International Moth UK Grand Prix at Hayling Island Sailing Club

International Moth Grand Prix at Hayling © Angus Peel / Lennon Sails

International Moth Grand Prix at Hayling © Angus Peel / Lennon Sails

International Moth Grand Prix at Hayling © Angus Peel / Lennon Sails

21 keen, eager and bright-eyed Moth sailors turned up on Saturday ready for some racing despite the less than ideal forecast. If the forecast stood, it was looking like there would only be some racing on Saturday and only if the weather played ball.

So there we all stood chatting about whether to go racing or not... With the breeze up in the high teens to early twenties and the only race area being out in the bay (due to a lack of water in the harbour) it was touch and go. But what the hell, it was worth a go. It wasn't that windy and we were all up for it, or should we say that most did not want to look like they wimped out by not going.

So we had 2 races held in some cracking conditions out in the Bay. It was testing conditions with 15-20 knots and some classic Hayling chop to make the downwind rides on the wild side, which proved too much for some. Nothing could stop Chris "Foiling" Rashley (CFR for short) comfortably taking line honours in both races with 2 great races Dan Vincent took a couple of second places, looking calm and serene. Dan even managed to get round the track with a half-broken rudder; this man has no fear! Further behind, local Mike Lennon secured two 3rd places with Dan Ellis scoring two 4ths.

Further back there was some carnage going on, with half the boats making it around the first race and then a few less in the 2nd. Testament has to be said for Andrew Friend's head; a boom (now in 2 pieces) is no match for this man's head or at least just a few stitches. There were a few other casualties from the day but mainly just some bruised egos.

Day 2 dawned and with a rather scary purple forecast on Windguru it was not looking promising. Due to the earlier start time the RC stuck a course in the harbour, the wind moderated and a slightly depleted Moth fleet headed out. 4 races were held in some champagne conditions, 15-25 knots, small chop and plenty of laps.

CFR had the best day once again taking 3 out of the 4 race wins, with some awesome battles with Mike and Dylan Fletcher. It was some hard work out there, the RC set 4/5 laps in each race across a short course (for moths at least) and plenty of puffs to keep us all on our toes. Dylan managed to come back from losing his contact lenses (turns out it's quite hard to sail a moth without them) on the first day with a 3,2,1,2 narrowly losing out to CFR in race 2. Mike had another consistent day with a 2,3,3 and 6 in the last to take 2nd overall.

Overall it was an epic weekends racing for all who stuck to it and ignored the forecast. CFR dominated with 5 out of the 6 race wins to comfortably win. Behind a big well done to newcomer and HISC local Neale Jones finishing up in 5th place and Dan Ellis just losing out to Dylan Fletcher on count back. With the standard of the Moth fleet just going up and up it's great to see battles all through the fleet and everyone with a smile on their face over the weekend.

Our thanks go to both Hayling Island for running a great event in challenging conditions and to Magic Marine for their continued support of the class and generous prizes.

Overall Results: