Moths fly south for Winter Series

The International Moth US Class Association Presented by 11th Hour Racing hosted Stage 2 of its 2014 Winter Series on Jan. 31-Feb. 2. The event – sponsored by Mach 2 – took place in Key Largo (FL), attracting 20 Moth sailors from Finland, Sweden, Boston, Charleston, Oklahoma, Seattle, and Long Beach.

The event used the “weekend warrior plus” format where Friday’s racing was a slalom series scored separately from the rest of the weekend’s racing (so that those anchored to a desk during the week could still partake in the fleet racing portion of the regatta). Friday’s slalom was won by Emma Espington (who made the trip to south Florida from her home in Sweden) followed by Matt Knowles (USA) in second and Anthony Kotoun (ISV) in third place.

Likewise, to make things interesting and keep the new sailors close to the action, the fleet continued to experiment with new course setups. The racing was conducted using a reaching start with a short blast-reach to a “windward” mark before the boats turned downwind to a leeward gate. Reaching starts and finishes kept things interesting for sailors and spectators alike.

The fleet made a special effort to welcome and coach new Moth sailors who turned out in force for this weekend’s competition. The fleet’s new additions took advantage of on- and off-the-water coaching from class veterans.

Final results from the fleet racing series: 1. Kotoun (ISV); 2. Knowles (USA); 3. Espington (SWE). Click here for full results.

The class returns to Upper Keys Sailing Club March 21-23 for the 2014 National Championship with thirty boats expected, which will be the largest Moth event in the US (apart from World Championships) in a number of years. With each event bigger than the last, the class is working hard to get its new members up to speed and into the action.

Report: facebook.com/usmothclass
Pictures from Ben Winkler: http://www.flickr.com/photos/99189643@N05/

Winter Series: Sailing out of the Upper Keys Sailing Club in Key Largo, FL
Regatta 1 is Jan 3-5 (slalom on 1/3)
Regatta 2 is Jan 31-Feb 2 (slalom on 1/31)
Regatta 3 (US National Championship) is March 21-23.