Weymouth foiling fun

We have a look at the form guide for next week's International Moth World Championships

The International Moth World Championships are due to begin this weekend in Weymouth, UK. The event will represent the largest gathering of foiling Moths ever, with close to 100 boats already entered and many contenders already in Weymouth awaiting the start of the championship.

Competitors:



Simon Payne (GBR):

Payne has probably put in more time on the water in his moth than almost anyone else this season. He is determined to reclaim his title and when not out on the water in Hayling Bay can be spotted in the gym or updating his Moth blog.

Equipment-wise Payne had learned from last year when he turned up to the event with the same boat as he used to win the worlds in 2006. Early this season he took delivery of his brand new super light Prowler Zero. In addition he has been trying a variety of sails and has a new high modulus super slim CST mast.

At the recent UK national Championships Payne claimed victory in almost straight bullets. Certainly, it would seem, he has the necessary speed for victory next week.



Scott Babbage (AUS):

Babbage fills the slot as top foiler from down under for us. He has a wealth of history in skiffs regularly sailing 18 footers in Sydney and was recently invited to China as a training partner for Autralian 49er representative – and current World Champions – Nathan Outteridge and Ben Austin.

At the World Championships last year Babbage came second to Rohan Veal in his Bladerider Moth. This season he has reverted to a Prowler and took delivery of his Prowler Zero at the same time as Payne.

His skiff sailing commitments have slightly limited time on the water in the Moth this season compared to other top competitors but he has still put many hours in a will be a force to be reckoned with.



Graham Vials (GBR):

Vials is, to some extent, something of a wild card. He was one of the first to go foiling in the UK but left the class for a while to continue his 470 Olympic campaign. At the World Championships last year Vials came a disappointing fifth position after a series of breakages put paid to his title hopes. In fact breakages seem to be something of an issue for Vials as he has been forced to miss the last two UK National Championships due to various breakages.

Clearly, though when Vials is on the water and not breaking something he is extremely quick. He knows how to drive the boat hard in the wind and the times we have seen him out he has been pushing Payne hard. Vials will be sailing his Bladerider Moth at the regatta this year and will also be using the same skinny mast that both Payne and Babbage have.

As with many time on the water has been limited for Vials as he recently qualified as a lawyer and his new job has been taking up a great deal of his time.



Amac (AUS):

The father of the Bladerider and the owner and designer of the most popular Moth sails, Ka, Andrew MacDougall (Amac) should be a strong contender. At the World Championships last year MacDougall came in sixth overall. At the time he was running Bladerider operations but since moving on he should have less pressure on him this time around.

Amac will be sailing his Bladerider again this year, but is sure to have added some little refinements of his own.

Matt Belcher (AUS):

Another ex-470 Olympic campaigner, Matt Belcher stormed onto the Moth scene last season. Early this year he dominated the Australian Nationals by a significant margin. Due to his short time in the class little is known of where Belcher’s weaknesses and strengths lie. Due to his light weight it can be assumed he will excel in the light wind conditions but his heavy air performance is something of an unknown.

Belcher is a part of the Bladerider squad and will be sailing one of the one-designed, mass manufactured boats.



Adam May (GBR):

May has been present in the Moth class for years and is an avid developer of technology. Last year he attended the World Championships in his modified Mistress 3 but his Americas Cup commitments and his Paralympic coaching commitments saw him far from ready and still preparing his boat on the way out to the first races.

This year coaching has, once again, taken up much of his time but May is significantly more prepared than he was last season. Following the 2007 UK Nationals, May and long time friend, Dave Chisholm began the process of creating their own International Moth design, the Velocirapotor. However, May could still probably do with some more time in his boat as his Velociraptor has only recently been completed.

In spite of not having much time on the water, May has shown he still has what it takes when last week he won Kiel International Regatta.



