A.
Y.M.C.A.
Y.M.C.A.
Y.M.C.A.

Day Three Results

After a short postponement the RC got off three races back to back. The results as posted on the event site have Bora in the lead, just two points ahead of Nathan. The net scores are now meaningful as both throwouts are taken into consideration. Nine points back is Arnaud with Dalton three points behind him. Si is another ten points back.

I managed to muddle around the course for all three races, but the committee only noticed my last start. Maybe I should more sail more conspicuously, but I would think my wild oscillations off the wind would attract lots of attention. At any rate it seemed the story today was to keep things together and avoid breakage. The waves were pretty big and the shifts were large and sudden and I saw lots of folks sticking it both upwind and down. After winning the first race of the day, Scott returned with a broken wing strut. Rough since the two DNCs and his one DNF means he has to carry a lettered score.

My min-rig needed more rake, and my repaired gantry needed more AoA, so tweaking each tomorrow should help. Thanks to all those who are following along. Yesterday's post was picked up by Scuttlebutt and I got an e-mail from Mike Worrell, a name from the past (way past!) I had sailed in three Worrell 1000s (aka the Coastwise Race in Hobie 16s) in the late 1970s. As to my take on Doug's comments about boat colors, how about boat names? My (blue) Try-Foil may be the one hull displaying something that doesn't end in ".com."

To remind me to keep the rightside up, I decided to go back to the well, and include some Queen. Enjoy.

Another One Bites the Dust, by John Deacon (1980)

Steve walks warily down the street,
With the brim pulled way down low
Aint no sound but the sound of his feet,
Machine guns ready to go
Are you ready, are you ready for this
Are you hanging on the edge of your seat
Out of the doorway the bullets rip
To the sound of the beat

Another one bites the dust
Another one bites the dust
And another one gone, and another one gone
Another one bites the dust
Hey, Im gonna get you too
Another one bites the dust

How do you think Im going to get along,
Without you, when youre gone
You took me for everything that I had,
And kicked me out on my own

Are you happy, are you satisfied
How long can you stand the heat
Out of the doorway the bullets rip
To the sound of the beat

Chorus

Another one bites the dust
Another one bites the dust
Another one bites the dust
Another one bites the dust
There are plenty of ways you can hurt a man
And bring him to the ground
You can beat him
You can cheat him
You can treat him bad and leave him
When hes down
But Im ready, yes Im ready for you
Im standing on my own two feet
Out of the doorway the bullets rip
Repeating the sound of the beat

Fortuitous Scheduling

Day Three of the Worlds was scheduled as a lay day, reserved to catch up in the number of races if need be. As it is, we're one race up (having sailed four instead of the planned three on Monday,) so there's no need to use the lay day. It's just as well - a cool rain in the form of a steady drizzle is coming down, making any racing that might have taken place today far less enjoyable. So for me today, it's finish the epoxy work on my gantry, glad that I have a heated hotel room to help things kick.

The spare time gives me an opportunity to contemplate the racing and my participation in it. I suppose I should also talk about the evolution of the class from the prospective of someone who's built moths in three distinct design eras: the "classic" moths of the early to mid-1960s, the first of the "wedge" designs typical of the mid to late 1970s (my hey-day,) and lastly, the modern foilers of today. First the boats: these aren't your father's (or grandfather's) mothboats. For three decades, from the mid '30s to the mid '60s, the design changes were generally gradual - but the resulting boats were all designs that any competent dinghy sailor would feel comfortable in. When revolutionally gimmicks were tried (multihulls and sliding seats to name a couple) they were quickly outlawed. The resulting type-form was (and is, see the Classic Moth Boat Association) an eleven foot development dinghy that is easy to build, cheaper to own, and more responsive to sail than most any other conventional dinghy. I should know - I've built or re-built about eight hulls in the past ten years and presently sail my Mistral design "Try-umph" in Classic moth regattas. The competition is top-flight: one of our active builders/sailors is Jeff Linton, the 2007 US Sailing Rolex YOTY. Below are a couple of shots of me sailing my classic Try-Umph, built in 1997, to the rules of the CMBA, and one of me racing my wife's modified Shelley at last year's CMBA Nationals (I'm in the black and white boat at the weather end.)





