2013 Moth Worlds

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What's in the box?

Big flying bugs, 80 of them in fact. The 2013 Moth Worlds being held at Kaneohe Bay on the island of Oahu gets going this week with the pre worlds scheduled this wee and the Worlds scheduled for the 12th through 19th. 80 entries with 15 countries represented.

The Australians have turned up in force with 26 competitors, followed by hosts the USA with 17. Great Britain has 7, Switzerland 6, Sweden, Japan and Italy with 4, Ireland with 3, Austria and New Zealand with 2 and US Virgin Islands, Germany, Spain, France and The Netherlands with 1 each.

With a week to go before racing starts, more competitors are arriving at the Kaneohe Yacht Club by the hour.


images © Kohei Kajimoto

Simon Payne provides a bit of insight on the venue and the talent, Check it out!

OK here we go! We confidently reveal the top 10 with the same authority and precision as in (ahem) previous years!

Firstly the venue! Kaneohe Bay Hawaii! It’s on the windward side of the island, but its inside a bay, so its sheltered and therefore flat water. It’s seemingly perfect for Moth sailing with its lovely wind and clear warm water.

However a note of caution. If you’re not a good tacker then you are going to struggle. We haven’t heard the word “cone” in sailing until this summer but it seems now it’s everywhere. We are told that there is a kind of a cone here too, specifically as it gets shiftier and the oscillations get faster and more extreme towards the windward mark.

Clearly it's best to tack on the shifts, but if your tacking is so slow that they play the “Chariots of Fire“ symphony every time you put the helm down, then it's going to be a long week.

Still, here we go, our top ten with a little hint of fun..


1. Peter Burling, NZ. Yes he’s on it! Peter is the 2012 49er Olympic silver medalist. He recently cleaned up in the Red Bull Youth AC, and the other week he won the 49er worlds. Young, gifted and just like his Mach2, All Black!

2. Nathan Outteridge, AUS. 2011 World Champion. Will he sail or will he commentate? We assume the former. The 2012 49er gold medalist is back in the Moth class!! If he shouts “Boundary!” and tacks, for goodness sake just get out of the way...

3. Anthony Kotoun, ISV. An outstanding worlds last year marked him out as America's best. Unflappable, unconventional and highly likely to be unstoppable. Rumored to have found a secret short cut through the reef after last year's recce. Would be a highly popular winner.

4. Josh McKnight, AUS. Current World Champion. Just got on and did it last year as no one said he couldn’t. Fast, fit and mature beyond his years on the racecourse. Big but… No one has defended on foils yet, - could he be the one? Recently been messing about on rafts. Not ideal prep..

5. Bora Gulari, USA. “Airforce One you have permission to take off” Bora likes home soil. He won at the Gorge in 2009 and so Hawaii could be his turn again. You always feel he might be working on something important. Rarely is.

6. Scott Babbage, AUS. Mr Consistent. Sooo close last year in Garda, but 2013 could be his year. He’s the class president though, which means he has to chair the AGM, and it takes a strong man not to let that sap the will to live out of you. Would be a very popular winner though.

7. Rob Gough, AUS. Rumored to be going very fast. He’s the Aussie alternative choice in a “Mac” versus “PC“ kind of way. Rob has invested more time and more money than anyone else. He’s strong, innovative and with good boat handling. Rumor has it he’s bringing his own personal trainer.

8. Rob Greenhalgh, GBR. Been winning things of considerable note across the sailing spectrum for a number of decades. Rob dominated the UK nationals this year. If the first couple of races go well and it's not too windy, the British flag could fly over the Hawaiian Islands for the first time since Captain Cook banged into them.

9. Chris Rashley, GBR. Current European Champion. If he keeps it together then he will be in the mix. Lots of years left in him. Very organized. In fact the most organized Moth sailor we’ve ever seen. Find him by following the trail of multicoloured Post-it notes…

10. Iain “Goobs” Jensen, AUS. 2012 49er Gold medalist and straight out of the AC. Will have that trademark “thousand yard” star that all those AC72 guys have. Used to being 12 foot in the air and so he could unwittingly pull his ride height adjuster right off! Timing might be off in a boat 61ft shorter than he’s used too.


The wild cards:

Brad Funk, USA. Nanu Nanu! Something funny will happen. He’ll either accidently eat his car keys or inadvertently win 6 races.

Eric Arkhus, USA. Fresh from winning Melges 32 world championships, Eric could well break into the top 5. Anyway stay out of his way too! At the US Nationals at Kaneohe last year, he took out a J-105 and ran straight over a Bladerider.

Dave Lister, AUS. Once hailed as the fastest man in the world on foils. Possibly the first ever to foil tack a moth. Older than God.

