British Moth Open at Frampton on Severn Sailing Club
by Jenni Heward-Craig 19 May 2016 14:39 BST
14 May 2016
British Moths at Frampton on Severn © FOSSC
Twelve Moths took to the water on Saturday at Frampton on Severn Sailing Club for the third Open of the Moth calendar. Five visitors joined seven locals in shaking off the cobwebs of winter laying-up, with a four-race program that encompassed conditions from planing to sitting on the lake waiting for the wind to come in.
Despite their knowledge of the local conditions (and the FOSSC marks system), the locals didn't have it all their own way. Tim Davison of Medley SC managed to come back from fifth on the first lap of the first race to take first ahead of FOSSC's Roger Witts, with Richard Keefe of Hunts coming in third. The locals came back with a vengeance in the second race, however, with locals Witts and Tony Latham taking first and third, respectively. Toby Smith of Medley just sneaking in for second.
Lunch, and a course change. The wind had swung around almost 180 degrees, keeping the race crew on their toes with moving marks and start lines. The move didn't faze the visitors. Davison, first by the end of the third race's first lap, was never headed, despite spirited opposition from Witts for most of the race. Keefe, who had been shadowing the pair, took his second second of the day, to put Witts into third place.
Wind conditions were spirited by the start of the fourth race. All the competitiors started tightly, with the fleet not separating until well into the race. Davison, in tight contention for the overall winner with Witts, got ahead into first quickly, but Witts's poor start left him at fourth by the first lap, a position he never improved. Final placings in the fourth race were Davison first, Smith second, and Keefe third.
After all finishes were tallied, Davison, with three firsts, was the obvious winner of the Open, with Witts second, and Smith just sneaking in ahead of Keefe – on the same points, but with two seconds ahead of one – to take the last minor placing.
Most spectacular capsize of the day had to go to Ian Haywood of FOSSC, who used the committee boat to prevent his boat going turtle. It saved the race crew a lot of trouble!
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 892 | Tim Davison | Medley | 1 | ‑4 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 2nd | 890 | Roger Witts | FOSSC | 2 | 1 | 3 | ‑4 | 6 |
| 3rd | 846 | Toby Simth | Medley | ‑7 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 8 |
| 4th | 884 | Richard Keefe | Hunts | 3 | ‑9 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| 5th | 880 | Tony Latham | FOSSC | ‑8 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 15 |
| 6th | 757 | Nicola Barrett | FOSSC | 6 | ‑7 | 5 | 5 | 16 |
| 7th | 871 | Ian Haywood | FOSSC | 4 | 5 | 9 | (DNS) | 18 |
| 8th | 872 | Mark Wiltshire | FOSSC | 5 | 6 | 8 | (DNS) | 19 |
| 9th | 360 | Daniel Callen | FOSSC | ‑9 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 23 |
| 10th | 847 | Simon Hall | Maidenhead | ‑10 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 27 |
| 11th | 818 | Jennifer Heyard‑Craic | Maidenhead | ‑11 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 31 |
| 12th | 837 | Ann Widdow | FOSSC | ‑12 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 34 |