US International Moth Championship at Upper Keys Sailing Club - Day 1
by Alan Block 23 Mar 2014 00:17 PDT
21-23 March 2014
Day 1 of the US International Moth Championships in Key Largo © Meredith Block / US Moth Class
The US International Moth Championships fleet screams downwind toward the beach in one of half a dozen impromptu races after official racing was cancelled on Sunday in front of the Upper Keys Sailing Club ©Meredith Block / US Moth Class
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"Krazy" Kotoun runs away with 10-point lead
World Champion struggles while Funk and Bergan fight for second
Heat, sun, and a light 5-9 knot southeasterly breeze allowed for 7 exciting races to open the 2014 International Moth Line Honors US National Championship in Key Largo, Florida on Saturday, with US Virgin Island native and Newport, RI resident Anthony Kotoun taking a 10-point lead over second place to the beach. The wily pro sailing veteran and multiple class World Champion smiled when asked his secret to the big lead, which included 3 race wins in a star-studded fleet. "I'm just lucky," he said. Kotoun wasn't lucky on his way in from the course, breaking one of the lightweight carbon-fiber wing bars on his Moth. In true Moth Class style, his competitors quickly worked to repair the damage while Kotoun rushed off to a wedding.
"I missed this kind of camaraderie," said Seattle's Dalton Bergan, lying just a point out of second place despite having not sailed a Moth since the Hawaii Worlds last year. "I chartered the Class President's boat and brought down a new sail, and I'm pretty happy with how it's going so far," he said. Bergan and some of the other veterans were happy to head straight to their hotel room after racing concluded around 3 PM, while more than a dozen Moth sailors hung around the beach and the friendly UKSC bar, until a gentle 10 knot breeze came in at sunset. Shouts of "Let's go!" rang out amongst the racers, and a half-dozen foiled downwind toward the setting sun for a 'sundowner'.
US Sailing Team member Brad Funk clung to a 1-point lead over Bergan, with the Miami sailor winning one race today by minutes after foiling away from the fleet at one start. "Sometimes the fleet doesn't recognize the lull before a race, and if you can get up on your foils and just stay there right into the start, you can make huge gains," he said. The light air in half of today's races required a rare technique called the "gack" – a gybe on an upwind leg to stay on the foils - from many sailors, and Detroit's George Peet said he used it to good effect. "It was just past where I thought I could stick the foiling tack, so gacking was the way to go for me despite the extra distance," said Peet, who sits just two points behind Bergan, and three ahead of his Detroit training partner, double world champ Bora Gulari.
Gulari said he just couldn't get his boat going in the light breeze. "It's humbling to come home with a world title and have guys just flying past me," said Gulari. "I've definitely got a lot of work to do before the UK Worlds later this year."
Sweden's Emma Aspington continued to prove she's one of the fastest female sailors in the world in light air; the top-performing woman at several of the past few moth world championships won race 7 today and sits in 8th position, just 2 points behind 2008 World Champ John Harris. "With water this flat and wind this light, I focus on keeping my boat riding very high and flat," she explained. "Good technique can get you through some calm spots, and light weight definitely helps."
Forecasts continue to show uncertainty in the breeeze for tomorrow's finale. Relive all of today's racing with photos, videos, and interviews on the US Moth Class Facebook Page And tune in tomorrow at 11 AM for racing or postponement announcements. Today's results are here, and photos and videos are posted in the gallery here.
Results after Day 1: (top ten, 7 races)
1 – Anthony Kotoun (US Virgin Islands) 10pts
2 – Brad Funk (Miami) 20pts
3 – Dalton Bergan (Seattle) 21pts
4 – George Peet (Detroit) 23pts
5 – Bora Gulari (Detroit) 26pts
6 – Jonathan Goldsberry (San Francisco) 36pts
7 – John Harris (Chicago, Sydney) 41pts
8 – Emma Aspington (Sweden) 43pts
9 – Ben Moon (St. Petersburg) 49.8pts
10 – Patrick Wilson (Charleston) 53pts
11th Hour Racing US Moth Class Tenet Of The Day
As one of the world's elite, high-profile racing classes, the International Moth Class takes stewardship of the waterways seriously, working hard to emphasize the responsible use of energy and resources in the context of sailing. Working with 11th Hour Racing, a program of the Schmidt Family Foundation, the Moth Class has come up with a number of initiatives to help all sailing events improve the energy profile and performance of racing boats and increase the personal investment of sailors in the health of our waters. This week, we're focused on how to ensure our impact at each venue is positive; each day, the US Championship news will include an essential tenet of the US Class's philosophy for running a clean, responsible regatta.
Today's tenet: Share Your Venue's Knowledge
Once you've learned about your venue ecology and helped improve it, bring that knowledge to other venues. Lessons about sustainability, acting locally and communicating those sustainability actions apply whether you're in Key Largo or the Great Lakes. Spread the word about how your class has helped to improve or contribute to a change in attitude about trash, conservation, and minimizing the impact of sailors on the local ecosystem.
About The Upper Keys Sailing Club
The Upper Keys Sailing Club is a hidden gem located on the bayside of Key Largo, offering a great venue for small boat sailing. Its members sail a variety of boats ranging from Force Fives and Waves to J24s, Nonsuches, and Hunters. In addition to hosting the Moths this year and on top of a regular club racing schedule, the UKSC hosts the Force Five Midwinter Championship, the Buccaneer Blast Youth Championship, the Key Largo Catboat Rendezvous and the Buccaneers & Mutineers Midwinter Championship.