Andrew McDougall, AUS. A freak. Take out the seemingly greater importance of tacking at this event and we’d put him right up there.


The extremely wild cards

John Harris, AUS. 2008 World Champion and 18ft skiff legend. Resides in the USA where he’s been building a business, and also, we hear, a waistline.
Just not practiced enough to get in the top 10, but form is temporary, and class is permanent. Could be another great comeback in this iconic summer of 2013.

Julian Salter, AUS. The Charge of the light brigade! Clever sailor, foils in a Turtles sneeze. If it’s a very light week then he’s the best equipped to take advantage of it.


So will we be right? Almost certainly not, but it will be a great event!

Good luck to all.

http://sipayne.blogspot.com/

Posted by Simon Payne at Monday, October 07, 2013

http://www.mothworlds.org/hawaii/

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2013 Moth Nationals



Day One Moth Nationals, Kaneohe Bay, Oahu

All images ©ThMartinez/Sea&Co.























Current Results


http://www.mothworlds.org/hawaii/

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Light And Wet Forecast For Moth Worlds

Rare Forecast Brings Uncertainty To World Championship Fleet





Kaneohe Bay, HI (13 October 2013) - A rare October appearance of unstable weather conditions has sent shockwaves through the fleet on the eve of the 2013 McDougall + Maconaghy Moth World Championship, where 80 of the world's fastest dinghy sailors from 15 nations are making final preparations for the prestigious event. Renowned sailing meteorologist Chris Bedford believes they may have some spare time ahead. "An upper low continues to move away from the Hawaiian Islands, but the associated upper trough and high cloud remains over the islands," Bedford said. The trough will keep the subtropical ridge to the North weak, and he expects the usually reliable trade winds to remain sluggish "at least through midweek, and possibly through the end of the week."




Dozens of sailors spent Sunday cutting, shaping, sanding, polishing, and otherwise modifying their boats' foils -- the underwater fins that allow the 11-foot Moth to fly above the waves and reach speeds unheard of just a few years ago -- to optimize them for the expected light winds.

Britain's Rob Greenhalgh drew first blood on the course, taking the easy victory in Sunday's single practice race. Greenhalgh was unaffected by superstition as he blazed to victory on a squally, shifty Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. Being a superstitious lot, most sailors will avoid winning the practice race before a major event, but Greenhalgh believes the opposite. "I took the practice race at the last Worlds [in the International 14 Class] I won, so I'm fine with this one," said the dinghy, skiff, and Volvo Ocean Race veteran.






Greenhalgh and a small number of British sailors have shown strong light-air performance, adding to the spirited international rivalries on display here in Hawaii. "There are strong groups from Australia, New Zealand, The UK, the US, and Italy," said California's Zach Maxam. "It's all in good fun, but there's some real national pride here and it definitely adds excitement to the racing."

Detroit's Bora Gulari was crowned US National Champion here over the weekend with a strong win in the 75-boat fleet during last weekend's regatta, but he says conditions will require 'a little bit of everything' to take the 2013 World Title. "It looks like we'll have some light wind, some medium wind, and possibly a little strong breeze," said Gulari, the last man to win a World Championship on US soil, in the Columbia River Gorge in 2009. "The very light guys may have a small advantage at times, but whoever can adapt the best to the widely varied conditions here will probably take home the World Championship trophy," Gulari said.



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Simon Payne says it may take even more. "Extreme could be the new normal here in Hawaii," said the 2010 and 2006 Moth World Champion. "If the forecast proves true, the boys that can get to the ends of the start line to avoid the hole in the middle may find themselves looking very strong at the top mark, and those that can come up with the best foils for the conditions may see some advantage as well." Payne has stepped away from competition this year to focus on his family, though he continues to contribute to the Moth fleet as coach and scribe. Read his humorous and insightful breakdown of the Moth Worlds fleet here.

http://www.mothworlds.org/hawaii/

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Outteridge Opens World Championship With Near-Perfect Day





Kaneohe Bay, HI (15 October 2013) – Light to non-existent breeze skunked the opening day of the 2013 McConaghy + McDougall International Moth World Championship, but Tuesday was a different story. After several general recalls and abandonments, the breeze filled in at a light-but-sailable 6-9 knots of breeze from the East-Northeast, allowing for 3 races to open the event for the 80-boat fleet.

As Artemis Racing’s helmsman during this summer’s America’s Cup regatta in San Francisco, Australia’s Nathan Outteridge found little time to practice on his beloved Moth compared to many of the racers here at the Hawaii Worlds, but it doesn’t seem to have hurt him in the least; Outteridge won two of three races today, scoring a second place in the other, and leads the fleet by an incredible 12 points after just three races. Southampton, England’s Rob Greenhalgh holds a slim second, just ahead of three US entrants; Brad Funk, George Peet, and Bora Gulari.

