Liberty Bitcoin Moth Cup wraps up at Foiling Week, Malcesine
by Guy Nowell, Sail-Wold Asia 4 Jul 2021 08:44 PDT
Tom Slingsby (AUS). Liberty Bitcoin Moth Cup, Foiling Week 2021, Malcesine © Martina Orsini / Foiling Week 2021
Over four days of white hot Moth sailing at Malcesine on Lake Garda, Tom Slingsby (AUS) dominated the fleet with eight bullets from 11 starts, in conditions that ranged from 8 to 20 knots. “It was a really good test for all-rounders,” said Slingsby, “Most importantly I had the speed, and that makes life pretty easy – speed is absolutely everything in a Moth.”
Second place went to Ruggero Tita (ITA) finishing on 24 points, with a relatively new face completing the podium – Nicolai Jacobsen (HKG). Jacobsen is no stranger to foiling boats. He is the youngest sailor in the fleet, but started foiling on Waszps in 2016. He was flight controller with RHKYC Team Agiplast in the Liberty Bitcoin Persico 69F regattas that filled in for the Youth America’s Cup last year. He was also European Waszp champion in 2017, and switched to Moths just six months ago. It’s his Gap Year (great timing!), and he is making full use of it.
Jacobsen opened the regatta with a win, and happily kept everything on the boil for the next three days. “It was good fun,” he said, which sounds like something of an understatement. “At this stage (day 1) I never had expected to be up there with the top guys. I had an amazing day and everything just clicked into place. Taking a bullet against some of the world’s best sailors is certainly nothing I will forget anytime soon. However, there are eight more races to go, and a lot can happen!”
Jacobsen has come a long way in a short time recently. Tom Slingsby said, “Nicolai has come on in leaps and bounds in the month that I have known him. We did some training together, and the input from his coach, Chris Rashley has been huge. Something just clicked, and Nicolai was going faster and faster every time he was out on the water. He really is the man to watch in the Moths right now. He has a huge amount of talent, and works really hard, and he’s only 19. I wish I was 19 all over again.” (Amen. Ed).
RESULTS of Liberty Bitcoin Moth Cup 2021: https://fragliavela.sailti.com/en/default/races/race-resultsall/text/FoilingWeek2021-en