Dubai Moth Grand Prix

This is what we are all about at the moment, racing on a monthly basis, to see how we stand amongst each other and then also to learn a few racing tips and tricks. It will also help those sailors who would never have competed at such a high level as the Moth Worlds here in March 2010 getting used to a competitive atmosphere and knowing what to do and how to act in regards to rules.

Here is a short promotion video that I threw together yesterday, it will hopefully get out into the public and help us in finding a small sponsor for the Grand Prix series. We are not looking for large amounts of cash, we just want a sponsor who is willing to provide the top 3 overall places and top under 18 with a decent prize at the end of the season, acting as an incentive to keep racing!

If there is anyone out there who is interested, please get in touch with me: marcelsailor@yahoo.com



Here is the newspaper report of the event:

‘Mothing’ the Arabian Gulf

The past weekend has seen one of the most spectacular forms of sailing exhibited in Dubai. Eight sailors from Dubai competed in the newly launched Dubai Moth Grand Prix Series which is to take place once a month from September in the lead up to the World Championships in March. Moth Sailing is at the forefront of modern day racing with each sailor flying about a meter above the water, with the help of modern hydrofoil technology, in boats just over three meters long and reaching speeds in excess of 25 knots.

Saturdays racing took place in close proximity to the Jumeirah Beach Park, where on lookers were amazed by the sheer speed and aesthetics of these nimble boats soaring across the water. “These boats are just phenomenal, ripping across the water today in 12-15 knots of breeze and reaching speeds of up to 40 km/h, it was perfect racing conditions” said Glenn Raphael, President of the UAE Moth Class Association. He added “Short Course Slalom Racing, similar to the professional windsurfing tour is the way to go with this type of sailing, never have we had this many spectators watching a day of racing”. The Beach Park was well visited by “Beach-goers” and truly spread the word about Moth sailing in Dubai.

This was the first ever edition of the Dubai Moth Grand Prix, with seven more events planned throughout the season. Marcel Herrera, a youth Moth sailor representing the UAE, explained the set up for such a race day; “A normal race consists of one mark and a start line. The start line is somewhere close to the beach usually, and the mark is about 400m away, directly into the wind. The boats start at the same time on the start line indicated by a horn and have to race around the mark and back to the start line, the first boat back wins!” He added “But it’s really not as simple as that, you could consider such a race to be like a horse race; a good combination of technique, fitness and tactical thinking is what makes you win”

Round one of the series was won by Brit Chris Graham, who merely took the lead away on a points count back from Aussie Glenn Raphael on equal points, with Marcel Herrera finishing up the podium in third place. The conditions were tough with the heat draining most energy reserves very quickly, but the tough competition was the biggest challenge that Chris Graham had to overcome to take the honours.

Chris Graham, fellow Moth sailor, gave us a heads-up about the class’s ambitions in the future in regards to Moth sailing in Dubai “We are hosting the Moth World Championships at the Dubai Offshore Sailing Club in March 2010. To be given the opportunity to host such a prestigious event is a huge privilege on its own, but most of the organisers will be racing themselves, which just adds to the thrill factor.” The local sailors will be joined by about 70 other sailors from over 18 nations, providing the UAE with by far the most exciting sailing event yet.

Contenders will carry their points through to the next round of the Dubai Moth Grand Prix scheduled for the 10th of October, followed by the 14th of November, 5th December, 16th January, 20th February, 27th March and 7th May.
If you are intrigued by this forefront of modern sailing and want to see what it’s all about, we strongly encourage you to get in touch with some of the sailors or come down one afternoon to watch it yourself!

ice breaker

Seeing the recent akwardness that is going around the Moth blog community, I thought that I would help break the silence and promote getting out of your pram and picking up all your toys to some people. hmm.

Saturday was a testing day for the moths that went out. Me and Max had organised some short course very informal racing, to sort out where everyones gaps in training are when it comes to getting around the course. Some of the points that we picked out:
Alex: tacks were really good, and it showed how much work he has put into it, all he has to do now is have the boat's set up sorted out, and watch out Dave Lister. He was fast around the race course but needs to be consistent with his foiling angles, and over stepping the layline didnt help, because it meant that I could sneak in just ahead of him, and carry my momentum around to give him shit air.

Kerstin: needs to sort out her tacks and gybes, mentally she made all the right decisions, but her tacks and gybes let her down in the long run, especially when the gybe goes wrong and she capsized. As for her starts, she needs more boat speed, just to get off the line with pace, so Low riding is a definet no-no, rather risk having to duck the few boats there are on the start and lose a little ground to windward, than have to low ride until reaching clear air to get on the foils.

Marcus: Put spacers on the vang spinlocks, so that you can actually pull it in all the way and not get that ugly twist at the top that all Moth sailors have become really used to. Manoeuver's were well planned and upwind speed was good, but that vang could have been critical in getting that boat speed, helping the sail go throught the tacks and stop the sail from crashing across on gybes. Speaking of gybes, it would really help both Marcus and Kerstin if they pitched their boats to leward abit before gybing in order to get it to carve its way through the water, and also so that the steering can be quicker to keep the boat speed up and let the battens 'pop' easier. Also change the mainsheet strops configuration to be an upside down V again instead of the A at the moment, this combined with lengthening them a bit more, will mean that the sail is being pulled sideway to sheet in, instead of diagonally up and down, which loses both effectiveness and time, because the boom will never be centreline, and the distance and strength needed to pull the main in block to block is much greater.

That all for today.

Dubai Worlds 2010 will be amazing! so put it in your diary, book the airfare, get your visa, get a shipping quote & BE THERE!