Third new championship leader in three days at YANMAR Moth Worlds

by Icarus Sailing Media on 26 May 2016 Three solid race results from Great Britain’s Paul Goodison puts his name at the top of the leaderboard on day three at the 2016 YANMAR Moth World Championships in Hayama, Japan.

Goodison, the 2008 Olympic Gold medallist in the Laser Class, holds a one point advantage from overnight leader Chris Rashley (GBR), with third to Scott Babbage (AUS).

Increasing waves and a steady breeze of 13-15 knots rewarded those with experience in big sea conditions. Too much for some, as gear failure and physical fatigue forced them off the race track.

Goodison familiarized himself with the particular nuances of big waves in Hayama Bay yesterday, ratcheting up today’s performance to score a 1,1,3, compared to Rashley’s 3,2,2.

Australia’s Scott Babbage marked Goodison in each of the three races, eventually getting the upper hand in the final race of the day to claim his second win of the series and close the points gap with the leaders. Behind Babbage, there is a 19 point margin to fourth placed Josh Mcknight (AUS), with Rob Gough (AUS) in fifth and Ben Paton (GBR) in sixth. The gap to seventh place is significant, with a massive 30 point mountain to climb for those chasing the leaders.

The leaderboard top six have demonstrated phenomenal boat speed combined with race strategy, and at this point in the Championship it looks likely the 2016 winner will be from amongst them.

Home nation hopeful, Kohei Kajimoto, was a casualty of equipment failure, with a broken foil forcing him to return to shore for a replacement and miss the opening race of the day. He returned to the race track to deliver two 13th places and end race day three in eighth overall.

Hiroki Goto (JPN) also had problems with his wand system. Goto has been busy organizing the Moth Worlds, leaving little time to work on his boat, and places 16th.

Friday is a lay day, with lighter breeze expected for the weekend’s racing.

The YANMAR Moth Worlds 2016 are taking place from 23-29 May in Hayama, Japan.