Results

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Great to see the ladies hanging with the big boys!

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A nice vid with Gretta Kruesi doing the narration!

http://grettakruesi.com/

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Gulari/Outteridge Battle Rages As US Racers Take Two of Top Three Spots







Kaneohe Bay, HI (16 October 2013) – Light to moderate trade winds swept Kaneohe Bay Hawaii today, allowing four spectacular races in the postcard-perfect conditions Hawaii is known for for the 3rd day of the 2013 McConaghy + McDougall International Moth World Championship. 2009 Moth World Champion Bora Gulari took advantage of a weaker performance from Nathan Outteridge today, blasting ahead of the 2011 World Champ by a five point margin. Florida’s Brad Funk closed to within 8 points of Outteridge to round out the top 3.










Today’s high-speed action meant plenty of breakages, collisions, and general carnage on the course; the Moth Worlds media team will send a more detailed news release, along with today’s HD highlight reel, and the winner of the $1000 Velocitek “Dash For Cash”, in the early hours of the morning.
















Overall Results After 7 Races (Top 5 Only):

1. USA 7: Bora Gulari, Detroit, MI, [16]-1-2-1-3-3-7- ; 17
2. AUS 3997: Nathan Outteridge, Wangi Wangi, Australia, 1-2-1-[11]-9-1-8- ; 22
3. USA 1111: Crad Funk, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 8-5-4-3-5-5-[18]- ; 30
4. AUS 8, Julian Salter, Tasmania, 11-9-8-5-2-[29]-5- ; 40
5. AUS 3, Rob Gough, Tasmania, [15]-8-13-9-8-2-4- ; 44


Results Through 6 Races


http://www.mothworlds.org/hawaii/

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Day 3 Video

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Bora-Bora




Kaneohe Bay, HI (19 October 2013) – An early squall drenched the 80 competitors for the 2013 McDougall + McConaghy International Moth World Championship this morning as they prepared their flying carbon-fiber craft for the final day of racing. The rain and clouds brought with them an unfortunate side effect, cooling down Oahu’s Koʻolau Mountains and shutting down the building thermal breeze that might have allowed a final day of racing for the Moth World title.

After a tense 3-hour wait in the Kaneohe Yacht Club boat park, Race Officer Tom Pochereva reached for the treble horn that indicates the end to the regatta; within seconds, a dozen American racers lifted Michigan’s Bora Gulari in the air and tossed him in the club pool for the 2013 World Champion’s ceremonial dunking.





Gulari becomes the first American two-time Moth World Champion since 1959; he won the 2009 World Championship in Cascade Locks, Oregon. “It hasn’t really set in yet,” said Gulari, after drying himself off. “One thing I know for sure is that without Anthony, George, Brad, and pretty much the entire US Moth racing team, I would never be World Champion again.”






Gulari attributes his success to his Mach 2 Moth, which he says “is a perfect platform for this kind of sailing,” combined with the cumulative effect of dozens of small changes to the boat. “We’ve been working for a solid year in Detroit, refining and changing things bit by bit until they’re perfect,” said Gulari. He also gave credit to his sail package, adding “North Sails and specifically sailmaker Chris Williams came up with an extremely powerful sail design for this Worlds; I’ve never sailed with a faster sail since I bought my first Moth.”





2013 McDougall + McConaghy Moth World Championship Final Results:



1. USA 6, Bora Gulari, [18]-1-2-1-3-3-[7]-5-3-3- ; 21

2. AUS 3997, Nathan Outteridge, 1-2-1-[10]-9-1-8-2-[13]-5- ; 29

3. AUS 2, Scott Babbage, 4-4-[27]-[24]-1-12-1-4-5-13- ; 44

4. GBR 3982, Ben Paton, [15]-3-3-15-[23]-6-3-6-2-7- ; 45

5. GBR 4047, Robert Greenhalgh, 2-7-7-9-[19]-[13]-11-1-1-8- ; 46

6. AUS 3, Rob Gough, [17]-8-13-8-8-2-4-[38]-6-1- ; 50T

7. GBR 7, Chris Rashley, 3-[35]-6-11-7-4-13-[36]-4-2- ; 50T

8. AUS 8, Julian Salter, [12]-9-8-5-2-[29]-5-3-12-11- ; 55

9. USA 3931, Brad Funk, [24/ZFP]-5-4-3-5-5-18-10-21-[23]- ; 71

10. NZL 3991, Peter Burling, [40]-28-[52]-2-10-7-6-9-11-4- ; 77

Full Results