Redefine Average

I only know what I see on the Internet so I may have misunderstood Rohans announcement the wrong way.. However it is sad that he no longer wishes to be involved with the Moth class. Rohan has done a lot for the development of sailing Moths and for the IMCA. It is hard at the best of times to mix business with pleasure and it looks like it proved too hard for Rohan. Good luck Rohan and I hope to see you back in a Moth having fun again some day soon.

His departure puts Bladerider, and the Moth Class in a vulnerable position and kills off any attempt to make a business model of "Moth for the masses". If Moth sailors only buy the same boat that the World Champion won in then there will only be one builder at a time and the boats will be very very expensive.

Buying the boat that won is not the same thing as buying the boat that is going to win next time. I suspect that if the average sailor spent less money on gear and more on sailing time they would do much better. However this idea obviously does not sell boats and that leads to a lot of pressure that can not be fun.

So are we going to see a new one design Bladerider or peoples foiler? Will the IMCA have to compete with this new class? Will the Moth have a reduced number of builders and be more and more expensive and elitist? Or will there be even more builders, events, choice and number of average sailors?

Who knows what the future will bring but Moth sailor spending will shape it.

My cooperate strategy is clear:

1. Sail, sail, sail and have fun sailing.
2. Try to build a local team so fleet racing happens more than once a year.
3. Do not play the who spends wins one desgin game.
4. Build a new boat if it is fun to do so.

First Austrian Moth Event

It really great to have Niki pushing me. He is waiting for his Assasin to arrive and sorting out training for when it does. So the first Austrian Moth Event will happen on the 2nd to 4th of October.

It will be a fun weekend at the lake and we will do a mix of Try a Moth, fun flying, short course racing training, small regatta and Partys. So there should be something for everyone. So far as far as I know we have 6 Moths and about twice as many sailors. There will always be at least one demo boat available, so everyone should get a go.

We will also set up some short windward leeward courses for playing chase the leader. The rules will be something like the leader has to tack and gybe at least 3 times per leg and the last boat can take a short cut so that racing is always close.



We have support from Yacht Club Weiden so we will have on the water rescue and Start boats. Some good sailors from Weiden have kindly volunteered to help run the racing too.

It is a three day event so the wind should cooperate at some point at least. In October it is very unlikely that there is no wind but there could be lots of wind. I will probably have some windsurfing gear that can be used there if it blows all weekend.

There will also be plenty beer if you still are not convinced.

If you want to come then let me or Niki know and we will try to sort you out with accommodation etc... More info here.

So hope to see you there,

Doug