2022 Wetsuit Outlet UK Moth Class Nationals at the WPNSA - Day 3

Another perfect day in Foil Town for the Moths, with wall-to-wall sunshine and a breeze which built from 11 to 20 knots throughout the racing session. Another four races were held, bringing the total now completed to twelve, with the leaderboard finely poised going into the final day.

We have a new leader at the top, as Simon Hiscocks, the elder statesman of the breakaway top three, overcame a slow start with a fourth in race 9, to build up his customary head of steam to then knock in 2,1,1 results. Dylan Fletcher is just a point back with Brad Funk two points off the lead.

Race 13 Start on Day 3 of the 2022 Wetsuit Outlet UK Moth Class Nationals at the WPNSA - photo © Mark Jardine / IMCA UK

Despite losing the top spot in the ranking Dylan was still in great spirits:

"Another stunning day in Weymouth! Unfortunately for me there was a little bit more wind, so I struggled against Simon and Brad. I felt like I'd finally nailed it in the last race and it was all looking good, but I decided to jump out of the boat on a couple of tacks which was a bit silly. It's good to see them doing so well, but I'd quite appreciate a light day to be honest! A bit more up my street."

Dylan Fletcher in the pack on Day 3 of the 2022 Wetsuit Outlet UK Moth Class Nationals at the WPNSA - photo © Mark Jardine / IMCA UK

The first race of the day saw a great win for Australia's Max Godfroy, representing the Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club, who is getting in time on the water at the 2023 Worlds venue and very much enjoying it:

"It was a great bit of fun out there, it reminded me of back home on the Swan River with the flat water. I'm focusing on the Worlds here next year and also the Europeans which are coming up as well. The racing is so tight here; one slip up or bad manoeuvre and you're out the back, so it's awesome with it being that close. It's a great feeling when you nail a tack, particularly up near the windward mark where it's puffy, but not so good when you don't!"

Max Godfroy on Day 3 of the 2022 Wetsuit Outlet UK Moth Class Nationals at the WPNSA - photo © Mark Jardine / IMCA UK

To old hands like me it doesn't seem that long ago that Rhos Hawes was sailing Cadets and 420s, then moving onto 470s, and now he's the new crew for Dylan Fletcher in the 49er. He's also a convert to Moth sailing and is part of the mid-fleet which is packed with highly talented sailors:

"Today was definitely up there in terms of days out on the water. You can't beat Portland Harbour at its finest with sun, wind and 50 boats out racing. Unfortunately I had a mainsheet strop break in the second lap of the first race of the day, so I raced back ashore, changed it, and was back out for the third and fourth races, when the wind piped up. The learning curve in a Moth is phenomenal, it's all so fast, but everything you learn is transferrable to any other sailing you do. Equally, surrounding yourself with so many good sailors is superb."

Rhos Hawes on Day 3 of the 2022 Wetsuit Outlet UK Moth Class Nationals at the WPNSA - photo © Mark Jardine / IMCA UK

Kyle Stoneham had an interesting build-up to the event, when an issue with his prototype Xploder Moth resulted in him needing a different boat in a hurry and he's extremely happy he managed to find a solution to get out on the water:

"It's got to be the best place on Earth when it's like this. For Moth sailing it's everything you want: ripping around, fast numbers downwind, all the way through the fleet it's so much fun. I did a lot of sailing on the pre-production Xploder earlier in the year, and at one of the events I had an issue with a wing, so they're replacing the boat for me, but it didn't arrive in time.

"With just under a week to go to the event I needed to find a solution and phoned Simon Maguire who dug out the first prototype Aerocet, which had been stripped bare of parts, and he said 'if you can get this on the water then you're welcome to use it'. The spirit of the class came to the fore - Giles (Scott) lent me a rudder, Christian (Hamilton) lent me a main foil, I'm using my rig from my Xploder, Brad (Funk) lent me a sail as my North was delayed due to an issue in Sri Lanka, and I've thrown the boat together, with the help of Dylan telling me how to rig it, and the startline was pretty much the first time I lined up against another Moth in it!"

Kyle Stoneham on Day 3 of the 2022 Wetsuit Outlet UK Moth Class Nationals at the WPNSA - photo © Mark Jardine / IMCA UK

The camaraderie within the class is legendary, with all the sailors willing to help each other with boatwork, technique or parts, and this is yet another fantastic example of that.

