Just in case you were planning to come to Geelong

The 2012 Victorian State Titles were to be held as part of the Geelong

Festival Of Sail.  The regatta organisers have had trouble arranging a major

sponsor for the event and unfortunately our entry fees reflected that.  The

cost of entering the regatta was $240.00 for six races over two days.  After

some discussion the fee came down to $200.00, however this is still 100%

increase per day on our last state titles held there in 2010.  We didn't

canvas the entire fleet, however when word got out about the cost

approximately 3/4 of the people who would normally race in the moth fleet

made it clear that they would not attend, based on the cost of the entry fee

and having to pay for accommodation.  With this in mind we have chosen to

withdraw as a class from the event and contest the 2012 State Titles

elsewhere.  It should be noted that this was done amicably with the event

organisers, ensuring we maintain a good relationship with Geelong YC and

it's event organisers.  Stay tuned for our new location! 

Victorian Moth Grand Prix Series round 3 - Sorrento

'Leigh Dunstan - KA Sails Victorian Moth Grand Prix Series - Round 3'    Kylie Dunstan     Round 3 of the KA Sails Victorian Moth Grand Prix was  held at Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club on Saturday  3rd December. Three races were sailed back to back  with conditions ranging from 10-17 knots, with the  breeze blowing offshore, making it ideal for Moth  sailing. With nine boats on the beach we were set for  a fantastic days racing. Race one saw Leigh Dunstan first to the top mark, only to  tack from the port lay line and drop off his foils, watching  three boats foil past before there was enough wind to foil  again. The rest of the race saw Andrew McDougall and  Richard Jackson fight it out for first and second. The win  went to Jackson seeing his first break though win in a  Moth event, with second to McDougall and third to Dunstan. Race two again saw Jackson and McDougall battling it out  for first and second, this time McDougall taking first and  Jackson second. Third place was hotly fought out between  Dunstan, Sam England and Lochy Byrne, with Dunstan  finding the pressure on the run to the finish. Andrew McDougall - KA Sails Victorian Moth Grand Prix Series - Round 3 - Kylie Dunstan Race three saw a carbon copy of the top three from race  two with McDougall first to the line, in front of Jackson and  Dunstan again in third. After three rounds of the KA Sails Victorian Grand Prix  Series McDougall is in first place overall, with Jackson and  Dunstan in second and third respectively. Check out some head cam footage from on board Richard's boat. Can't see too much racing, however you do see James  nearly getting his head ripped off on the start line! A special mention has to go out to Sorrento Sailing Couta  Boat Club with their exceptional organisational skills and eagerness to accommodate our needs for the event. The  Grand Prix now moves on to Geelong as part of the  Geelong Festival of Sail in January. Richard Jackson - KA Sails Victorian Moth Grand Prix Series - Round 3 - Kylie Dunstan   James Owen-Smith - KA Sails Victorian Moth Grand Prix Series - Round 3 - Kylie Dunstan

KA Sails Vic Grand Prix - Round Two

Round two of the KA Sails Victorian Grand Prix was held at Mornington YC, location for the upcoming nationals.  Unfortunately numbers were down a bit with many away, injured or with broken boats.  Never the less the days racing was particularly eventful.

In a similar fashion to round one we picked a day with plenty of rain and some very fickle winds, at least until we went sailing.  On a personal note as I went to put my foils in I noticed that my push rod had snapped off at the base.  I showed Amac and he said 'you'll be right it just means your flap won't go up so just avoid the big waves'.  I looked at at the building south westerly and thought of the forecast which was 'squalls in excess of 30 knots with the thunderstorms' and thought yeah right, shouldn't be too hard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7nv9DWZvts
Footage from Richards Go Pro, having trouble linking it properly, but this should work


We all went out, sailed past the pier and out of the protection of the harbour and got smashed!  The combination of the wind strength, which was above twenty and the waves, meant it was too dangerous downwind.  The race committee was then kind enough to set us another course much closer to shore, where we were able to seek the protection of the harbour.  The conditions were still bumpy in certain areas of the course, but very sailable.

