scott.projectsomewhere

So we’ve arrived in Qingdao, ready to do a bit of sailing with Nathan & Ben. But unfortunately things aren’t going exactly to plan. Their container of boats haven’t arrived in the compound yet, so we’ve been spending some time looking around and buying dvds. What a cultural experience.

And to top it off, it’s currently blowing 18+ knots with clear skies. It’s a rare rare day in this place.

Even if their boats were here, Dave & I wouldn’t be hitting the water. We’re here for the light and shite, not the breeze.

Anyway.

My form guide could be well out given the lack of entries so far for the Worlds… only 10 have officially entered with WPNSA so far.

Time to get your act together people.

The Moth preparations are taking a back seat for a few weeks while Dave and I head off to Qingdao for some 49er testing with Nathan & Ben.

Given the amount of weekend time that’s been devoted to Mothing lately, we haven’t taken the 49er for a run since our testing session in April. Surely it shouldn’t be too hard to learn how to trapeze again.

The past weekend’s Mothing was pretty successful, with 6 boats taking to the water at 8am on Sunday. I think everyone would’ve learnt a fair amount from the 10 or so races we ran before heading in as the breeze died at 11. It was pretty amazing how big the gains and losses can be in racing, rather than just blasting around or two-boat tuning. It was also interesting to see the different theories and designs all ending up in roughly the same place. We had a Bladerider, 2 Prowler Zeros, 2 Prowler 4s and a Gilmour. 4 CST high-modulus rigs. MSL10, MSL11, MSL12 , MSL13s and an ‘07 Truflo. And a sailor weight range from 58 - 88kg. If only we could get such close, tight racing every week, we’d be improving pretty quickly. At least there’s still plenty to learn.

But then there’s always plenty to learn when it comes to Moth sailing.

Anyway, I’ll see how I go blogging when I get to China. Then maybe I’ll try to dump some photos on flickr. If they’ll let me.

Now there are only 3 days of preparation left before my Moth (otherwise known as appliancesonline.com.au) is packed up and flown off to the UK, with those days split up by a nice little jaunt to China next week.

I have been a bit wound up about the lack of time I’ve had available to get ready for this one, but in reality, I’m a hell of a lot happier with where I am now, compared to where I was a month out from Garda. Let’s just hope the final week improvement can be as dramatic as it was last time around.

For now, I’m just going to go all zen. Relaxed about what’s been done and what’s ahead. It’s not much use cramming before the big test, and since I’ve never done that before, I’m not about to start now.

Whatever will be will be and all that.

/* Breathes in…. */

The enthusiasm for form guides leading into the Weymouth Moth Worlds has fizzled, so it’s about time to throw my hat into the ring with my usual in-depth and unbiased interpretation of the state of play.

So here goes…

Last year I wasn’t too far off the mark, although that wasn’t too hard.

This year, the game has changed.

Weymouth is not Garda. Obviously. Unfortunately. So the inherent advantages for Australians in strong winds are neutered to a large extent. Current World Champion Rohan has suggested he won’t be racing. There’s a bunch of new designs. What does it all mean?

A lot. And not much at the same time.

There’s a bunch of new faces in the game as well. As well as a bunch of rusted on contenders. Who’s going to be there at the end of the week? Let’s see.

Simon Payne (GBR)
A master at the game. Literally. #3 in Garda. #1 in Denmark. Euro Champion. Light weight. Simon has a new Prowler Zero this time after learning last year that you can’t rest on your laurels for even 12 months in this class. With the latest sails from KA (as their UK distributor) and the latest carbon rigs from CST, he has all the gear. But then so do a lot of others. Effectively retiring to take on Moth sailing full time means Simon is putting in the necessary preparation to make it all happen. I said Simon would be fighting it out with Rohan for the title last time, and I was wrong. I will say Simon will be fighting it out for the title this time.

Adam May (GBR)
Who knows what Adam will turn up to the regatta with this time. He was under-cooked at Garda and got punished for it. A nice guy who obviously knows how to race, and knows what makes boats go fast. His new involvement with Carbonology and their new Velociraptor means there’s a lot of question marks. They could blow us all away. They might need some refinement before they’re up to speed. Without knowing any specifics I’d be more inclined to go with the former.

Rohan Veal (AUS)
Sure he’s said he has retired, and probably at a good time to keep his status as the god of foiling. I think the championship is well within reach of Rohan’s ability, regardless of his preparation. He could turn up with a roto-moulded plastic Bladerider and still win races. And he probably will.

Andrew McDougall (AUS)
I’m sure he’s put some thought into making his boat go. I’m sure he’ll be blazingly quick as usual. Weymouth will be a bit kinder on his equipment than Garda was, so perhaps he’ll have less alphabet on the scorecard than he did last time around - alphabet which cost him 3rd place. There’s no doubt Amac will be competitive. Can he win? Probably. Will he win?