The international moth class changed significantly in the late 1960s & early 1970s with the adoption of the Australian "tall rig." Development underwent a quantum leap as builders and designers adapted to the more powerful rig by increasing beam, narrowing waterlines, and all the while working to minimize weight. I built and campaigned three boats is this era: a Stockholm Sprite with box ply wings (that also sported a double luff sleeve sail, one of the first), a Mistral with tube wings (in which I took 7th place in the 1976 worlds) and a fiberglass Magnum2 that I sailed to 16th place in the 1977 worlds at Hayling Island. The boats were easy to build and fun to sail. I remember with my Sprite "First Try" playing around before the start of multiclass regattas by standing on the wing while planing through the fleet. Good fun! Pictures are hard to come by, but below is a shot of me sailing in 1974.
The moth class died off in the US in the late 1970s, so I missed the whole era of the narrow skiff with t-foil rudders. I did have a go at an ultra-narrow boat around 2001 and was turned off by the constant swimming. For a while a couple of us on the east coast experimented with the addition of an asymmetrical spinnaker on a Magnum2 hull, but the result was also less than satisfying. Below are a couple of shots of me sailing that boat, with the same cloth sail that I used back in the 1970s.In the end, the "US modern moth" experiment didn't pan out. It wasn't until September of 2007 that I had a chance to sail a foiler: Bill Beaver's Hungry Beaver design. I was immediately smitten and decided then and there that I had to build one. You have to remember my history - I had never "bought" a moth before, so the idea, not to mention the price tag of $15K+, of buying a BR was considered, but quickly dismissed. So began my saga of Try-Foil. The boat, with its homemade foils, was completed in the late spring of 2008, sailed enough to get through the initial sail-break-fix-repeat stage (or so I thought,) then packed off to the Weymouth worlds. I should have realized then that something significant was afoot in the class when I was but one of about a half dozen "home builds." The BR factory team support was ever present, and all the top finishers, hell, probably the top 50 finishers, were all sailing production boats.



My result at Weymouth was disappointing to say the least. If the breeze had been no more than 15 knots I probably would have finished all the races, but my overall place of 75/99 may not have been any better. So I came back home, sailed one regatta on the east coast (the AYC HPOD regatta in October) before I blew up my daggerboard. I decided to bite the bullet and buy what I considered to be the biggest component of my slows: the foil. The reception of a new FC gen3 two piece foil didn't result in a final solution; for that I'm still a ways away. But my experiences last week and this have convinced me that class, for better or worse, has changed from what I remembered. If the adoption of the tall rig in the early 70s resulted in a quantum leap for the designers (with home builders still being able to compete with designs a season old,) the universal adoption of foils has been a fundamental shift in type, at least as the home builder is concerned. The forces are now so large and concentrated that except for the cachet one-offs, like Karl and Bruce, or small boutique builders like Cookie, competitive boats need to come from industrial facilities with all the state of the art techniques (huge autoclaves, resin infusion, etc.) An inspection of the M2 shows foils rigidly fitted to the hull - there is not a bit of play in the system. Such tight tolerances are hard to achieve. Amac has given me a few hints and suggestions so when I get home I still have work to do.

The other significant change to the class is its sailors. This really is "Formula One" on the water with, at least at the World Championship level, professional sailors predominating. I feel like a senior amateur who made his own golf clubs going up against Tiger Woods and the rest of the PGA in the Open tournament. It's a privilege to be here, to start with and to even be lapped by the likes of Nathan, Bora, Arnaud, Si and Rohan (and Scott, and Dalton, and any of the McKees, and...). The pictures of Bill Schill, shown at the top of this post and who won the worlds in '63, and Peter Moor, shown immediately above and who finished 2nd at the Ware River worlds in '76, seem quaint compared to where we are today. Yes, with me and moffing, it's been a long and winding road. Enjoy the Beatles from 1970.