Two of the sailors who are regularly in the top ten of Moth fleets are Alex Adams and Eddie Bridle, and they can often be seen frequenting the same areas of the racecourse. Going into the final day, they're in fifth and eighth place respectively, nipping at the heels of the trio of sailors at the top of the fleet.

Alex Adams on Day 3 of the 2022 Wetsuit Outlet UK Moth Class Nationals at the WPNSA - photo © Mark Jardine / IMCA UK

Alex Adams said about the day: "It was great fun racing, windy but with the flat water in the harbour it was still nice and controllable. I'm always trying to overtake the boat in front, but there are a few guys that I regularly race with, and I've been next to Eddie on the course event after event for the past few years really. The third race today was no exception with only one or two feet between us at the finish line."

The finishes today were exceptionally close, with four boats finishing withing three seconds of each other according to Race Officer David Campbell-James.

Eddie Bridle on Day 3 of the 2022 Wetsuit Outlet UK Moth Class Nationals at the WPNSA - photo © Mark Jardine / IMCA UK

Eddie Bridle echoed Alex's comments: "It was very tight racing; you make one mistake and you're losing a serious number of places. You tend to see the same people up there, but with so many new designs of boat and upgrades to the existing boats, the development curve is getting smaller, and the boat speed difference is less than it ever was before and you can't rely on boat speed to dig you out of a hole when you need it."

Everything is set for an epic final day, with four more races scheduled. The forecast is for slightly lighter winds, but building in a similar fashion to the previous days, coupled of course with sunshine. Dylan could have the edge in the lighter stuff, but Simon's final races of each day have been near-perfect, and Brad Funk keeps on knocking in top three results and cannot be discounted. It's seems inevitable that the title will go down to the final race!

IMCA UK would like to say a massive thank-you to the event sponsors, who have been very supportive to the Moth class, especially during the challenging times over the last 2 years:

• Wetsuit Outlet - Wetsuit Outlet is Europe's largest technical watersports clothing and equipment retailer. Priding themselves on friendly, expert customer service, Wetsuit Outlet stock a huge range of the top watersport brands including Zhik, Gill, Musto, Sail Racing, Gul and more.

• Optimum Time - Optimum Time, design and build timing devices that are precise, practical, and robust enough to perform in the competitive sailing environment. Pioneers of the game-changing sync function, their 'big yellow timer' is the badge to wear out on the water.

• Lennon Sails - Lennon sails have been at the forefront of Moth sailing since its formation in 2014. Winning multiple World, European and National titles. Working with cutting edge design tools the latest materials and some of the best sailors on planet. Lennon Moth sails are made to fit any moth design - Mike lennon is at many events and happy to discuss moth developments any time!

• Blueteq - Blueteq develops bespoke software for the NHS as well as many private healthcare providers. Its systems are used in every NHS Hospital Trust in England and Wales as well as 75% of the Commissioner Organisations which includes National systems for NHS England. Blueteq is proud to have been involved with the class over so many years, providing the membership and entry systems as well as financial support.

• Maguire Boats - Builders of the Exocet Moth, Simon and the team are in the process of producing the Aerocet. Dylan Fletcher says of the Aerocet "Its exciting to get the first production Aerocet racing, Simon and the team at Maguire boats have put in a huge amount of time developing this concept alongside Kevin Ellway. P1 has racked up over 7500kms of sailing since it first hit the water, testing every last detail. The goal every year is to win the worlds, the nationals will be a great shakedown for the boat as I start to find the potential within the boat."

• Allen - UK manufactures of performance sailing hardware. The Allen design team works closely with many of the World's best Moth sailors and builders to design, create and produce race winning hardware that meet the demands of the International Moth Class.

• Shock Sailing - Shock Sailing is located in the heart of the Osprey Quay development adjacent to the National Sailing Academy. Specializing in high performance sailboats, the Moth Class is in our dna. We have an extensive range of parts and accessories.

• Mainbrace Rum - Born in Cornwall, Sourced in the Caribbean.

For all UK Moth class event updates and news on how to enter, follow us on our FB events page at www.facebook.com/MothClassUK or on our UK class website at www.internationalmoth.co.uk

Results after Day 3: (12 races, 2 discards)