Race one saw Amac take the win with Leigh (me) taking second and Richard in third.  Race two was a bit more eventful with Richard rounding the top mark in first with Amac close behind in second.  After Richard parked not far past the top mark Amac had to crash to miss him, causing damage to his boat and finishing his day.  I managed to find the passing lane on the final run and finished just ahead of Richard on the line (much to Richard disgust, as seen in the footage).  Kohie came through to take third.

We then had to sail back in in what was now gusting to 30 knots, which made for a tough sail in.  A special mention has to go to Kohie who sailed well in the very difficult conditions.  Thanks also to KA Sails and Racer X Marine for their support of the event.

Footage from the slalom run - Sail Melbourne

Richard has done a great job piecing together some footage from his Go Pro.  This video shows about 15 knots and bumpy seas.  This was our practice run of the slalom course mentioned in the previous post and after this and particularly the following race it filled in to twenty and the seas became much less manageable.

Nice work Richie!

Exhibition Racing - Sail Melbourne (bit on!)

The Victorian Moth fleet was asked to sail a short course series at Sandringham as part of the Olympic classes Sail Melbourne series.

The fleet included Richard Jackson, Paul Fleming, Andrew McDougall, James Owen-Smith, Kohei, Leigh Dunstan (me) and a guest appearance from New Zealand 49er sailor and moth champ Peter Burling, borrowing Martin boat.  Rohan Veal ran the racing and did a fantastic job.

It's hard to paint a picture of how challenging the conditions were, with 18-20 knots blowing across the short slalom course with typical Port Phillip waves of close to 1m.  The challenging part was the second and fourth buoys of the course were set 20-30m off a rock wall, to enhance the spectator appeal, with people looking down on the course from a balcony just above the bottom marks.  What made things really interesting though was as you came closer to the rock wall the water became much shallower so the waves stood up out of no where and chaos followed at almost all of these mark roundings.  These mark rounding also saw some serious near misses, with only inches in it.  The course was also set to maximise speed with most downwind legs having to be sailed at much higher angles than Moth are normally expected to sail.  I know my top speed was 24 knots, which isn't massive, but you park a rock wall in front of you when your doing that speed and the experience is certainly much more intense than it would normally be.

I can't actually remember how many races we had, as it's pretty much a blur of constant crashes and carnage, I think it was four or five.  The day belonged to Andrew McDougall who won all but the first race that I won.

A special mention has to go out to James who went out thinking it was a good idea to wear wetty shorts on Port Phillip Bay.  Unfortunately he did what I did a couple of years ago and ripped the back of his leg open on the chain plate.  

Thanks again to Rohan and Sandgringham YC for putting on some of the most intense racing any of us have ever been a part of.

KA Sails Vic Grand Prix - Round One

Saturday the 22nd October saw round one of the KA Sails Victorian Moth Grand Prix, included as part of the McRae Yacht Club's Open Day.  It wasn't the greatest weather, with rain and winds being light and variable, but most importantly there was good racing and a free lunch, except of course for Amac who always gets there at the last minute when all the food is gone.

Sammy carving it up!

The Moth fleet had a turn out of eight Moths which wasn't too bad for the first round of the season, although for the next round we hope to see well over ten.  It was one of those days where you could be drifting along at 1-2 knots and someone is smoking along behind you on the foils.

If you look at the guys on the B14 you can almost see them saying 'I'll have what he's having'

Off the start Leigh (me) was the only boat to get up on the foils and managed about a 100m lead, only to tack straight out of the pressure and hand the lead to Amac, where he consolidated as the race went on.  He sailed his brand new Mach 2 to a convincing win.  Richard Jackson did well to take second, just ahead of Leigh (me) and Sam England close behind in fourth.

Richard thinks sitting down on a Moth is highly over rated!

Round two of the KA Sails Victorian Grand Prix will be held on the 19th November at Mornington Yacht Club, the location for the upcoming Nationals Titles. 

Amac leading the way on his shiny new boat

Thanks again to KA Sails and Racer X Marine for supporting the event and a big shout out to Kylie for taking some great happy snaps!

