Please select your home edition
Edition
Maritimo 2023 S-Series LEADERBOARD

British Moth 2023 National Championship at Hollowell Sailing Club

by Elaine Laverty 5 Aug 2023 15:42 UTC 2-4 August 2023

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. This year the fleet consisted of 12 boats from 8 clubs.

On Wednesday 2nd racing started in earnest & with a forecast for diminishing wind the Race Officers, John Burford & Pete Jackson were eager to kick things off quickly but it was realised that not all entrants had a arrived! 2pm saw the whole fleet take to the the water & eager to get going but had to wait for the wind to settle. Finally the fleet was away for Race 1 with Toby Cooper (Broxbourne) predictably coming through to win with Andy Matthews (Fowey) giving him a run for his money, Colin Hall (Hunts) posted the first of his two 4th places of the championship. The battle between the two women sailor looked to be going Abby Freely (Hunts) way but Elaine Laverty (Leamington Spa) finally overhauled her. The rear of the fleet were having a battle that was to last all week, with Duncan Laverty (Leamington Spa) in gaining several places in a blanket finish with Gary Hogan (Emberley Park) & Gavin Goodall (Telford) losing out.

It looked like Race 2 may have to be delayed due to lack of wind but it filled in just in time before racing was cancelled for the day. Toby Cooper this time was made to battle for the win with Toby Smith (Medley) taking 2nd place & Tim Davison (Medley) showing good form in 3rd Andy (Mr Consistency) Matthews had his worst result of the week. The battle between the women continued with Abby Freely having a good start with Elaine Laverty dropping to the back due to weed acting as a brake but when sorted came through strongly again. Bob Bourne (Up River) showed that his 9th place in the first race was not reflective of his ability with a fifth place.

Wednesday evening saw the class membership gather for their AGM & then Championship dinner. The meal was supplied by Alex Pope, son of outgoing class chair Graham & chef/owner of the Paul Pry pub in Worcester with a barrel of Worcester Gold beer from Popes Brewery this made for a very special evening & a few hangovers the following morning.

Day 2 dawned bright & breezy with the wind blowing from the north-west (the best direction at Hollowell it looked set for an excellent days sailing. Race 3 got away cleanly with a beat the length of the reservoir & went pretty much to form with the first 3 being Toby Cooper, Tim Davison & Andy Matthews. Duncan Laverty & Gary Hogan continued their battle with Gary Hogan getting the upper hand on this occasion & Gavin Goodall getting a DNS due to a broken halyard.

Race 4 saw the same almost Champagne conditions Abby Freely made a fantastic start arriving at the windward mark in 1st place but sadly things unraveled for her further on in the race with a messy downwind mark allowing the big guns through with Toby Cooper taking the gun followed by Tim Davison & Andy Matthews.

Race 5 started with a slightly shorter first beat followed by an almost dead downwind run, the top few sailors got a bit carried away on the second beat, lost sight of the lead boat & sailed right passed the next mark, Elaine Laverty queried the course with a nearby sailor & along with Toby Smith quickly diverted to the correct mark allowing her to take the lead for half a lap. The top sailors quickly realised the error of their ways & were able to come through by the end, despite quick correcting his course Toby Smith posted his worst result (7th) of the championships due to getting in a mess with the back markers. Gary Tompkins (Hunts), Elaine Laverty & Gavin Goodall posted their best results of the championship in this race & Tim Davison took his first 1st place.

Day 3 saw similar conditions to day 2 but with less sunshine but similar breeze. Race 6 saw another clean start, British Moth are extremely well behaved boats, & a long first beat. The top half of the fleet finished pretty much to form except for Tim Davison taking 1st & Toby Cooper 2nd, further down the fleet Abby Freely got her best result of the championship & decided to call it a day due to an injured shoulder.

Race 7 saw the same breezy conditions allowing for some lovely planing reaches, the results went exactly to form other than Bob Bourne in 5th & Colin Hall in 6th

Toby Cooper won his umpteenth Championship, Tim Davison the Veteran Trophy, Gavin Goodall won Vintage Boat, Elaine Laverty the Ladies Trophy & Gary Hogan the Endeavour Trophy.

Special thanks must go to Hollowell Sailing Club for hosting, John Burford for travelling all the way from Cornwall to be race officer ably assisted by Pete Jackson whose locally knowledge meant we had excellent courses & last but not least to the Pope family for arranging & supporting the event & supplying daily spot prizes.

Overall Results:
If you finished in the top ten at the British Moth nationals then enter your Gear Guide information here

PosSail NoHelmR1R2R3R4R5R6R7Pts
1st887Toby Cooper1111‑2‑215
2nd892Tim Davison‑3‑3221128
3rd881Andy Matthews2‑4‑3333314
4th888Toby Smith‑5244‑74418
5th856Colin Hall4‑65‑645624
6th896Bob Bourne‑9565(DNS)6527
7th898Elaine Laverty7‑87‑858734
8th882Gary Tomkins67‑876‑9834
9th884Abby Freely81099(DNS)7(DNC)43
10th886Duncan Laverty10(DNF)‑1110911949
11th894Gary Hogan‑11910‑1110101150
12th812Gavin Goodall‑1211(DNS)128121053

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 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 Moths at Leamington Spa
The fog quickly clears and the wind fills in 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. Posted on 23 Apr 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
Savvy Navvy 2024Maritimo 2023 S600 FOOTER