11th Hour Cup- Crowds see foiling Moth spectacle in Newport - Day 1+2

by US Moth Media on 28 May 2014 Unseasonably cold temperature and winds up to 15 knots welcomed the high-flying International Moth fleet to Narragansett Bay on Saturday for the first day of racing in the inaugural 11th Hour Cup regatta, with long time Newport local and reigning US National Champion Anthony Kotoun sailing a nearly flawless day to lead the fleet.

Boston-based attorney Matt Knowles found the only chink in Kotoun’s armor on the fifth and final race of the day, when a dropping breeze allowed the lightweight Knowles to sail away to a nearly one-minute win over the fleet. 'It’s always nice to have a good lead, but this 11th Hour Cup is much bigger than that,' said Kotoun, who also serves as the regatta organizer for the event. 'It provides an opportunity for the US Moth Class and Class Partner 11th Hour Racing to get together and brainstorm on where we want to take our partnership for the coming year.'

Anthony Kotoun didn’t spend much time in the lead of the 11th Hour Cup’s racing fleet on Day 2 of racing on Sunday, though you wouldn’t know it from the scores; the Virgin Islands native and longtime Newport resident scored another four first place finishes from five races, identical to his scoreline from Saturday.

Second-place Matt Knowles was the worst effected by Kotoun’s penchant for being in the right place at the right time; Matt led the way around the course for most of three races, only to get pipped at the pin by Kotoun in two of them. 'It’s pretty frustrating to see him always lurking there waiting for his chance to pass no matter how far ahead you are,' said Knowles. 'I can’t blame him – I left the opening both times by missing a puff or a layline, and he grabbed the openings and rode them to wins.'

Sunday featured the biggest spectator crowds yet at the tip of Sail Newport’s historic and picturesque Fort Adams home, with hundreds of locals and visitors enjoying the action from the Moth fleet and the ocean racers of the Atlantic Cup, sharing a starting line barely 200 meters from the crowd’s picnic blankets and folding chairs.

They weren’t the only ones enjoying the scenery on Narragansett Bay, though; 11th Hour Cup leader and reigning Moth US National Champ Kotoun says he’ll never get bored racing in Newport. 'I can’t think of any other place where you have all this going on at one time, and even in the middle of a race, you can’t help but love it,' said Kotoun, referring to the hundreds of sailing vessels on the water for the unofficial opening of summer.

'You’ve got 12 meters in tacking duels, Class 40s from all over racing around the cans, beautiful historic schooners, Open 60s, Maxis, and cruisers and racers of every size and shape. How can you beat that?' he added.

Newport-based 11th Hour Racing, a program of the Schmidt Family Foundation, seeks to mobilize the sailing and marine industry to create systemic change for the improved health of our oceans, and Program Director Kate Neubauer said the organization is extremely excited about their continuing partnership with the US Moth Class.

Anyone who loves the water can’t help but be fascinated by these athletes with their state-of-the-art foiling boats,' said Neubauer, on site to train the Moth racers as ‘ambassadors’ for 11th Hour’s mission. 'Moth sailors spend more time in the water than any other sailor, and between that and the fact that the tiniest bit of trash on a foil can destroy a sailor’s day, we’ve found the Moth Class to be the perfect partner for helping us spread our message of environmental sustainability to sailors around the world.'