Classic Moth Nationals 2011

This year has been a bust for my Classic Moth racing. I've raced two regattas this year but a wedding and then subsequent entertaining of out-of-town relatives meant I missed this years Classic Moth National Championships in mid-September. Luckily 'Earwigoagin' correspondent Len Parker was on hand to file the following report and photos.

Nationals 2011 as seen through my novice eyes ... Weather forecasts for the weekend were 20-30mph winds with on & off rain. Not knowing the Elizabeth City topography very well , I guess those forecasts were for further east as it was 10-15 on Saturday with some heavy showers , and slightly less wind on Sunday with some gusts keeping everyone busy and putting several down. The wind did pipe up even more both days after the racing had ended.

13 signed up to race.

Gen 1 ... George Albaugh , Walt Collins , Greg Duncan , Lewis Hay , Bill Schill , John Pugh , Joe Courtier.
Gen 2 ... Jeff Linton , John Z , Mike Parsons , Mark Saunders , Randall Swan , Patrick Burger.

5 races Saturday... Jeff won all 5. In the first or second race Bill Schill lost his mast and we had to tow him in. As we were sorting it out Patrick also lost his mast , so we had to tow both in together. Greg came in a race or so later & Patrick used Greg's extended-mast Europe for the rest of the day. Mark then snapped a shroud and lost his mast in race 5.

Sarah & John Pugh's hospitality was superb as usual , with food , drink , and a roaring fire going to get people dry and warm before the caterers arrived.

The annual meeting was also held Saturday and the sail proposals were passed ... and all the officers remain in their respective posts.

4 races on Sunday... Jeff won 2 races , as did Mike. Lewis ... Randall & Greg didn't race. Patrick back in his new boat retired in race 1 after shipping too much water. He plans to widen those side tanks. Mark came in early after being over the start line early a couple of times.

Results Gen 2 ...
1. Jeff Linton
2. Mike Parsons
3. John Z

Results Gen 1 ...
1. Walt Collins
2. George Albaugh
3. John Pugh

Turtle Trophy ... Bill Schill

Lewis Hay bought Randall Swan's Skol. John Pugh bought Lewis Hay's Europe. It was a fun weekend , the racing weather was good , the spectating weather was awful on Saturday and I was wearing every item of clothing I'd bought with me and it was all soaked but it was still fun. Everyone got away at a decent time after the prize giving due to the meeting being held the day before.

Roll on to the next one ...

Cheers ,
Len

Len also sent along some photos.

Photo Captions:

1. Walt Collins and John Z. dueling upwind
2. John Z upwind.
3. Walt Collins leads Jeff Linton around the leeward mark.
4. Start on Saturday.
5. Mark Saunders, Mike Parsons, John Z aiming for the leeward mark.
6. Mike Parsons, John Z on the second reach into the leeward mark.
7. Mike Parsons upwind.
8. Jeff Linton rounding the leeward mark.
9. Joe Courter in his Maser.
10. George Albaugh upwind.

George Albaugh, the same George from the photos above, has two posts on the 2011 Classic Moth Nationals; one on the racing with pictures and the other on the people around the Pugh's backyard.


Meanwhile, Joe Bousquet, who also missed the Nationals for a family reunion, posted this GoPro video up on YouTube of him sailing his Mistral Classic Moth at Silver Beach on the Delmarva Peninsula. (Was he allowed to take his Classic Moth to the family reunion? Lucky dog!). The new deck Joe installed on his Mistral looks very curvaceous and varnish-pretty in this wide angle view. You may also hear how these plywood Moths have a very different "Boing" sound when going through waves (compared to those unnamed plastic classes).