Tag Archives: moth worlds 2015

Emirates Team NZ gets shipshape at McDougall + McConaghy 2015 Moth Worlds

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2015 McDougall + McConaghy Moth Worlds. Sorrento - VIC AUSTRALIA . 6/16 January 2015. 023,Peter BURLING,NZL 4219, 039,Chris DRAPER,GBR 4050

Some of the biggest names in America’s Cup sailing are here at the McDougall + McConaghy 2015 Moth Worlds, honing their skills, team bonding and generally coming to grips with the exciting foiling Moth. America’s Cup team Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) is no exception.

Dean Barker, Ray Davies, Glenn Ashby are experienced AC team members. The 2012 Olympic 49er silver medallists Peter Burling and Blair Tuke were added to the Team this time last year, their talent and flare an obvious asset, highlighted by Burling leading these Worlds by a large margin heading into tomorrow’s racing.

“We’re sailing against our crew mates from other classes, Olympic team mates and mates in the other America’s Cup Syndicates (Oracle Team USA, Artemis Racing and Luna Rossa),” Ashby, a sailmaker points out.

“It’s every man for himself, but once we’re ashore there’s lots of friendly banter and laughter,” says wing trimmer Ashby, who was head coach with Oracle’s 90ft trimaran for their 33rd America’s Cup win.

The Victorian-based sailor has more multihull world, national and state titles as a skipper than you can count on your fingers and toes. And he is a Tornado Olympic silver medallist from the 2000 Games with skipper Darren Bundock.

The whole idea of being at the McDougall + McConaghy Moth Worlds, Ashby says, “came from us (ETNZ) doing the A-Class Worlds last year in Takapuna, New Zealand, where Ashby won his eighth consecutive A-Class world title. Notably, Tuke and Burling were second and third respectively. Ray Davies was fifth. All were sailing foiling A-Cats.

“It’s good for team bonding, morale and developing as a group. It helps us technically too. The Moth is a step up. It’s a very technical boat,” Ashby says.

Explaining the principle of foiling in simple terms, Ashby says, “It’s like a plane, which needs air under its wings to lift off. With the Moth, it’s water flow that gets us up and foiling.”

The 37 year-old says the entire ETNZ team sails various classes. “You definitely have to sail as much as you can, because the America’s Cup game has changed vastly over the last two Cups. The Moth goes hand-in-hand with the America’s Cup.

While guys like Davies, Barker and Ashby are the experience of their AC team, Ashby says it’s great to have the young blood of Burling and Tuke.

“It’s fantastic having the young 49er guys (Burling is 23 and Tuke 25). We’re the experience and they bring a new perspective, dynamics, new skills and passion,” say Ashby, who has his team members and their families staying at his and his extended family’s homes. “The plan is to fast track to our experience level.”

On Oracle Team USA beating them in one of the biggest sporting comebacks of all time, when down 1-8 to ETNZ and winning eight races on the trot, Ashby said: “I don’t think we’ll ever get over it, but time heals.”

What brought them undone to an extent were the lay days. “We were in full maintenance mode during the lay days. They learned to sail their boat faster in that time. We didn’t get any worse, they just got better. They did a fantastic job. Every delay seemed to play into their hands. We nearly had it, until a race we were leading to win was abandoned that day.

“Losing was brutal and the people of New Zealand were brutal. When they love you and what you are doing, they really love you. But when things go wrong, well, they are brutal.

“But it’s still the best sailing I’ve ever done in my life. It was an amazing journey. We set the bar early on and kept it going. Not being able to finish it off was soul destroying,” Ashby openly admits.

“I take my hat off to the designers and engineers on both teams. They were impressive.”

Ashby says they are now looking forward to the next Cup. “Dalts (Grant Dalton) is still running the show. He’s a good leader and operator in every respect. He’s the guy who has to make the hard decisions, and he does because he is so passionate about the sport”.

So here they are at the McDougall + McConaghy 2015 International Moth World Championship and doing well. Burling is leading by 11 points with two days of racing left. Tuke is 13th, Ashby 15th, Davies 21st and Barker 29th.

“I hope I can move up the standings a bit. My boat got smashed into in one race, which left me out of the next. We’ll see…,” Ashby ends.