Victorian Moth Grand Prix Series

The dates for the Victorian Moth Grand Prix Series have been confirmed.  Spread across the season at various clubs and incorporating some major regattas we are looking forward to some fantastic racing.  


The first round is the Mcrae Open Day where they are expecting in excess of 90-100 boats, so we should see some fantastic exposure for the class.  With the National Titles in January also at Mornington we are set for a huge season!


A massive thanks to KA Sails for donating a sail for the series.  To help promote regular participation each competitor will receive a ticket for every round entered and the winner of the sail will be drawn after the final round at Black Rock.  


If your an interstate mothie and looking for some action Round 4, which is also our State Titles will be run as part of the Geelong Festival Of Sail.  The event promoters are putting us right in the action just off the end of the pier.  With an estimated 150,000 people along the forshaw that week it will be a great regatta.  If your keen for some action late in the season Round 6, as part of the Black Rock Skiff Regatta is always great regatta.  


Round 1: 22nd Oct - McRae YC Open Day
Round 2: 19th Nov - Mornington YC
Round 3: 3rd Dec - Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club
Round 4: 28th & 29th Jan - Geelong YC, as part of the Geelong Festival of Sail (2012 Victorian State Titles)
Round 5: 3rd Mar - Blairgowire YS
Round 6: 21st & 22nd Apr - Black Rock YC, as part of the BYC Skiff Regatta


Stay tuned for event updates..................................

AUS 3685 vs Dolphin vs Insurance Company

A couple of weeks ago we went for a sail off Mornington, flat water, offshore breeze, great sailing.  I sailed out for about a kilometre, tacked, beared away reached 21.5 knots (according to the velocitek) andall I heard was BANG!!! Followed by one hell of a crash! I have cartwheeled as much as the next bloke, but this one was different, I spent so much time flying through the air I had time to think what I was going to have for dinner.  I have hit fish, plastic bags, jellyfish, a penguin, even managed to sail the bulb on my rudder directly through the eye of a submerged mooring (anchoring me to the bottom), but whatever I hit was big and is also likely to be pretty sore.

I looked back and my rudder was gone.  My rudder pin had literally ripped through the back of the carbon tube that held it in.  After an hour and a half of getting a hire boat to bring us back in the process started to try and claim a new rudder, foil, gantry, tiller, etc. on insurance.

After spending a couple of days being sent back and forth within the company I finally spoke to the assessor, who said "If it is wear and tear that caused the breakage your not covered, you have to prove to us that you hit something".  I'm thinking you beauty how do you prove that you hit something when the rudder is now at the bottom of the ocean?

That particular day I was wearing Richie's Go Pro, but I was shattered when I came in to find out it was not turned on properly and not filming.  That night Richie said he had realised that it was however taking still photos every 4-5 seconds.  I shot around to his place to go through the 500-600 photos, because there where dolphins out there that day, and you guessed it we found a photo of one.  I sent the photo to the assessor and he said they will process the claim, for the only reason that they can't prove that I didn't hit that dolphin.

Below is a pic without my rudder and a pic with the dolphin.  I think the moral to the story is NEVER leave shore without a Go Pro stuck firmly on your head, it could save you thousands!!!!!

Winter training session off Mornington (very, very cold!)

A little bit of online moth marketing!

We had an article published in Sailworld.com not long ago.  We already have one new local 'mothie' about to come online as a result

http://www.sail-world.com/Australia/Victorian-Moth-Fleet-looking-for-new-pilots/85926

Victorian State Titles 2012 Announced!

We have confirmed the 2012 Victorian Moth State Titles will be held next year on the Saturday 28th of Jan and Sunday 29th of Jan as part of the Geelong Festival of Sails 2012 Regatta, to be held at Royal Geelong Yacht Club.

This event is becoming a semi regular fixture on the Victorian Moth Calendar for good reason.  Geelong provides flat water and good breeze.  As one of the biggest regatta's in the southern hemisphere and steeped in tradition the whole town really turns it on with close to 100,000 spectators across the foreshore over the week.

Make sure you book your accommodation early as the town can get very busy throughout the event

I will post the NOR as soon as it becomes available