VIDEO: Foiling Moths

At the Inland Championship Simon Payne shows how it should be done as Adam May attempts the perfect airborn gybe

The Inland Championship took place for the Moth class this weekend at Queen Mary Sailing Club on the outskirts of London. Apparently there was racing, but we were completely blown away by simply witnessing the extraordinary antics of the foilers of which we counted seven competing.

Unquestionably the class act was Simon Payne, runner up in this year's World Championship, who is so dedicated to his Moth foiling that he has taken a sabbatical from work to master this new art more fully. His prime objective is to nail Australian two time World Champion Rohan Veal when they next meet at the Moth Europeans on Lake Garda at the beginning of August.

On the water on Saturday Payne seemed to be the best at the 'Veal heel' - the art of heeling the boat to weather going upwind, hiking harder and with more confidence, heeling more thus inclining the foils and getting them to lift his boat to windward. Payne also seemed to be highly proficient in simply getting the boat around the course and wiping out least.

Adam May was a clear second behind Payne on the water and admitted being "a bit rusty" compared to Payne. But when it came to foil-borne aerobatics, May was showing considerable bravery particularly in his attempts to master the foil-born gybe. Fantastic to watch, it felt like the early days of windsurfing when people were trying to get carve gybes to work.



This clip shows May (white cap, grey hull) making numerous attempts, some successful, some less so... while Simon Payne (blue deck, Tacktick on sail) shows his more conservative but more reliable technique. Click here to see clip (6.1MB).



In this second clip, Simon Payne (mainly) shows his ability upwind. Click here to view. (4.5MB).

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