2014 Moth Worlds at Hayling Island

Well, as I look at the upcoming worlds at HISC I have to reluctantly admit I won't be able to make it this time around. I was hoping that circumstances and finances would align and I'd be able to make a return engagement. I did compete in the moth world championship at Hayling Island in 1977 as one of three Americans to make the trip. Our boats were fiberglass magnum 2s taken out of a mold from John Claridge's boat that he had sold to Ted Causey after the previous world champs in the States. Back in 1977 I had just graduated from college and had treated myself to a six week cycling vacation in England culminating with the regatta. As I fondly remember the experience I do have a bit of regret that I can't re-experience racing in Chichester Harbour and the Solent.

The 1970's were a simpler time in moth racing. I have to believe that our homemade boats were as competitive as the rest of the boats in the regatta and that the order of finish was determined more by sailing ability and less by the equipment. Of course the boats and rigs mattered, but as long as your hull was fairly light and stayed watertight and your rig had a decent sail you could have had a shot at the top end of the fleet.

As I look at the moths of today I realize that it's much more difficult for one person to build a competitive boat. I just watched a video about the "arms race" leading to the upcoming A-Cat worlds and I see things similar to the pointy end of the moth fleet: a very techie boat shop with some very talented builders and sailors working as a group to push the envelope.  There are folks who are very competitive with home built boats (Dave Lister, for example), but for me to have a chance, even in the silver fleet at a moth worlds, I'd probably have to sail something other than my six year old Hungry Beaver. As a minimum I would think that a new M2 or Exocet with a new rig would be required. Obviously the winners are those with the best skill set for the conditions but I would argue that the differences in the equipment used by the top ten finishers is slight. My boat wouldn't cut it this time around.

I'll keep playing the lottery once a week and maybe I'll hit a winner. Let's see...perhaps $30,000 for the package (and airfare, etc.) should do it..

Good luck all!

Boat Names

Maybe I'm being a bit nostalgic, but when I was reviewing the list of entries at the 1977 Moth Worlds hosted by Hayling Island Sailing Club, I saw that of the 86 entries, all but 19 had submitted a boat name. Many were indicative of the home-built nature of the class back then, but some were just plain interesting. Why are boat names on today's moths seemingly rare?

At any rate, enjoy the following look back on mothing in the late 70s...and I wonder how many of these folks have made the transition to foiling other than me.

And, yes, I'd love to make the trip again next summer if I can get the funds....

                                    HAYING ISLAND SAILING CLUB

                                    INTERNATIONAL MOTH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 1977

                                    LIST OF ENTRIES

Country                                    Helm                           Boat Name                              No.

AUSTRALIA                          C. Burton                     Red Ned                                  KA8467
________________________________________________________

CZECHOSLAVAKIA             P. Tomasch                  Troll II                                    CZ1

                                                R. Andil Jnr.                Troll                                       CZ11
_______________________________________________________

DENMARK                            J. Kold                                                                         D6

                                                H. Jensen                                                                    D22

                                                C. Mueller                                                                   D23

                                                T. Neilson                                                                    D24

                                                M. Freek                                                                      D25

                                                J. Boetter-Jensen                                                        D30
_______________________________________________________

FDR                                        J. Segger                      Guppy                                      G1

                                                A. Messtorff                Jaimte                                      G2

                                                S. Kickhofen                Winnie                                    G610

                                                W. Briegleb                 O-g                                          G672

                                                M. Zeller                     Jumbo                                      G714

                                                B. Buhler                     Behemoth                                G715

                                                U. Fischer                    Fischli                                      G724

                                                Erica Von Borcke                                                        G734

                                                J. Pichler                     Unke                                        G738

                                                S. Gunter                                                                     G753

                                                N. Rubach                                                                   G801
_______________________________________________________

HOLLAND                              D. de Boer                                                                    H3

                                                C. de Graaff                                                                  H7

                                                H. Hamberg                                                                  H10
______________________________________________

SOUTH AFRICA                   A. Lanham-Love          Merveille du Jour                    3600
________________________________________________________

SWEDEN                                M. Lindgren                 Goofy                                      S371

                                                U. Bowallius               Mitzigainoff                              S377

                                                R. Weigard                  Blabar                                      S381

                                                D. Bolenius                 Valkyrian II                              S407

                                                A. Galmark                                                                  S415
________________________________________________________

SWITZERLAND                     B. Guhl                        Guinea Pig                               Z415

