Please select your home edition
Edition
Savvy Navvy 2024

British Moth Open at Leamington Spa Sailing Club

by Elaine Laverty 23 Apr 2023 17:51 UTC 22 April 2023

Saturday 22nd of April saw the return of the British Moth fleet to Leamington Spa for their first Open of 2023. With light winds forecast & a somewhat foggy start conditions didn't look especially promising.

The fog quickly cleared and by the time the visiting sailors started to turn up the wind was starting to fill in nicely. With nine visiting sailors and three local helms it was looking like there would be some good sailing and that proved to be the case.

Race 1

The fleet made a clean start with Elaine Laverty (Leamington Spa) getting to the first mark ahead of the rest of the fleet but this proved to be a flash in the pan and Toby Cooper (Broxbourne) soon got ahead and carried the lead to the finish, Toby Smith (Medley) showed some promising form before being overhauled by Tim Davison (Medley) who took second place. There was a major mid-fleet tussle going on through the race and the last leg saw Gary Tompkins (Hunts) get ahead into third place and Steve Baker (Leamington Spa) gained several places to finish sixth, the big losers in the tussle were Jonathan Carter (Chelmarsh) and Elaine Laverty.

After the first race there was a break for lunch and lots of chat.

Race 2

Toby Cooper led from the second lap to take first place but was challenged through out by Tim Davison, Jonathan Carter & Toby Smith and they took second, third and fourth place respectively and Gary Hogan (Emberton) came through strongly in fifth place. Manuel Greenwood (Telford) showed really good speed early in the race but had his boom come off the gooseneck and slipped back to the back of the fleet.

Race 3

Toby Cooper sat this one out having taken two bullets and having won overall. Tim Davison filled the void and pretty much led from start to finish but was being chase hard by Gary Tompkins who took second place with Toby Smith in third.

Boats were then quickly packed away, cake eaten & prizes presented.

It was good to see some new faces with Gary Hogan, Gavin Goodall and Jonathan Carter visiting for the first time as well as some regular visitors.

Overall Results:

PosHelmSail NoClubR1R2R3Pts
1stToby Cooper887Broxbourne11(DNS)2
2ndTim Davison892Oxford‑2213
3rdGary Tompkins882Hunts4‑526
4thToby Smith888Medley3‑436
5thJonathan Carter886Chelmarsh‑93710
6thElaine Laverty898LSSC‑86410
7thAndrew Perrett893Oxford5‑7611
8thGary Hogan894Emberton7‑8512
9thSteve Baker890LSSC6‑9814
10thPam Coop872LSSC‑1110919
11thGavin Goodhall812Telford10‑111020
12thManuel Greenwood884Telford‑12121123

Related Articles

British Moths at Farmoor
Sharing the course with the Lightning 368s on a light wind day 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. Posted on 21 Aug
British Moth Nationals at Hollowell
With an increased number of entries on previous years it was all set for a good event The British Moth Nationals were once again held at Hollowell Sailing Club from 7th to 9th August. With an increased number of entries on previous years it was all set for a good event. Posted on 17 Aug
Leamington Spa British Moth Open
A bright & breezy day for the season opener The first open meeting of 2024 for the British Moth fleet dawned as a bright & breezy day and saw a fleet of eight boats competing on the small reservoir at Willes Meadow in Leamington. Posted on 15 Apr
British Moth Nationals at Hollowell
A new and welcoming venue for the class The British Moth Nationals were held at a new venue for them on the 2nd to 4th August 2023. Hollowell Sailing Club were exceptionally welcoming hosts & opened the club the afternoon before the championship started to allow drop off and camping. Posted on 5 Aug 2023
British Moths at Medley
Racing in wonderful conditions on the Thames in Oxford Fourteen British Moths hotly contested the Medley Moth Bowl on 10 June. Four races were sailed in wonderful conditions, with plenty of wind from the North East, i.e. off Port Meadow. This gave exciting sailing to say the least. Posted on 14 Jun 2023
British Moth Nationals at Chelmarsh
90th Anniversary event for the class The British Moth fleet returned to Chelmarsh Sailing Club for their 90th Anniversary National Championships on 27th July with a programme of seven races over 3 days. Posted on 8 Aug 2022
Welsh Moths
The quintessential English boat at the quintessential English Club 90 years ago, just as now, the UK was being gripped by a financial crisis. A group of sailors based in Central London had been looking for a new one design dinghy to replace their collection of disparate boats that they raced on Regent's Park Lake. Posted on 6 May 2022
British Moths at Leamington Spa
A windy day as the class returns after the pandemic Saturday 23rd April saw the return of the British Moth fleet after a break due to the pandemic. Three visitors joined four home sailors on what was forecast & proved to be a windy day. Posted on 25 Apr 2022
Arrested development
Has the restricted development genre had its day? Let's start with a little Christmas Quiz and play spot the odd one out. Numerically, the Merlin Rockets are our most successful development class, but in this classic shot from a crowded Salcombe, can you recognise the one boat that ISN'T a Winder? Posted on 23 Dec 2021
All the Fs in sailing
Fantastic full on fast, fun, and FLAT bottomed - the scow Is windward-leeward is the only true measure of a sailors prowess in a race? Some boats simply don't reach at all, but if there is one genre of boat that has 'reaching master-blaster' written into its DNA, then it has to be the scow. Posted on 30 Jul 2020
Maritimo 2023 S-Series FOOTERSavvy Navvy 2024