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Noble Marine International Moth GP at the Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy

by David Hivey 22 May 2024 03:57 PDT 18-19 May 2024
Under postponement in the WPNSA dinghy park © Kyle Stoneham

The weekend's Noble Marine Moth GP faced a dire forecast, yet 19 dedicated sailors ignored it and were rewarded with eight tricky but exhilarating races over the two days. The competition was intense, with the top six sailors each having their moments of glory, sharing the podiums almost evenly throughout the event.

Kyle "I Hate U Flags" Stoneham had a strong showing but was ultimately let down by being a little premature... Alex "Not Too Fast, Not Too Slow" Adams was a consistent presence, sailing cleverly to remain in contention in every race. Mike "I have learnt how to tack" Lennon showed no sign of last year's gremlins to perform well all weekend. Simon "First to last" Hiscocks suffered a significant setback in race 3 when he sailed into a hole, dropping from the lead to nearly last place. David "Whoops they started" Hivey faced a major challenge when he got stuck at the windward mark in race 3, causing him to miss race 4 entirely.

The event was ultimately won by Jason "Never stop foiling" Belben, whose consistency and outstanding boat handling gave him the edge he needed to secure the victory.

Behind the top 6, the rest of the fleet saw frequent position changes, with everyone having their own moments of triumph. The conditions keeping everyone on their toes, but we couldn't have expected such good racing with the forecast and it illustrated why you should always go to events regardless.

Huge thanks goes to the team at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy (WPNSA) for their excellent management of the event. Turning up really early on the Sunday to get us out sailing. Particular thanks to PRO David "Not this at Weymouth again" Campbell James. Moth racing is not easy to run in light winds.

Remember that there are still free Nationals Entries for the first exocet and Mach 2 in the GP series up for grabs, sponsored by Noble Marine. Exocet results are close for the past few events and will be decided at Grafham. The Mach 2 prize is very much up for the taking with Simon Goodwin leading the charge.

Overall Results:

PosSail NoHelmClubR1R2R3R4R5R6R7R8Pts
14990Jason Belben 4‑513141519
24946Mike LennonHayling Island SC3222‑655423
34968David Hivey 138(DNC [22])434124
45010Kyle Stoneham 2(UFD [22])114313327
54906Alex Adams 543‑6226628
64772Simon Hiscocks 71‑1411062229
75011Joe Adams 67677(UFD [22])9850
84837Doug Pybus ‑10810859101060
94485Daniel Holman (DNC [22])UFD [22]55978763
10496Matthew Lea 864(DNF [22])810DNC [22]DNC [22]80
114938Gareth Davies 9(DNC [22])12DNC [22]1487981
124589Adam GoldingHayling Island SC11913(DNF [22])1712111184
134385John EvansGrafham Water S.C1311‑17101513151491
144758Eddie Gatehouse 12(DNC [22])161113DNC [22]1412100
155000Graham Bridle (DNC [22])1015DNC [22]16141313103
164James Sainsbury (DNC [22])DNC [22]7DNC [22]111112DNC [22]107
17490Philip Rees (DNC [22])DNC [22]9912DNC [22]RET [22]DNC [22]118
184951James Phare 14(DNC [22])DNC [22]DNC [22]DNC [22]DNC [22]DNC [22]DNC [22]146
194826Steve Mclean (DNC [22])DNC [22]DNC [22]DNC [22]DNC [22]DNC [22]DNC [22]DNC [22]154
194905Jeremy HartleyStokes Bay SC(DNC [22])DNC [22]DNC [22]DNC [22]DNC [22]DNC [22]DNC [22]DNC [22]154
194779Orkum Soyer (DNC [22])DNC [22]DNC [22]DNC [22]DNC [22]DNC [22]DNC [22]DNC [22]154

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