Bora Gulari (USA):

In most respects Gulari is the wild card of those expected to do well at the World Championships. Gulari picked up his new Bladerider Moth just over a year ago and has been working hard on his foiling skills. Due to living in Detroit, winter foiling in his home town is somewhat limited with the temperature dropping rapidly. However, Gulari spent a moth each in Dubai and Australia so was not hampered too much.

Where he lives is what makes Gulari the wild card for the event. There is only one other foiling moth where present at his home club – or in the local area - and that is very rarely out on the water. As a result the American has been spending a great deal of his time out on the water practising his manoeuvres and refining his control systems alone. This means he has slowly become the master of the foiling tack and will be exhibiting his skills out in Portland harbour. However, his straight-line speed against other mothies is relatively untested so he could struggle round the course.

The rest:

In addition to these top contenders there are a number of other sailors who stand a good chance at the Moth Worlds title. Jason Belben (GBR) is a fast and consistent sailor. He will be racing in his ‘06 Prowler but his lack of brand new kit does not seem to have slowed him down latry, having recently finished iin second at the UK Nationals. John Harris (AUS) should also be a threat in his Bladerider. He is part of the Bladerider team so is likely to have a decent amount of resources to hand. He is a regular 18ft Skiff sailor so should know what he is doing in a high speed machine. Mike Lennon (GBR) is the CEO of Hyde sails and has been focussing on new rigs for the Moth over the last year. He has a standard Bladerider hull but with all his sail making knowledge and new sails could well prove quicker than the other standard Bladeriders. James Roche (GBR) has made a huge impression on the UK Moth scene this year. He has spent a great deal of time out on the water and recently cemented his position as ‘one to watch’ when he took third overall at the UK Nationals. Alex Adams (GBR) could also be a threat but his new rotating wingmast has yet to show sign of being particularly quick. If he gets this working and the conditions favour him then he should stand a good chance.

Extras:

The Australians and the Brits will be fighting it out for the Ashes Trophy (introduced last year and currently held by Austalia). The Trophy is awarded to the team with the best placed five boats. By our estimations the event should be very close but with the home advantage we think the Brits are likely to take it this time.

Velocitek have recently announced a competition for the fastest recorded speed of the week. Given the importance of getting round the course in one piece, fastest speeds are not always the fastest way to compete in the championships. Due to this we predict the fastest speed may well got to someone in the top ten but not necessarily the top three.

Entries:

