British Moth Open at Oxford Sailing Club
by Tim Davison 20 Aug 22:18 PDT
17 August 2024
Eight Moths and a couple of dozen Lightnings shared an open meeting on 17 August 2024 at Oxford Sailing Club. There was a good showing from the Medley Sailing Club, which is of course just up the road.
The format was three races over a trapezoid course, with one discard.
Race 1 was delayed due to very little wind. When the course was finally laid and the race got under way Tim Davison nudged forward, found his own wind and won by some distance. Andrew Parrott came second with Elaine Laverty third.
Race 2 was sailed after lunch, giving time for the wind to come in a little. Vanessa Moir picked the shifts well and got to the windward mark first, but was eventually overtaken by Davison and Perrott with Gary Hogan third.
Race 3 was sailed immediately, in a proper breeze. Jake Winter made a brilliant port tack start and led for several legs, only to be overtaken by Davison and Perrott on the run. As if to emphasize the good sportsmanship which characterizes the Moth class, Davison's hat blew off on the final beat while close covering Perrott, who immediately tacked, plucked the titfer out of the water and continued to dice to the finish - without missing a beat.
Ionically the Lightning event was won by John Claridge, who makes Lightnings and the fastest Moths, and he was able to see his boats win both categories.
Overall Results: (top three)
1st Tim Davison 1, 1, (1)
2nd Andrew Perrott 2, 2, (2)
3rd Jake Winter 3, 4, (6)