Full results, news, photos and video at: www.mothworlds.org/sorrento/

By Di Pearson, McDougall + McConaghy Moth Worlds Media

McDougall+McConaghy 2015 Moth Worlds – Day 4 video

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Again the weather here in Sorrento has continued to stand in the way of good racing. Day 4 of the McDougall + McConaghy 2015 Moth World Championships was a mix of rain, wind and waves. The race committee allowed the sailors to make the vote to commence racing. However, after testing the conditions, the gold fleet were sent home.

Visit the Moth Worlds website:
http://www.mothworlds.org/sorrento/

Video by Beau Outteridge
http://www.beauoutteridge.com/

Chris Rashley defies the odds at McDougall + McConaghy 2015 Moth Worlds

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Chris Rashley (GBR)

In the weeks leading up to the McDougall + McConaghy 2015 Moth Worlds, defending champion Nathan Outteridge (AUS) was contemplating who among the 160 entries would be his major competition for the title, and among them was British sailor Chris Rashley.

“There are the fulltime Moth sailors who for the past few years have populated the top ten; like Chris Rashley,” Outteridge said at the time. He was right. Rashley and he had gone toe-to-toe at the 2014 Moth Worlds, with the Australian coming out on top on the final day of racing.

At that event in Rashley’s playground of Hayling Island, England, he pulled off five wins to Outteridge’s four. It was winning the final race that sealed it for the Australian, the race in which the Brit finished 10th and left him second overall.

Fast forward to 2015, neither of the two is leading the Worlds coming into Day 4; that accolade belongs to New Zealander Peter Burling, the 2012 49er Olympic medallist and reigning world champion with Blair Tuke, both of whom were signed by the Emirates Team New Zealand America’s Cup syndicate a year ago.

Rashley, currently in fourth place overall, is once again leading Outteridge, who slipped from second overall to sixth after being caught out in the extremely light and fluky conditions yesterday and being timed out in 19th place. That Rashley is so close to the top of the leaderboard is extraordinary.

Knowing the talent coming to the McDougall + McConaghy 2015 Moth Worlds, and determined to better his second overall at the 2014 Moth Worlds. Rashley arrived in Sorrento well before the event to practice and get used to the local conditions. However, not long into his stay, the Englishman suffered a disc protrusion.

“I collapsed in the street in Sorrento. I could not get up. I was taken to hospital and two days later I was having an MRI. It was a disc protrusion,” Rashley says matter-of-factly, explaining the disc had pulled out from the jelly and straight into his back nerves.

“The body self-protects, it is trying to look after your spinal cord, so the muscles contract to protect it and you can’t move. That’s what the MRI discovered and I was given anti-inflammatories because the area was so swollen.”

After self-protecting, Rashley says his body then started to self-damage. After five days he started physio, a course of steroids and an Epidural, where painkilling drugs are passed into the small of the back via a fine tube. The drug is injected around the nerves that carry signals from the part of your body that feels pain.

Two to three days later, and feeling no pain, Rashley was able to take short walks. “On the third day I went for a little sail,” he said.

Is it painful? “No, the Epidural took care of that. I can’t solve the disc problem right now; that will take three to six months. Is it bad for your back to go sailing? “No, he says.

“And if you walk the beach at these Worlds, you will find lots of guys who have had this problem and some who have it now; it comes from hiking and not being strong in your core. It’s not like I’m the only one,” the understated sailor whose work life includes coaching the British Olympic hopefuls in the Women’s 49erFX class says.

After spending time in hospital, Rashley was out in time to race on the first day of competition. “I have raced every race. It’s a real pleasure to be on the water again; to be in hospital for 10 days is no fun.”

Rashley confines his racing to the Moth class. He believes that is what has helped make him so good at it. He has won four Moth European titles and came close with second at the Worlds last year. “This is a much higher-quality fleet,” he admits, recognising the younger and talented America’s Cup, Olympic and world champions in the record fleet of 160.

His hopes for these Worlds? “If I can even complete all races it will be a great event for me. To come all this way and not compete would have been terrible, so I feel quite lucky,” the sailor from Southampton says.

Racing at the McDougall + McConaghy 2015 International Moth World Championship continues today from 1100 hours. It has been raining for most of a grey and overcast morning, but at least there is breeze.

Full results, news, photos and video at: www.mothworlds.org/sorrento/

By Di Pearson, McDougall + McConaghy Moth Worlds Media

Racing abandoned on Day 4 of McDougall + McConaghy 2015 Moth Worlds

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2015mothworlds day 4 no raceDespite their best attempts, race officials were forced to abandon racing on Day 4 of the McDougall + McConaghy 2015 International Moth World Championship being hosted by the Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club (SSCBC) at Sorrento in Victoria.