No	Helm	SailNo	Club
1	Andrew Friend	GBR 4102	NPC/QMSC
2	Carlo Maege	GER 1058	FSV
3	Boris Goetz	GER 3129	Scuttle But
4	Simon Propper	GBR 4096	GWSC
5	Douglas Culnane	AUT 3202	SYBYC
6	Patrick Ruf	SUI 607
7	Adam May	TBC	WPNSA
8	James Roche	GBR 4103	Weston SC
9	Scott Babbage	AUS 3263	WSC
10	Jens Schoenberg	GER 1060
11	Simon Payne	GBR 3259	Hayling Island SC
12	Psarofaghis Arnaud	SUI 3252	Ste Nautique de Geneve
13	Beal Florence	SUI 3168	Club Nautique de Founex
14	George Peet	USA 3251	Bay View Yacht Club
15	Mike Cooke	GBR 3371	B.C.Y.C
16	Rod Harris	3468	Parkstone Yacht Club
17	Giovanni Galeotti	BEL 3265	RYCB
18	Peter Becker	US 3138	AYC & NYYC
19	Michael Lennon	GBR 3243	Hayling Island SC
20	Jason Russell	GBR 4088	Hayling Island SC
21	Katherine Knight	Tbc	Parkstone Yacht Club
22	Samantha England	AUS 3297	Blairgowie Yacht Squadron
23	Alex Adams	Tbc'd	WPNSA
24	Lochlin Byrne	AUS 3360	SYC
25	Jason Belben	GBR 4090	Stokes Bay Sailing Club
26	Martin Gravare	SWE 3279	GKSS
27	Jean Nivet	FRA 2020	Ascea-st Grenoble
28	Sten-Mark Bachmann	EST 3291	Rein Ottoson Sailing School
29	Gerold Pauler	GER 1022	SLVR
30	Colin Newman	GBR 3368	Draycote Water SC
31	Naomi Tachibana	JPN 3267	Hayama Moth Sailing Club
32	Ricky Tagg	GBR 4094	Hayling Island SC
33	Mikis Psarofaghis	SUI 3247	CVSNG
34	Helen Rollinson	4052	BCYC
35	John Ilett	Aus 3468	MBSC
36	Douglas Imrie	GBR 3335	ELYC
37	Paul Hayden	GNR 4085	Gurnard SC
38	Michael Airey	3253	DWSC
39	Sven Kloppenburg	GER 3294	Ratzeburger Seglerverein
40	Andrew Brown	NZL 3230	Takapana Boating Club
41	Tim Ollerenshaw	3323	Grafham Water SC
42	Andy Mills	CAN 3258	Jericho Sailing Centre
43	Jonathan Peats	UEA 3276	DOSC
44	James Owen-Smith	AUS 9354	Davies Bay Yacht Club
45	Bora Gulari	USA 3281	Bayview Yacht Club Michigan
46	Tim Boon	GBR 4076	Hayling Island SC
47	Andrew Mcdougall	AUS 3128	Black Rock YC
48	Josse Sebastien	FRA tbc'd	Yacht Club de Monaco
49	Ozren Blazina	CRO 3189	Sailing Club Opatija
50	Doug Pybus	AUS 9328	Queen Mary Sailing Club
51	Ben Crocker	AUS 3262	Balmoral Sailing Club
52	Glenn Raphael	UAE 3300	MSSC / DOSSC
53	Piers Thomas	GBR 3206	SVYC
54	Robert Campbell	GBR 4050	GWSC
55	John Harris	AUS 3295	Australian 18 sailing League
56	Alan Campbell	GBR 3933	WGCSC
57	Christian Brandt	GER 3242	BSC
58	C Weber	NED 3235	CCN
59	Eelco Boers	NED 3215	WSV
60	Russell Wheeler	GBR 4046	IOSSC
61	Stefan Schneider	GER 2907	ASC
62	Ian Forsdike	4095	Gragham Water
63	Nigel Oswold	USA 3284	Friday Harbour Sailing Club
64	Mathew Belcher	AUS 3217	RQYS, SYC
65	Mark Robinson	SIN 3270	Singapore Sailing Federation
66	Ziegert Jean-Pierre	SUI 8	SNG
67	Nikolaus Liebscher	AUT 3132	YCW
68	Alex KNight	3239
69	Wil Wargnier (Bladerider)	SUI 3286	Club Nautique de Founex
70	David Edwards	GBR 3277	SCS
71	V Hostettler	FRA 9335	St Philibert
72	James Mckenzie	AUS 3226	St George
73	Paul Hignett	GBR 3136	LVSC
74	Clare Dallimore	3374	CSCM
75	Nils Warnken	GER 3024	KYC
76	Joe Bousquet	USA 3197	CMBA
77	Fernando Belo	TBA	CNdC
78	Alan Goddard	tbc'd	BSC
79	Christopher Graham	UAE 3278	JASC
80	Oliver Goward	tbc'd
81	Daniel Hall	GBR 4060	WLYC
82	Tom Whicher	WSC	WSC
83	Patrick Cunningham	3369	GSC
84	Anthony Chapman	4093	Rutland SC
85	Graham Vials	GBR 3158	Derwent Reservoir
86	Adrian Murphy	GBR 4073	QMSC
87	Chris Anstead	GBR 3152	QMSC
88	Ducrot Cyzil	FRA 2	SNT
89	Franco Ferluga	ITA 3225	STV
90	David Hopper	tbc'd