Moth Regatta Attracts 60 Sailors From 11 Nations
The first Amlin International Moth Regatta — which will take place next month – has attracted a fleet of 60 sailors from 11 countries, all vying for a share of the $10,000 prize purse, which includes $5,000 for first place.
The race will feature a blue ribbon fleet of sailors with credentials abundant in World, continental and national championships, mixed with a slew of sailors from teams entered in the 35th America’s Cup.
“We’re very excited to host this regatta because of the great interest in the class among the America’s Cup teams,” said regatta organizer Andy Cox of the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club.
“The Moth is a fantastic class with a history of development. Given that it can sail as fast as 30 knots, it should be a week of phenomenal racing on Great Sound.”
The list of entrants includes six of the top 10 from the 2015 International Moth World Championship and is headed by Australian Nathan Outteridge, a two-time Moth World Champion [2011, ’14] and three-time runner-up [2009, ’13, ’15].
Last month Outteridge helmed Artemis Racing to first place at the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series in Bermuda, an experience that will likely be beneficial when Great Sound is full of Moths blasting to and fro.
More than 20 America’s Cup sailors have entered and others of note include Outteridge’s teammate Iain Jensen, who was 10th at the 2015 Moth World Championship, Tom Slingsby and Kyle Langford of Oracle Team USA, and Dean Barker and Chris Draper of SoftBank Team Japan. Draper placed 5th at the 2015 Worlds.
“The racing is a lot of fun,” said Draper. “You have to have smarts to go with the speed. Good boathandling goes a long way.”
The fleet also includes the top two from the 2015 European Championship, Rob Greenhalgh and Chris Rashley, both of England, and the top two from the 2015 U.S. National Championship, Anthony Kotoun of the U.S. Virgin Islands and Newport, R.I., and Victor Diaz de Leon of Venezuela.
“The key to doing well in the Moth is a combination of speed and boathandling,” said Kotoun. “The boats are made for speed and if you’re going slowly you’ll feel it. Boathandling is also hard.
“The ‘shangri-la’ of foiled tacking is hard to find. But you have to stay up on the foils as much as possible. The boat that is on foils and stays together is the one that’s going to do well.”
The Moth is an 11-foot hydrofoiling dinghy and is sailed by one person. The first Moth dinghies were launched in the late 1920s and the International Moth Class Association was founded in the 1930s.
In the past five years the Moth has gained popularity with America’s Cup sailors because it hydrofoils, similar to the catamarans currently used in the competition.
The Regatta will be run over five days with two races per day and will be overseen by Principal Race Officer David Campbell James. It will take place from December 5-11, 2015.
The Amlin International Moth Regatta is sponsored by Amlin plc, a FTSE 250-listed independent global insurer and reinsurer with operations in the Lloyd’s, UK, continental European and Bermudian markets.
Additional sponsors include the Bermuda Tourism Authority, EFG International, Gosling’s, the Official Rum of the Regatta, and Kaenon Polarized.
Another feather in the cap of the One Bermuda Alliance
Without any doubt, this “Moth Regatta” will be exciting!!!
More like a broken feather,our infrastructure is falling to pieces, garbage trucks, buses,seniors,education,cant keep our vegetation manicured, even at our school fields and now “cant ask questions in Parliament because of staff cuts and a handful of locals are getting excited and benefiting from a sailboat race that’s costing us $77 million.
Bull S!@# at the highest level.
Man yah been drinking too much at SAL’s……..
Why ask / or complain now “Onion juice”? These exact same problems occurred while the Progressive Labour Party were our Government…And yes, they were the Govnt. for what, a decade plus? So, who-ever you are please be real and stop writing / talking crap
so ten years of plp… thirty odd years of oba and more years now… lets not act like the oba isnt the ubp.
The OBA isn’t the PLP, no acting required. Completely different constitution, all inclusive from the start.
The PLP has a slew of ex UBP folks now too.
This type of small boat regatta SHOULD be held in St. George’s harbour… Better spectator advantages and better place to be for these small crafts
“Luck of the draw” wind shifts in tiny flying boats? Not a way to host a quality event
Why is it a “better place for smaller crafts”? These guys can handle themselves in the big bad great sound
This reminds me of my earlier days at Whites Island and RBYC when I used to compete is much smaller yachts than I do nowadays. It is this sort of racing that provided a fantastic foundation and allowed me to become the world class, award winning, philanthropic, wealthy yachtsman I am today!
Comedy doesn’t put bread on your table does it!