This year's Zhik Nautica Moth World Championships came down to the wire and were decided in the final race amid fabulous conditions. Joshua McKnight kept his calm, sailed nearly flawlessly and prevailed over fellow countryman Scott Babbage with two bullets in three races. Rob Gough had a very good last day and snatched third place overall from Anthony Kotoun in the last race.
If Scott Babbage capsizes at the first weather mark then words are not enough to describe the tough, demanding but equally spectacular conditions on a race course. The 'Pelèr', the morning northerly breeze on Lake Garda, was blowing furiously from early on and with a violent storm forecast to hit Campione del Garda in the afternoon, the race committee had scheduled a 10am start. That gave the 60-strong Gold fleet of moths the opportunity to sail three exciting races that saw Joshua McKnight prevail, practically from start to finish.
When the race committee fired the gun for the day's first race, the 20-25 knots of Pelèr and one-meter waves were guaranteed to put a big strain on the sailors and their boats. Both Babbage and McKnight had a clean start in the middle of the line and headed to the right-hand side of the course, as close to the eastern shore of Lake Garda as possible. Babbage was in the lead at the first top mark with McKnight hot on his heels. That's when opportunity knocked on McKnight's door. A few hundred meters after the distance marker Babbage capsized and went for a swim. Not only did McKnight assume control of the race, he stretched his lead and won with ease, ahead of Babbage and fellow Australian Rob Gough who would start his best day in the event.
In the second race of the day, conditions weren't as brutal but no less than 20 boats had to either abandon due to gear failure or opt for the safety of the marina. Without any doubt, the man of the race was Bob Gough whose bold tactical call paid a huge dividend and handed him the victory. On the northern race area, the eastern shore of Lake Garda is usually favored. However, Gough saw a big left shift coming, separated from the bulk of the fleet and seemed like the lone ranger, approaching the first weather mark from the left. The move paid off and Gough rounded the first mark in third place, behind Mcknight and Babbage. He stuck to his strategy and overtook the leading pair while Babbage would snatch second place from McKnight right on the finish line.
As the sky cleared and temperatures raised the Pelèr abated in the third race. McKnight and Babbage were still separated by a two-point cushion and all McKnight had to do was to avoid having two boats between him and his sparring partner. Not only did he achieve it, he had a commanding lead from the start, crossing the finish line in front of Babbage. Rob Gough came in third and snatched the final podium place from Anthony Kotoun who struggled in these conditions.
Sunday's races conclude the 2012 Zhik Nautica Moth World Championships that saw record-setting numbers both in terms of participating sailors (125) as well as countries (20). Conditions were on the lighter side in the beginning of the event but then Lake Garda delivered and the Moths brought the 'wow' factor back into sailing. The Moths will now fly again in the 2013 World Championship that will take place in the month of October on Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.
'I'm pretty relieved because a lot of effort and money has been going into this program. I sailed a little bit more consistently when there was less breeze and Scott was a bit more unfortunate in one race where he got a 16th but that's sailing. It's really unfortunate for him. He probably put more time into this regatta than anybody else. I feel kind of bad taking it away from him but at the same time I'm happy and relieved I did it.
It wasn't all easy today. Scott was ahead in the first mark but I had a two-point lead coming into the day so I knew I had to take a lot less risk than he did in order to win. I tried to sail safely and even if he did beat me in the second race on the finish line, I figured it was just one point. Scott and I train a lot in this type of conditions and he's the one that usually gets away and waits for me. So, for me to win in these conditions is really surprising. '
Scott Babbage (AUS): 'I'm pretty disappointed although I'm happy for Josh because he sailed very well. As I said before, we have been training together all winter and it's good to see that training paid off. The start of the week was good, I had a very good qualifying series but I had a bad day in the final that cost me.'