At a meeting with Moth competitors this morning, Event Director, Peter Osbourne (from the SSCBC) asked for a show of hands for racing. Most in the Gold fleet elected for racing. All but a couple in the Silver fleet voted against.

Officials asked competitors to stay ashore while they waited for visibility to improve, along with the general conditions, including pouring rain and winds that were up and down like a yoyo.

Finally, late this afternoon, the Gold fleet headed out to the course, but PRO Garry Hosie felt that of the fleet, perhaps only ten would finish, so once again, racing was abandoned.

Some competitors felt they could race, Josh McKnight (AUS) and Tom Slingsby (AUS) amongst them. But others thought it was a good move, because a fair amount of damage could occur in the built up seaway.

“To be honest, I just wake up every morning and make the best of it. I can’t control the weather,” said McKnight, the 2012 world champion. “I wish we could have stayed out this afternoon. It was 18-20 knots, sailable, but a big sea. It would have been fun though.”

On his current second place, McKnight said, “It won’t be easy to beat Peter Burling, but not impossible. He could have a bad race like everyone else.”

Scott Babbage, is in third place overall, three points behind McKnight. He said, “I’m going very fast at the moment, but if you were going to pick anyone to win, you’d have to say Peter Burling, without a doubt.

“The weather hasn’t been the best so far. Too little wind, too much. It’s hard for the Race Officer – his job is thankless, I wouldn’t do it.”

“I was quick on the second day (good solid wind), some more of that would be good,” he added.

Early this evening, Peter Osbourne commented: “The weather has been challenging and we’re wondering what we did in a previous life to deserve it!

“There are things we know we could have done better, and in hindsight, there are things we would have done differently. Our original PRO, Peter Moor, suffered a heart attack and couldn’t continue. Unfamiliarity with the class among other things, for Peter’s replacement Garry Hosie, has presented its difficulties.”

Osbourne assured all that, “We are here for the customer, the sailors. We’re going to have a technical advisor, Andrew Baglan, on the Gold course on Thursday to represent the class. He is a Moth Sailor and an international umpire. Scott Babbage suggested him,” he said.

“We are going to try our very best – the enemy has been not only high or not enough wind, but the tides too. We have mucked the troops around enough, so we’re going to try to have six more races.

Tomorrow, though, we’re going ahead with the lay day, because winds in the high 20’s are expected. We will start again from 11am on Thursday. We want to deliver what the class wants,” he said of the McDougall + McConaghy 2015 International Moth World Championship.

Full results, news, photos and video at: www.mothworlds.org/sorrento/

By Di Pearson, McDougall + McConaghy Moth Worlds Media

From On The Water Anarchy: 2015 Moth World Championship Day 3 video

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A promising forecast rapidly deteriorated into what was the lightest most controversial race yet. A very small percentage of boats were able to even foil, while the rich got richer and sailed away the majority were left low riding. Chris Draper lead all the way till the finish line when he got passed by Japan’s Hiroki Goto. 7 of the 79 sailors in the Gold fleet were able to finish in time leading the way into the controversy as to why the RC ever started the race in the first place.

More stuff from On The Water Anarchy

McDougall+McConaghy 2015 Moth Worlds – Day 3 Results

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2015mothworlds day 3 results

