International Moth Northern Championship 2025 at Rutland Sailing Club

International Moth Northern Championship at Rutland © Tim Olin / www.olinphoto.co.uk

The first of the Moth Opens took place over the weekend of the 29th and 30th March and after the success of the Dinghy Show even a sketchy forecast could not put off the Moth or Switch sailors with this being the first event of the year. With the Worlds in Lake Garda this year for a lot of the sailors it was time to dust off the boats and begin their training.

The expert race team held the usual detailed briefing and went through the race program and told the fleet there was the potential of three to six races each day with a target of twelve over the weekend. The target time for each race was 20 minutes and with the wind building from the favourable westerly direction the race team could set 1.2 mile windward marks.

A very keen fleet launched in a lighter than expected breeze, which with the help of a few gusts got everyone up and foiling and heading down to the start area.

International Moth Northern Championship at Rutland - photo © Tim Olin / www.olinphoto.co.uk

Race 1 got under way with the U flag keeping everyone well behaved, most of the boats were not foiling of the line, as the breeze had not fully set in and this made for a tactical beat as timing of tacks were crucial to make sure the sailors linked the gusts together and could remain foiling. Several Mothies found a few big holes in the wind and had to watch others foil past. With the last 200m to the mark being even more tricky with big holes in the wind and several sailors parking up at the top mark.

By the second lap the wind had begun to settle in. Jack Wetherell took the line honours in the Aerocet with Alex Adam next in the P1, Ronan Wallace took 3rd in the Bieker, Matt Lea in the Rocket was fourth and Joe Adams closed out the top five in the Exploder. Five different designs in the top five. More importantly was that all the different designs including the Ninja, Mach 2, Exocets and two home builds all enjoyed close racing across the fleet.

By race 2 the wind had increased, and the gust had become stronger the fleet got away cleanly, with Jack Wetherell leading from start to finish with a sizable lead early on as he seemed to rip up wind and through the danger zone at the top mark which sometimes felt as if the wind was going from 12 to 20 knots and shifting considerably with our arms being given a good work out. It also caused several capsizes during tacks and interesting bear aways around the windward mark in some of the fresh gusts.

International Moth Northern Championship at Rutland - photo © Tim Olin / www.olinphoto.co.uk

Jack took the win with Matt Lea in second while Ronan finished in third, Joe Adam came in fourth and first of the Exploders. Alex Adams took fifth which considering the injury Alex currently has and the conditions this was some achievement. Nic Streatfield held on in the Exocet to come home in sixth place. All designs completed the course which had become more testing with the gust speed elevating during the race.

Race 3 the wind had set in with some 20+kt gusts across the course, the last 200 meters to the windward mark was still challenging with the wind shifting and changing in strengths. Although these days the boats can take everything that's thrown at them several of the fleet rounded the windward mark and with the club only 400 meters away headed in for warm showers and a beer or two.

The remainder of the fleet continued to chop and change positions as the conditions increased. The only position that did not change was Jack as he led the fleet with another first, Gareth Davies held second position after a tussle with Matt Lea. Again three different boat manufactures in the top three and James Phare took fourth and Joe Adams took fifth place.

International Moth Northern Championship at Rutland - photo © Tim Olin / www.olinphoto.co.uk

Discussion between the sailors were had on the water regarding the speeds downwind with the flat but cold-water speeds from 29 to 32 knots being recorded and one of the main challenges when going across the finish line was how to stop at that speed, a conversation that was continued on the shore.

By race 4 the wind had freshened considerably the fleet had decreased although there were more starters than finishers with a number taking the early showers when rounding the windward mark. Those that did continue to race were rewarded with full send conditions downwind and the race officer held his nerve to send the race a full two laps.

Jack Wetherell took the win again with Gareth Davies second, Mat Lea was third, fourth Place was James Sainsbury in his home-build Moth. It was great to see James back after his accident and its yet to be decided if James has more metal in him than the new metal foils!

International Moth Northern Championship at Rutland - photo © Tim Olin / www.olinphoto.co.uk

The fleet headed down to the pub in the evening for a meal and beers and several discussions were had regarding new foils and boat designs, along with tales of the day where most of the sailors had a spectacular capsize.

Next up is the Grafham Water Inland Championship and with the variety of new and older boat designs at this event it may be decided to be the first event to support the handicap system with two windward marks set on the racecourse for new and older designs. Watch this space for confirmation.

International Moth Northern Championship at Rutland - photo © Tim Olin / www.olinphoto.co.uk

This was also the first event that the Switch had joined the Moths adding to the fleet size and competitive racing.

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Overall Results:

Switch Results:

International Moth Northern Championship at Rutland - photo © Tim Olin / www.olinphoto.co.uk