                                                G. Werner                   Heya                                         Z420

                                                H. Jorg                        Hu                                             Z425

                                                A. Wickart                   Scho    Rot                               Z475

                                                C. Kuchli                     C.C.                                          Z478

                                                B. Wicki                      Half Night Wonder                  Z481

                                                T. Schiess                    Viola da Gamba                       Z482

                                                C. Guanziroli               Calimero                                  Z494

                                                H. Dreher                    L.S.D. 7                                    Z495
________________________________________________________

UNITED KINGDOM             C. Edwards

                                                B. Spencer                   Salty Dog                                K3346

                                                Yvonne Woodwell      Soapha                                    K3361

                                                R.D. Townsley                                                            K3435

                                                J.R. Woods                  Orange Underwing                 K3437

                                                A.R. Gould                  Limbo                                      K3468

                                                D.B. Hall                     Regular Dart                            K3498

                                                R. Elliston                   Slip and Grip                           K3501

                                                J. Iszatt                        Sprite Alite                              K3505

                                                R.J. Heseltine              Whiter Shade of Pale              K3520

                                                D. Surridge                  Lemming                                  K3525

                                                M.J. Wood                  Magnalium                               K3533

                                                N.G. Blake                  Norfolk Poacher                      K3541

                                                J. Pearce                      Sidewinder Too                       K3555

                                                B.C. Cox                     Sunny                                       K3560

                                                C. Reeves                    Wendigo                                  K3562

                                                C. Walker                    Vergin’ on the Wakehurst       K3566

                                                M. Iszatt                      Tumbleweed                            K3567

                                                P. Conway                   Great Uncle Bulgaria              K3574

                                                M. Brill                       Magnum-Opus                         K3602

                                                P. Iszatt                        Final Fling                               K3608

                                                M. Green                     Down Under                            K3615

                                                C. Cottrill                    Lucy Lastick                            K3617

                                                J. Spencer-Smith         X Tension                                K3619

                                                C.A. Evans                  9 Day Wonder                         K3622

                                                B. Short                       The Galloping Maggot of         K3632

                                                                                    Bexhill on Sea

                                                B. Cole                        Just William                             K3636

                                                D. Iszatt                       Super Womble                         K3643

                                                J.G. Claridge               Magnum III                              K3646

                                                P. Dives                      Charlie                                      K3647

                                                A.J. Francis                 Hunca Munca                          K3649

                                                R. Hargreaves             Try Again                                 K3660

                                                J. Byrne                       Sul                                           K3665

                                                M. Shepherd                Hawkwind                               K3666

                                                D. Barnes                    Warrior                                    K3667

                                                A. Prower                   Collusion                                  K3670

                                                J.H. Butler                   Truffles                                   K3671

                                                R. Oates                      The Waki-Racer                      K3673

                                                G. Pither                                                                      K3674

                                                T. Gale                        Intangible Sophistication         K3676

                                                J.C. Bull                                                                       K3677

                                                C. Eyre                        Cunning Stunt                          K3679

                                                B.M. Reeve                 K.K.T.F.S.B.U.                        K3680

                                                J. Meachen                                                                   K3681

                                                S. Allen                       Schizofrantic                            K3686
________________________________________________________
U.S.A.                                    J.A. Bousquet              Try-umph                                 US4191
                                                T. Lutton                                                                      US4197

                                                R. Wallio                                                                      US4198

Without the video it didn't happen...

This weekend was the Classic Moth National Championships in Elizabeth City, NC.  (picture above by Brett A. Clark for The Daily Advance,) I managed to regain the title 12 years after last winning it back in 2001. After the racing on Sunday I put the foils from my international moth on Susan's Shelley. The breeze was marginal but I did manage to get airborne for a few seconds. I really needed a steady 12-13 kts. Video courtesy of Len Parker.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9urDKT88LU&feature=youtu.be

The world's oldest foiling moth

dateline Friday, September 6th,  Norfolk, VA.

    This afternoon at 1630 hours, a ply moth of the Shelley design, built by Bill McCutcheon on the Isle of Wight in the 1960s, has achieved full flight with a classic moth rig. The venue was Willoughby Bay in Norfolk, Virginia (USA.)  Conditions as recorded on a nearby weather station situated in the harbor were 11-13 knots. When the wind peaked the boat easily lifted and sustained flight for about a half a mile broad reaching. The pilot was Joe Bousquet who used the foils from his international moth Try-Foil, a five year old Hungry Beaver design. The plywood Shelley, on the other hand, was the first of McCutcheon's boats imported to the United States. It had fallen into extreme disrepair and was resurrected in 2001 by Bousquet as "Aftermath" and was subsequently sailed for over ten years by Susan Bousquet in races sponsored by the Classic Moth Boat Association.

