Wetsuit Outlet International Moth UK Nationals at the WPNSA - Day 2

After basking in the sunshine and bimbling on the boats while looking out on a millpond Portland Harbour on Thursday, the wind filled in as predicted on Friday to provide four fantastic races for the fleet in a 14 knot breeze from the South East.

With a start area near Castle Cove, the fleet got away first time in every race, much to the joy of the race team on the committee boat Gyrinus, making for a fast turnaround between races.

Wetsuit Outlet International Moth UK Nationals at the WPNSA Day 2 - GBR 4999 approaching the finish of Race 1 - photo © Mark Jardine

Defending champion Henry Wetherell came out of the blocks fast, winning the first three races of the day, before having to settle for a fifth in the final race when the wind briefly dropped down to under ten knots.

"The lighter stuff has always been a bit of a tricky one for me as I'm a bit bigger. But during the other three races I was on the foil and going pretty well. The new wings on the boat have been a big success, and all seems to be going well," said Henry.

Wetsuit Outlet International Moth UK Nationals at the WPNSA Day 2 - GBR 4999 and GBR 5250 approach the windward gate in Race 2 - photo © Mark Jardine

Hot on his heels was Kyle Stoneham who picked up two second places and won the final race of the day: "Henry was doing well at getting into the right really early, and that seemed to pay quite well. He was putting a bit of a jump on us by the time he'd done his first tack, starting on port, and then the gap stayed pretty much the same between us.

"I messed up a tack in the second race, capsizing on the last tack into windward, which cost me three or four places, so that was a bit disappointing. But in the last race, I was just like, 'okay, let's just keep it rolling here'."

With the Isle of Portland dominating the south eastern side of the harbour, it is bound to influence the wind from that direction, and Henry explained why he went for the port tack starts, "You get a bit of a compression just out of the marina here, and as you go up, you just get a right wind with the pressure. The further left you are, once you're on starboard, it's basically game over. So you've just got to fight to get there, and I did that pretty aggressively in the first three races.

"It gets a bit on the edge at times, ducking some of the boats, but it's well worth it if you can just get to the right of the fleet and you're away."

Wetsuit Outlet International Moth UK Nationals at the WPNSA Day 2 - GBR 4637 at the Race 2 windward gate - photo © Mark Jardine

While Henry has an Aerocet with new-shape wings, and Kyle has a v3 Bieker, the older designs are still proving their worth, especially those which have been upgraded over the years. The Exocet made its debut in 2013, but thanks to a series of modifications Paul Gliddon is sitting in fourth place overnight and showing that you don't have to have the latest design.

"It was a good day today," said Paul, "It's not bad for an eight-year-old boat to be getting to the windward mark with everyone else on the first legs. I definitely need to work a bit more on downwind pace."

Paul has also upgraded to steel foils, which have proved to be a step-change in speed all around the track: "They're just instant instant drag reduction. It's just a couple of knots quicker on all points of sail. I think with all these upgrades, you've got a boat that can keep up with the top new boats."

Wetsuit Outlet International Moth UK Nationals at the WPNSA Day 2 - GBR 4522 approaching the Race 4 leeward gate - photo © Mark Jardine

Paul and Josie Gliddon have both upgraded their Moths, and are keen to help the other 157 Exocets get up to the latest pace: "We've tried to document how to do it as we've gone through it. We did the wing bars first, and there's a 50-page installation guide for DIYers, and then there's a load of moulds and tooling that are available to make it as cheap and easy as possible to get the same upgrades."

We spoke to Grant Blake yesterday, a newcomer to the Moth who has picked up a cheap Exocet and is learning the ropes fast. He came ashore grinning from ear to ear after his first day of Nationals racing in the class: "This is the fifth day I've had the boat and I had a secret little goal of of my own, which was to try and see if I could get round onto the second lap to be with everybody else instead of getting a GP finish on one lap every time, and I think for the most part I managed to get round onto the second lap.

"So yeah, I'm pretty pleased with how it's going so far. A couple of little mishaps, but otherwise really good!"

One of those 'mishaps' happened at the leeward gate, where Grant had a coming-together with a leeward mark. Judging lay lines is tricky at 20+ knots and having to throw in a couple of quick gybes is difficult when you're a Moth veteran, let alone when you're a newbie. Unfortunately for Grant I was on hand to capture the moment...

Wetsuit Outlet International Moth UK Nationals at the WPNSA Day 2 - GBR 4385 Buoy Racer during Race 3 - photo © Mark Jardine

Wetsuit Outlet International Moth UK Nationals at the WPNSA Day 2 - GBR 4385 Buoy Racer during Race 3 - photo © Mark Jardine

Wetsuit Outlet International Moth UK Nationals at the WPNSA Day 2 - GBR 4385 Buoy Racer during Race 3 - photo © Mark Jardine

On the lay lines Grant said, "Yeah, that's definitely thrown some big curveballs for me today. There have been times where I've thought I'm clearly miles past the lay line, I've thrown a gybe in, and still been absolutely nowhere near."

Grant improved in every race, finishing the day in 14th overall after an 11th in the final race. A top ten result in his debut nationals isn't out of the question.

Wetsuit Outlet International Moth UK Nationals at the WPNSA Day 2 - Race 3 Start - photo © Mark Jardine

Going into the weekend, the temperature is set to rise yet again, and the wind is set to rise a knot or two each day, pushing the top speeds up even more. As it is, Henry Wetherell was already hitting an extraordinary pace: "Upwind, I was probably sitting at 21, 22, and downwind my top speed was probably 29 knots. They're just going to keep getting higher and higher."

The AGM on Friday night saw Kyle Stoneham elected as the new UK Moth Class Association President, and after winning the final race ahead of his birthday on Saturday, he closed out his 30s in a good place. The sailors will be celebrating in style on Saturday at Quiddles, the cafe beach bar in Portland, just a few minutes away from the Academy, with another stunning sunset on the cards.

It's a good time to be a Moth sailor, and entering the class in the foiling era has never been more affordable and accessible with the sailors so willing to share their knowledge.

The International Moth UK National Championship 2026 is grateful for the support of Wetsuit Outlet, Optimum Time, Noble Marine Insurance, Shock Sailing, Allen, the Dorset Sea Salt Co. and South Coast Embroidery as well as the dedicated and friendly team of staff and volunteers at the Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy for making this event possible.

Results after Day 2: