Blown out

Twiddling his thumbs in Weymouth, Toby Heppell reports from the CST Composites Moth Worlds

So the CST Composites International Moth World Championships began yesterday (Sunday) from the 2012 Olympic venue, Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, or rather they were scheduled to begin.

Following Saturday's practice race being blown off, yesterday competitors arrived at the Academy only to find battering 30 knot winds and driving rain. Most opted to head into the hangar or the cafeteria for discussion about the sailing possibilities or to battle against ever increasing job lists.

The forecast had the wind dropping from around midday for a short two to three hour window before picking up again. True to form the wind did moderate briefly but the Race committee wisely decided with a layday planned and a (marginally) better forecast for the rest of the week it would be wise to hold the fleet ashore. By 13:00 it was clear there was to be no sailing for the day and racing was duly canned.

Currently the wind is still blowing hard and the chances of racing today look slim. With 99 boats entered the fleet has been split into two groups. The race committee were hoping to send out the first (red) group at 9:30 this morning, however, as we write this the wind is still looking far too strong and a postponement is all but inevitable.

Unsurprisingly in these circumstances there has been much talk of form and who will come out on top on the water. Of course it is hard to tell at this stage who might be fast and who might not, as Scott Babbage wrote in his blog 'the bulls**t stops when the first gun goes.'

So far the only boat to have seen the water this week was Sam Pascoe in his RS600ff who duly went out on the water on Saturday only to capsize and break his mast, proving the conditions were too strong. Windguru has the breeze moderating come mid-day today so hopefully some racing might be had. We will keep you posted...