No video nor GPS readings were available, but may be forthcoming during future flights. Below is a snapshot of the wind conditions during the afternoon hours when Aftermath was foil-borne.

Wither the amateurs?

Yesterday was the annual Norfolk Yacht and Country Labor Day regatta, a fixture on the lower Bay sailing calendar since there's been dinghy racing on the Chesapeake. Moths have been racing in this regatta for over 7 decades. The class winner in the Hampton One-design class is awarded a perpetual trophy, the Governor's Cup, that also dates back at least 60 years. We Susan and I showed up with our classic moths, we found Walt and George (who had driven up from Greenville.) A small fleet of four, but we knew gas prices were high and some of the regulars had either relocated (Mark to South Carolina) or had other pressing items on their plate (Greg was gearing up to organize the Nationals in just two more weeks.)  At any rate we had a great time. The breeze fluctuated around 7 knots, never dropping below 4 and building to around 11-12 by the last race. There was an ebb tide that added just the right amount of current to make calling laylines interesting. The committee got off seven races on a windward-leeward course situated just off the club. The larger boats had to sail out to the channel off ODU and managed fewer races and more current. On the inside course we had a blast. We even traded boats between races, with a junior instructor from the club in the mark set boat jumping into the fray for three races (he sailed Try-Umph, then Aftermath, then Walt's Europe.)

Walt had to bail out a bit early so only sailed 6 races and Susan sat out two races and the scoring was both by sail number and by helmsman so the results are somewhat muddled but we had a blast. I ended up with 6 bullets and a second. My boat did pretty well with 6 firsts and a 4th. George finished one race first in my boat (and I got second in Lumpy). Aftermath also took a first, with me at the helm. I suppose it usually is all about the driver, but that's pretty well accepted.

So was there anything unusual about the day? You betcha! On the last weekend of the summer, with beautiful weather of sunny skies, 90 degrees and a perfect breeze for anyone (even green fleet Opti kids,) there were only the Moths and the Hamptons racing (and only 6 Hampton O-Ds at that.) There were NO junior sailors. It was only a year or two back when this regatta had hordes of Optis from both Norfolk and Hampton. In years past we actually enjoyed sailing in and around the Optis as they made comments about how "cool" our moths were. The older juniors at the club race 420s and CJs. In fact, the club boasts about 30 Optis and 30 double handed trainers on a floating dock just ready to sail. Not a single one was launched yesterday.  When I asked the junior instructor where the kids were on this perfect regatta day I got a couple of replies..."It's cooler to go stand-up paddleboarding down in Duck (on the Outer Banks),"  and "They didn't know about the regatta," and "The good Opti kids only race the major regattas now-a-days and couldn't be bothered with this little race."  I thought how sad. If the hot-shots are gone what a great opportunity this was for the kids that usually inhabit the back end of the fleet and for the green fleet's novices.  But perhaps the back end of the fleet has given up sailing. Maybe the back 80% of the fleet has given up sailing. If only the top competitors compete and those top kids don't show, what happens? To paraphrase Bertolt Brecht, What if they gave a regatta and nobody came?

This lack of juniors racing and the decline in participation in small boat sailing in general may be common as we move deeper and deeper into the virtual world (Susan commented that the kids don't sail real boats anymore, because "there's an app for that..."). But surely if the base is not growing, and in reality is probably shrinking, how can that possibly be good for the top? Reference the gnashing and grinding of teeth after the USA failed to medal in Weymouth.  Maybe it's the culture of if you don't perform at the top, it's not worth playing the game. I did like the Nike commercial about "Finding your greatness" aired during the London games. Let's only hope that "your greatness" will be understood to mean "not the world's greatness."  If the bulk of the fleet gives up sailing it may be because the boat is boring. Not so with the moth! Witness the record turn-out at the last worlds. On a related note I saw that Anja continues to document the entire moth fleet. Her pictures of Campione are so much more inclusive of the fleet when compared to those of Thierry who concentrates on the pointy end. Yep, I'm still mothing and hope to be at Hayling Island in 2014. Hawaii is out just because of the calendar. Teaching school frees up the summer months but demands that I stay focused from mid-August to June.

Waterlust

I just viewed the video posted by Anthony and put together by the Waterlust.org folks out of the University of Miami. The short film shot with GoPro cameras is really well done and I'm looking forward to the April piece titled "Lift" about mothing (I suppose!)

Below is just a snippet showing Bora with his patented water walk.

Happy Xmas

The 2nd day of Christmas and it's John Lennon's turn...

Hope all is well in the moth world.