Mud Men

Sooner or later the summer will come to Northern Europe and we will all feel better. That said it was with a good feeling that I left the Moth Nationals on Sunday and drove home into a 40 knot headwind. We had fun but didn't race on the final day and Chris won, which he thoroughly deserves. He puts the time in, sails well and is prepared. In life one gets the opportunities to really go for it, and he's doing that and must be considered a bet for the Worlds.

For me, well I got a bit out gunned in the wind and punchy chop, but also felt I could have sailed better. I finished 2nd and it was good learning, but my handling wasn't that sharp and tactically I was a bit short. I should have got there earlier. Still better than last year!

Nevertheless I hope Garda isn't a place where I have to dither about which mast to use, a by product of being a lightweight, and I'm looking forward to trying the new KA MSL16 this week on my Mach2 to see if I can get to one rig for all conditions. 

It has been said elsewhere how much fun the 2012 Nationals were, despite the weather and I think the class is really healthy, and it is in good hands. The committee worked hard and Olivier Vidal has now taken on the presidency, and with discussions surrounding the class tag line ("Formula One On The Water" now being seen as old) showed his immediate understanding of the class with a new tag line proposal that reads.. "Cock Off, You're Not Having A Go"... Brilliant in my book.

So the next event is the World Championships, and Chris and I are sailing at HISC next week, Peter Barton is off to the German National Champs and there is training at Castle Cove planned. Let's see if Campioni can measure up! On paper its blue skies, dramatic scenery and cappuccino's should trounce brown water, mud and nuclear power stations, but as we know, it doesn't always go to form.

S

Moth Nationals: The only way is Essex

Stone Sailing Club in Essex UK: The Brits mix with the French, Swiss, Dutch, Swedes and Irish, and a total of forty two competitors hang around waiting for things to happen. It's day two of the UK Moth Nationals and it howling outside right now. There are weather checks every hour but we are on hold for the moment. Last night a Mach2 and a Ninja design blew over and landed on top of each other and there is speculation that a "Minja" will soon be born! Basically all the usual chatter and joking that comes from sailors hanging around and not knowing if we are racing or not today. It doesn't look too bad right now actually, but we will see. Yesterday was good racing and I was lucky to score a 2,2,1 which gives me the lead by a point. Chris Rashley had a 1,1,4 and is only one point behind. His boat handling is very good, much better than mine, and it's something I need to focus on. In any event there is less of a gap between the leaders and the rest of the fleet these days, meaning its all tighter at the top. Right now it's a choice between a run to Starbucks or some boat work! There is a good report here on Yachts and Yachting.com