Graham Vials (GBR)
One of the strongest prospects for the title. Again silent in the lead up to the event. In a boat that doesn’t fall apart, he will be dangerous. His equipment let him down in what otherwise could’ve been a podium finish last year. Although he’s won some events in the UK recently, his setup didn’t look brilliant. As one of the least-regular Moth bloggers, who knows what his preparation has been like. I’m sure he’ll get the full support of team Bladerider, so he’ll be a contender. No doubt there.

So they’re the old guard of foiling. The early adopters who’ve been at the top for a while. What about the newcomers.

Mat Belcher (AUS)
It’s a rare event for a newcomer to win the Australian Championship in their first Moth event. Belcher did it. Easily. Having only raced against him once, I can see why. He will be a formidable opponent on the course, and given that he’s been racing non-stop for the best part of a decade, I see no reason for him to be out of form. Surely by July he’ll have remembered what a Moth course looks like, and his boat handling mistakes will be ironed out. He’s super light, has the combined Bladerider and KA arsenal at his disposal, and has made all the tweaks like taking a few kilos of paint out of his hull at what would’ve been great expense if it was done commercially. If he wins it will be a surprise, but it wouldn’t surprise me much.

John Harris (AUS)
Not really a newcomer seeing as he’s raced in as many Moth Worlds as I have. But John is much faster and much better prepared this time than he was last year. He obviously can sail, and is blindingly quick when it’s windy. Really light conditions were his downfall at the last regatta, but a few more months of sailing in a Sydney winter has seen that change. He’ll be easily in the top 10.

Andrew Brown (NZL)
The Kiwi component of Bladerider’s global dominance. Andrew competed in the Australian Championships and didn’t do well, but has been putting in the time across the pond, winning the recent NZL Nationals. It looks like he’s done plenty of work on his boat, with a similar paint and weight cleanup to Belcher. Again he’ll be one of the most competitive Bladeriders.

Which brings me to what should be the most competitve…

Bora Gulari (USA)
One of the new breed of semi-pro Mothists, who has put in years worth of sailing in the last 12 months. His handling looks like the best I have seen, if not better. Again, as the US face of Bladerider, he’ll have first dibs on the box of tricks and spares. The same new KA sails as most contenders, the new foam-cored foils, and probably one of the only takers on the pro-model lightweight Bladerider hulls, Bora will be a very serious contender for the win. And that’s what he’s there to do.

So, again the top 10 is filling up rapidly.

Who else to look out for?

Mike Lennon (GBR). Top 14′ sailor from the UK and Hyde sailmaker who’s going fast in his Bladerider.

Arnaud Psarofaghis (SUI). Swiss newcomer who from all accounts is handling the new class very well. In a fast boat and with the right handling he’ll be competitive.

Chris Graham (UAE). Dubai’s stream-of-consciousness blogger who can comfortably fack his way around the course. If that’s the case then welcome to the pointy end of the fleet.

Jason Belben (GBR). You can’t really discount the current UK National Champion. He’s light and with known equipment. Wether or not the P4 will cut it remains to be seen. He’ll be up there.

Alex Adams (GBR). Foiltown local. Results in Garda didn’t do him justice. I’m sure he’ll have a few surprises for everyone.

Mike Cooke (GBR). Mr Aardvark. He’s got a long way to climb from his result in Garda, but then he’s been putting plenty into it. Is it enough?

So there’s a bit of a roll-call… and now we’re rapidly running out of space in the top 15.

…

But who knows exactly where everyone will finish. A World Championship always throws up a few surprises. This time around, with so many newcomers, there are a huge amount of unknown unknowns.

What will all the time on the water mean for the pro Moth sailors? What aces does Bladerider have left up it’s sleeve? What will the new CST rigs do? What about the widespread use of the new MSL10B (more than just 5 boats like last time). Have the Prowler Zeros gone far enough to overtake the Bladerider? How will the Velociraptor perform?

Too many questions.

In the end this event will be decided more by boatlengths than minutes. In moderate conditions and flat water the races will be close. Lost seconds will mean lost places. Speed will be everything. Handling will be everything. Weight will be everything. The winner of this Worlds will be a very worthy winner, no matter how close the result might end up being.

But this far out, here’s my wild stab in the dark on the final top 10 placings:

1st - Bora Gulari
2nd - Adam May
3rd - Simon Payne
4th - Mat Belcher
5th - Me
6th - Graham Vials
7th - John Harris
8th - Andrew McDougall
9th - Jason Belben
10th - Mike Lennon

Let’s see how close that is on July 11.

And all of the above isn’t writing off my own chances by any stretch of the imagination. If you haven’t managed to pick up the self-deprecation here in the last 4 years, then you my friend, are an idiot.

I managed to dump Rohan’s miniDV footage from Garda onto DVD, and then spent a bit of time watching it.

What surprised me was not only how long ago it felt, but how far we’ve come in the 12 months since. Time will tell, but from what I’ve seen around, the skill level of Moth sailors and their understanding of how to setup and make these boats go fast, is so far ahead of where it was back in 2007, in a general sense of course.

Though I could be wrong. Wouldn’t be the first time.