2025 Moth Lowrider Australian Championship
by Phil Stevenson 13 Jan 05:04 GMT
6-11 January 2025
2025 Moth Lowrider Australian Championship © Australian International Moth Association
While the professionals were racing their expensive exotic foiler Moths in New Zealand last week, another group of Moth enthusiasts raced their more traditional Moths at the Australian Scow and Lowrider Australian National Championship, hosted by the Saratoga Sailing Club on the NSW Central Coast. The championships consisted of ten races over a six day period in early January.
Although the demography of the competitors was somewhat more senior, there were a few youngsters, with ages range from 16 to 81 with the majority in their 50s and 60s. Competitors came from Queensland, NSW, Victoria and Western Australia.
The boats covered all the eras of moth history before foiling, from a 1960's Peter Cole designed 'mouldie' to this century's Hungry Tiger lowrider. The championships provided a showcase of traditional moths, including new carbon and composite boats through to rebuilt boats rescued from garages or barn.
This is the third year of the event and the fleet has doubled from 17 to 39. This growth is better than most modern dinghy classes and can be put down to a level of nostalgia, camaraderie and fun, all within a competitive sailing environment.
Race results are based upon both scratch and a modified yardstick. The modified yardstick has been developed to balance the results, taking into account hull type, material and age and also rig configuration and materials and whether the moth has wings or no wings. This enables all types of boats to feature in the results, but still requires a level of consistency to ensure good overall results.
The weather for the ten races ranged from a couple of lighter 5 to 10 knots days through to a 20 knot (plus) day of racing, providing a level of variability for all types of boats (and skippers) to perform. The wingless boats going well in the light and the new carbon scows excelling in the heavy winds. In the moderate the 'lowrider skiffs' proved hard to beat over the line. Some damage and prudence resulted in some boats missing results on the windy days.
Although the championships is based upon creating a fun, inclusive and sustainable event, the results indicated there is a strong level of competition with former world and national champions featuring strongly.
Scratch Results
First Place Stunned Mullet Andrew Coxall NSW 1980's wooden scow
Second Place Easy Tiger Chris Musto WA 2022 carbon scow
Third Place Go Figure Glen Oldfield WA 2023 carbon scow
Modified Yardstick Results
First Place Chequered Past Ian Glazie NSW 1980s wooden scow
Second Place Stunned Mullet Andrew Coxall NSW 1980s wooden scow
Third Place Snubby Peter Moor NSW 1970s wooden scow
Next year the event may be back in Victoria the birth place of the 98 year old class. Building up for a big year in 2028 for the centenary.