Gold fleet results only. No race today for silver fleet

Name Country 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Total Points Net Points
1 BURLING, Peter NZL -7 -2 1 1 1 1 1 3 17 8
2 MCKNIGHT, Josh AUS -6 3 2 1 -5 5 3 5 30 19
3 BABBAGE, Scott AUS -8 1 -6 2 3 1 5 10 36 22
4 RASHLEY, Chris GBR 3 3 -7 -4 1 4 4 8 34 23
5 DRAPER, Chris GBR 2 4 3 6 -7 -8 6 2 38 23
6 OUTTERIDGE, Nathan AUS 1 1 -4 -3 2 2 1 19 33 26
7 GULARI, Bora USA 2 -12 4 7 5 3 -8 11 52 32
8 GOUGH, Robert AUS 4 5 5 -18 7 -11 6 7 63 34
9 KOTOUN, Anthony ISV 5 -9 -10 3 3 6 5 13 54 35
10 GOODISON, Paul GBR 14 -16 3 6 10 4 DNF 6 139 43
11 JENSEN, Iain AUS 4 2 2 -5 4 2 -39 32 90 46
12 PSAROFAGHIS, Arnaud SUI 10 8 -16 9 -12 9 3 9 76 48
13 TUKE, Blair NZL -19 17 1 9 9 9 DNF 4 148 49
14 GOTO, Hiroki JPN 3 12 7 -20 11 17 RAF 1 151 51
15 ASHBY, Glenn AUS 7 7 5 -14 -34 AVG RDG 12 105.80 57.80
16 RAST, Chris SUI 10 4 11 -12 -20 7 9 20 93 61
17 RIZZI, Stefano ITA 6 8 12 DNF 6 12 -13 18 155 62
18 KAJIMOTO, Kohei AUS -15 7 -29 12 13 14 4 21 115 71
19 MCDOUGALL, Andrew AUS 8 13 -18 13 8 -23 7 29 119 78
20 KURTS, Phillip AUS 12 11 6 27 DNF -31 11 15 193 82
21 MCMILLAN, Leigh GBR 11 6 -14 -20 11 11 10 38 121 87
22 DAVIES, Ray NZL 12 6 8 18 -31 -40 24 SCP 160 89
23 BURTON, Thomas AUS 24 -27 11 17 8 12 DNF 17 196 89
24 FERRIGHI, Gian Maria ITA 15 -32 -34 15 19 6 14 23 158 92
25 SLINGSBY, Tom AUS 1 -5 -27 4 2 5 2 DNF 126 94
26 WARNER, Kurtis AUS 9 10 -21 2 6 7 -12 60 127 94
27 LANGFORD, Kyle AUS 11 18 15 8 -21 -25 8 34 140 94
28 CASTLE, Joel AUS -29 -48 9 21 14 10 22 28 181 104
29 BARKER, Dean NZL 14 19 -26 11 22 14 -34 24 164 104
30 HEATHCOTE, Jonathan RSA 13 13 -22 DNC 13 15 19 35 210 108
31 LISTER, David AUS 26 -52 DNF 5 4 3 2 69 241 109
32 SALTER, Julian AUS 18 18 -23 10 15 OCS 7 42 213 110
33 PEET, George USA 5 9 26 26 21 -29 DNF 27 223 114
34 CHAPMAN, Andrew AUS 17 11 9 35 -36 -37 30 14 189 116
35 WOODS, James AUS 16 -36 -32 13 17 8 17 56 195 127
36 JOHNSON, Tom AUS 9 -29 21 8 -25 13 14 63 182 128
37 SARE, Warren AUS -39 UFD 33 10 17 20 12 39 250 131
38 ÅKERVALL, Nils SWE -32 26 -31 22 12 19 21 31 194 131
39 PHILLIPS, William AUS 21 -34 13 16 20 21 -35 43 203 134
40 HISCOCKS, Simon GBR -22 19 -36 7 10 21 11 68 194 136
41 OWEN-SMITH, James AUS -38 -24 17 19 16 24 18 45 201 139
42 FERRIGHI, Stefano ITA 22 17 UFD 17 28 16 DNF 40 300 140
43 CONNOR, Charles AUS -33 -33 15 15 27 16 20 53 212 146
44 HOLENWEG, David SUI 36 -43 UFD 23 18 17 28 26 271 148
45 THORPE, Les AUS 25 21 24 DNC -38 29 25 25 267 149
46 PHILLIPS, Samuel AUS 31 -35 -41 23 14 18 9 58 229 153
47 TAILBY, Reece AUS 24 21 -42 14 -28 19 19 57 224 154
48 PEARSON, Brent AUS 34 15 19 25 32 DNF DNF 30 315 155
49 WILSON, Patrick USA 13 -42 DNF 30 9 33 32 46 285 163
50 VEAL, Rohan AUS -20 15 20 -24 18 15 15 DNF 207 163
51 MIGHELL, Harold AUS -25 20 16 24 -30 22 20 62 219 164
52 GOLDSBERRY, Jonny USA 19 -37 12 34 35 DSQ 32 33 282 165
53 MOON, Ben USA 23 16 17 22 -32 20 -26 70 226 168
54 CAMPBELL, ANDREW USA 28 -46 -29 21 23 22 10 65 244 169
55 JACKSON, Richard AUS 32 -58 DNF 19 16 13 31 61 310 172
56 SHERRING, Jack AUS 21 -45 18 28 26 25 -31 55 249 173
57 FREDDI, Thomas ITA 43 DNF BFD 33 19 10 23 47 335 175
58 ROBERTS, Daniel AUS 23 -44 23 31 29 -37 22 54 263 182
59 COTTON, Scott AUS 42 23 13 36 -48 47 DNF 22 311 183
60 DAMIC, Luka AUS 38 -40 UFD 16 15 26 18 SCP 305 185
61 KISSANE, Alistair IRL 29 -43 38 -45 31 30 16 41 273 185
62 TABATA, Wakako JPN -47 35 22 27 27 -36 27 48 269 186
63 SUZUKI, Masatomo JPN 27 25 35 37 -42 -39 26 36 267 186
64 WOOLLEY, Geoff NZL 42 29 8 -49 -45 36 21 51 281 187
65 KNOWLES, Matt USA 26 28 25 40 -41 35 DNF 37 312 191
66 THOMAS, Steven AUS 16 27 10 11 DNF DNF DNF 49 353 193
67 WYATT, Charlie AUS 28 31 DNF -46 34 35 25 44 323 197
68 MURPHY, Annalise IRL -45 26 DNF 30 29 18 16 DNF 324 199
69 WARREN, Jasper AUS 18 10 28 34 44 -45 DNF 66 325 200
70 ENGLAND, Samantha AUS 48 -49 -58 26 26 24 17 59 307 200
71 GRAVARE, Martin SWE 45 38 BFD 28 23 UFD 15 52 361 201
72 LOGAN, David AUS -36 -47 30 25 24 32 13 DNF 287 204
73 KIRBY, ROME USA -53 22 25 32 -37 31 33 64 297 207
74 RESCH, Nikolaus AUT 30 30 20 -33 24 27 DNF DNF 324 211
75 LORING, David USA 40 38 UFD 37 22 -44 24 SCP 340 216
76 STEELE, Chris NZL 17 -41 DNF 29 33 27 33 DNF 340 219
77 MARIE, Benoit FRA 30 20 DNF -42 36 23 37 DNF 348 226
78 SHARPE, Scott AUS -41 30 28 31 33 33 DNF DNF 356 235
79 HORTON, Andy USA 34 -59 19 40 -41 41 29 UFD 343 243

