British Moth 2023 National Championship at Hollowell Sailing Club

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.

British Moth Nationals 2023 at Hollowell - photo © Stewart Elder

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.

British Moth Nationals 2023 at Hollowell - photo © Stewart Elder

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.

British Moth Nationals 2023 at Hollowell - photo © Stewart Elder

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.

British Moth Nationals 2023 at Hollowell - photo © Stewart Elder

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:
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