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Noble Allen 2018 International Moth UK Championship at Thorpe Bay - Day 3

by Mark Jardine 13 Jul 2018 20:26 UTC 11-14 July 2018

Friday provided a perfect combination of sunshine, 12 knots of breeze, and flat water for the Moth fleet leading to three great races in front of Thorpe Bay Yacht Club.

Revelling in the conditions was Simon Hiscocks, notching up two bullets and a third:

"There was a lot less weed today which made a big difference and the wind was steadier. I made some decent starts, and racing at the front of the fleet is far easier than the middle or the back."

Also enjoying the day was top Irish sailor Dave Kenefick who knocked in three solid races to move up the leaderboard:

"It was really good – 12 knots of wind and the races were the perfect length. In the first race I was second all the way round until I had a strange capsize which dropped me to fourth. In the second race I finished second, and I was winning the third race for a while until I did one tack 30 seconds too early and ended up second. It was perfect sailing today – brilliant."

A total of four Irish sailors made the journey across for the event and Dave believes the fleet is growing in strength and depth:

"It's definitely getting stronger. There are probably fifteen Moths now in Ireland. Our Nationals are scheduled for October and we should have twenty boats there. When anyone asks me 'How do I get into a Moth?' I always say, 'If you're going to get a Moth, then you'll have one for ten or fifteen years as you won't go back to sailing a Laser or something.' It's only going to go from strength to strength as the boats are getting better value and easier to sail."

At the top of the table things are getting tight after Jason Belben dropped out of the top three in a race for the first time.

Jim McMillan was another sailor to thrive:

"Conditions were perfect, 9 to 12 knots of wind, everyone foiling all the time, less weed and three great races. The extra few knots of wind make such a big difference and makes getting around the course so much easier, especially downwind.

"I was going well, had good starts, found clear wind, the boat was going well and I was consistently in the top four which is ideal.

"With Dave Kenefick's and my good day, and Jason having a few ups and downs, things are really tight going into the final day."

The plan was to hold four races, but the Race Officer wisely chose to send the fleet home after three as the tide started to ebb and the weed came flooding across the race course. A decision that Simon Hiscocks fully supported: "We've got an extra hour tomorrow and the forecast is good, so we can get all four races in the flood tide without the weed issue. It'll be perfect."

While Jason Belben holds a nine point lead at the top of the table, it's all to play for and just one mistake could decide who wins the title. Jim McMillan is just one point ahead of Dave Kenefick, so the battle for the podium places will be intense. With up to four races scheduled it should be a great finale to the event.

A huge thank you to the sponsors of the event: title sponsors Allen Sailing and Noble Marine as well as WetsuitOutlet.co.uk, Maguire Boats and ShockSailing.com who have provided support for the daily pasta and beer for sailors coming off the water.

Results after Day 3:

PosSail NoHelmR1R2R3R4R5R6R7R8Pts
14509Jason Belben23112-73517
24533Jim McMillan4156424-1126
34148Dave Kenefick1-927852227
44409Ross Harvey8243611-12135
54386Simon Hiscocks134811-1411341
64501Dan Ellis1156-13945747
74525Ben Clegg5732159(DSQ)950
84584Mike Lennon311109-2089454
93980Alex Adams-1610118310101365
104149Eddie Bridle12129-1811146670
114534Jason Russell-188174515171581
124442Kyle Stoneham-21151216116111788
134542David Hivey17172810(DNC)68894
144541Jeremy Hartley1416155101724-26101
154492Nic Streatfeild71820121613-2116102
164548Tom Offer(DNC)DNC715213710104
174544Mathew Lea1021132217-261514112
183799Max Stelzl22-2516177212018121
1943Alistair Kissane1513-292013242512122
204136Ed Redfearn61414142233(DNC)DNC144
214104George Boussoulas232224-2924201824155
224101Andrew Sim2719192123-302822159
234208Tom Lambert242018-2725252325160
244390Cian Byrne(DNC)DNCDNC1918121320164
254139Neil O'Toole202323-3029282229174
268Dan Ward96(DNC)2512DNCDNCDNC175
274484David Jassop28242231(DNC)291923176
284328Alex Ringstadt252821331918(OCS)BFD182
293989Hiroki Goto(DNC)DNCDNC2326191419183
304036Chris Clarke192731(DNC)30232627183
314554David Smithwhite2635(DNC)24DNC221621185
323169Brad Gibson2926272627-312928192
333870Eddie Gatehouse3132252831-343031208
344479Adrian Coatsworth3230263433-383534224
353995Charlie Coulborn3031333234-353432226
364033Adam Golding(DNC)DNCDNCDNC28272730235
373629Thomas Mehew333332(DNC)DNC323133235
384241Ian Keely343434(DNC)DNC363336248
393948Neil Cooney(DNC)DNCDNCDNC32373235259
404096Mark Dicker(DNC)2930DNCDNCDNCDNCDNC264

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