Japan to the fore at McDougall + McConaghy 2015 Moth Worlds

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2015mothworlds hiroki goto

Japan’s Hiroki Goto unusually showed emotion after taking out Race 8 in the Gold fleet Finals of the McDougall + McConaghy 2015 International Moth World Championship being hosted by the Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club at Sorrento in Victoria.

“Japanese people do not show emotion, but I was leading. There was nobody in front of me and a big spectator fleet as I came to the finish. It was the most amazing feeling. I could not help it, I shouted out, because I was so happy. It felt so good to win,” Goto said.

Goto typically enjoys the breeze, “but I was in good shape from the beginning. I was in the top ten in the light breeze on the first day (he was third in the opening race) and now today I win. I don’t understand, as I feel best in 15 knots and sailing on flat seas.

“Today I just seemed to have the advantage – it is strange to discover I can sail in light wind. I was in second place for a while; Chris Draper (GBR) had a good lead. But I gybed and was sailing deeper and faster and I could gybe on my foils. Chris couldn’t,” said Goto, who took the lead at that point and has moved up to 14th overall.

Peter Burling (NZL) continued his good run with third place in a dwindling north-nor ‘easterly wind that petered out to 2-3 knots. Race officials abandoned further racing for the day at the conclusion of Race 8 for the Gold fleet.

Nathan Outteridge was timed out in 19th place (“that has never happened to me before,” the Australian said) and dropped down to sixth place overall, Burling now leads 2012 Moth world champion, Josh McKnight, by 11 points with a drop in play. McKnight finished fifth in today’s race.

Following 10th place Scott Babbage has moved into third place, while Great Britain’s Chris Rashley (GBR) is in fourth place after finishing eighth. On equal points behind him is fellow Brit, Chris Draper, who was second today behind Goto.

There will be cause for double celebration in Japan, as their only female contender Wakako Tabata has lead the Women’s since Day 1. Not only that, she is sailing in the Gold fleet and was very excited by her 48th place today. Why? “Because I beat Tom Slingsby – I beat Tom Slingsby,” she said, incredulous.

“I am surprised I am the leading woman. I have only sailed a Moth for half a year and I am sailing against women like Sam England (AUS) and Annalise Murphy (IRE),” Tabata said. England won the Women’s 2011 world title, while Murphy finished fourth at the 2012 Olympics in the Laser Radial.

Tabata represented Japan in the 470 Women’s at the 2012 Olympics. Beforehand, she won the 470 Women’s title at the Asian Games. Currently, she and Goto are campaigning for the 2016 Olympics in the Mixed Nacra 17.

“We have only been sailing the Nacra together for half a year also,” Goto laughs. “We are not very good, but I think now that both of us are sailing the Nacra and the Moth, we will only become better. That is the hope.”

Goto is also excited as the next Moth Worlds will be held in his hometown of Hayama, Japan. “Wakako also lives nearby. We are thinking about it already,” he ended.

The Silver fleet did not race today. Currently Adriano Petrino (ITA) leads Tom Spithill (AUS) and Ryan Seaton (IRE).

Racing at the McDougall + McConaghy 2015 International Moth World Championship is due to start from 1100 hours tomorrow morning.

Full results, news, photos and video at: www.mothworlds.org/sorrento/

By Di Pearson, McDougall + McConaghy Moth Worlds Media

Rohan Veal – former Moth world champion from Victoria returns to the fold

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2015mothworlds rohan veal

In 2005, Victoria’s Rohan Veal had only been in the Moth class for four years and pulled off the biggest coup in Moth history when he won the 2005 Moth Worlds – the first person to win the Worlds using the hydrofoil technique – in 2009 he left competitive sailing, but has returned to the fold at the McDougall + McConaghy 2015 International Moth World Championship.

‘Lord of the Wings’, as Veal is known for his Moth antics, made a last minute comeback. “I’d planned to come down here anyway, just to watch, because I didn’t want to miss it. Andrew McDougall said he had a spare boat, did I want to race. It was a pretty hard decision, but hard to pass up. Now he’s loaned me the boat, I had no choice but to say yes, so I entered the day the Worlds started.”

Protagonist Veal’s 2005 Worlds win left mixed feelings among the diehards who were not keen to accept a ‘hydrofoiler’ as the world champion. Then 28, the Victorian sailor was at the forefront of development in the class.

He first took the foiler to the Worlds in 2003, in France. “I went on the water and did what the English referred to as the ‘Veal Heel’, an aggressive windward heel and bow up technique,” Veal explained in 2005.

The class ‘guinea pig’, Veal moved forward with the next www of development and went on to clean sweep the 2007 Japan Moth National Championship, professing he did so with “a combination of Andrew McDougall’s design and development on the boat, along with some skill/technique that we have been working on with Andrew and Lex Bertrand for many months beforehand.”

On the funny side, Veal was the subject of police scrutiny, for speeding three times the limit inside harbours!

2007 Moth World Championship to now

Veal won the first eight races to clean sweep again with a Bladerider at the 2007 Worlds. Scott Babbage (NSW) finished a comfortable second overall with a Bladerider and Victorian Andrew ‘A-Mac’ McDougall, who designed the Bladerider, was the second Master sailor and a respectable sixth overall.

“I haven’t sailed since, not a Moth or a dinghy – let alone hiked on a boat. My first real taste of getting back into this will be the first heat. I’m just going through the boat with A-Mac (McDougall) and trying to get my head around it.

“All the issues I had back in the early days have been resolved. To finish every race is my major goal,” Veal ended.

Not only has Veal finished every race, he is in a remarkable 36th overall with a top finish of 15th, which he has achieved three times and made it into the Gold fleet finals with the likes of Olympic medallists and America’s Cup stars. Along Veal All three have thrown their hats in the ring at these Worlds. All three have designs on the title, make no mistake, they would not be here otherwise.

It goes without saying that Veal racing a Mach 2, the end result of collaboration between McDougall and McConaghy. The two spent many years working together to develop high performance Moth designs, such as the Mach 2, which was immediately successful and has dominated the top of the Worlds leaderboard since 2009.

Racing at the McDougall + McConaghy 2015 International Moth World Championship continues on today with the commencement of the Finals Series. At the time of writing, one race had been completed before the Gold fleet had been sent ashore due to little and fluky breezes.

Full results, news, photos and video at: www.mothworlds.org/sorrento/

By Di Pearson, McDougall + McConaghy Moth Worlds Media