Rob Goough (AUS): 'The last day of the worlds was fantastic with very good breeze and good waves. I had a good day, I sailed around pretty comfortably and I could watch the battle between Josh and Scott. When I came to the worlds my goal was to make the top three. I was eighth coming this morning, so I'm pretty happy. '
SILVER Fleet
Sailed: 6, Discards: 1, To count: 5, Entries: 57, Scoring system: Appendix A
Rank
Fleet
Nat
SailNo
HelmName
Club
Qrank
R1
R2
R3
R4
R5
R6
Total
Nett
1st
SILVER
GBR
3769
Andrew Richard Budgen
WAC
64.0
(43.0)
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.0
4.0
115.0
72.0
2nd
SILVER
AUS
3781
Will Logan
RYCT
67.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
3.0
(6.0)
6.0
88.0
82.0
3rd
SILVER
IRL
3771
Michael Joseph O'Shea
WSC
69.0
4.0
3.0
4.0
4.0
(7.0)
2.0
93.0
86.0
4th
SILVER
SUI
3884
Hochmann Marc
SNG
68.0
2.0
10.0
6.0
8.0
(12.0)
11.0
117.0
105.0
5th
SILVER
GBR
3614
Doug Pybus
Queen Mary Sailing Club
66.0
(46.0)
19.0
2.0
14.0
3.0
5.0
155.0
109.0
6th
SILVER
BEL
3915
Galeotti Giovanni
RYCB
65.0
6.0
33.0
(58.0 DNC)
2.0
5.0
1.0
170.0
112.0
7th
SILVER
SUI
3831
Nicola Decarli
Yacht Club Ascona
81.0
13.0
4.0
5.0
5.0
(21.0)
7.0
136.0
115.0
8th
SILVER
FRA
3718
Rezzoug Anthony
ASNQ
70.0
9.0
9.0
(20.0)
12.0
11.0
8.0
139.0
119.0
9th
SILVER
SUI
3752
David Holenweg
CVE
61.0
17.0
5.0
(19.0)
11.0
16.0
14.0
143.0
124.0
10th
SILVER
GBR
3947
Leigh Albrecht
QMSC
74.0
(28.0)
12.0
12.0
23.0
2.0
3.0
154.0
126.0
11th
SILVER
AUS
3905
Phil Stevenson
St George SC
71.0
3.0
7.0
13.0
19.0
(25.0)
18.0
156.0
131.0
12th
SILVER
AUS
3784
Simon John Liddington
Woollahra Sailing Club
83.0
5.0
(23.0)
7.0
16.0
14.0
12.0
160.0
137.0
13th
SILVER
GBR
3870
Oliver Daniel Holden
Hayling Island SC
62.0
8.0
(27.0)
16.0
27.0
10.0
16.0
166.0
139.0
14th
SILVER
ESP
3606
Simon Alexander Fisher
RYA
80.0
12.0
14.0
(21.0)
13.0
13.0
9.0
162.0
141.0
15th
SILVER
FIN
3291
Janne Mikael Uusi-Autti
TP
77.0
15.0
11.0
(18.0)
17.0
9.0
13.0
160.0
142.0
16th
SILVER
IRL
3635
John Chambers
DBSC
84.0
7.0
6.0
14.0
22.0
(23.0)
17.0
173.0
150.0
17th
SILVER
AUS
3938
Alan John Goddard
BSC
72.0
(26.0)
21.0
11.0
7.0
20.0
19.0
176.0
150.0
18th
SILVER
GBR
3674
Neil Baker
Hayling Island SC
79.0
21.0
8.0
15.0
9.0
(22.0)
20.0
174.0
152.0
19th
SILVER
GER
3732
Markus Steeg
SCR/SCNS
63.0
11.0
17.0
22.0
18.0
(29.0)
28.0
188.0
159.0
20th
SILVER
GBR
3730
Jonathan Peats
Castle Cove SC
78.0
16.0
13.0
9.0
(33.0)
18.0
27.0
194.0
161.0
21st
SILVER
NED
3849
Constantijn Weber
wsv muiderberg
73.0
24.0
18.0
25.0
(29.0)
17.0
10.0
196.0
167.0
22nd
SILVER
SUI
3949
Marc Armand Brugger
Club Nautique de Founex
92.0
22.0
(41.0)
23.0
10.0
8.0
21.0
217.0
176.0
23rd
SILVER
GBR
3766
Alex Koukourakis
Eastbourne Soverign SC
87.0
(37.0)
26.0
10.0
6.0
35.0
15.0
216.0
179.0
24th
SILVER
GBR
3711
Dan` Ward
Frensham Ponds
90.0
14.0
(37.0)
29.0
21.0
4.0
31.0
226.0
189.0
25th
SILVER
FIN
2973
Sami Jokinen
HSK
76.0
(58.0 DNC)
22.0
24.0
15.0
26.0
26.0
247.0
189.0
26th
SILVER
SIN
3869
James Cole
Changi Sailing Club
75.0
19.0
28.0
26.0
20.0
(36.0)
25.0
229.0
193.0
27th
SILVER
EST
3937
Sten Mark Bachmann
Rein Ottoson Sailing School
91.0
18.0
20.0
17.0
24.0
30.0
(35.0)
235.0
200.0
28th
SILVER
SUI
3798
Philippe Boris Schiller
sng
98.0
(36.0)
15.0
8.0
25.0
27.0
29.0
238.0
202.0
29th
SILVER
SWE
3793
Magnus Grävare
GKSS
85.0
10.0
(45.0)
28.0
26.0
19.0
34.0
247.0
202.0
30th
SILVER
GER
3843
Carlo Mäge
Feldafinger Segelverein
86.0
23.0
16.0
32.0
(58.0 DNC)
24.0
23.0
262.0
204.0
31st
SILVER
GBR
3837
Graham Richard Simmonds
Hayling Island SC
100.0
20.0
25.0
(30.0)
30.0
28.0
22.0
255.0
225.0
32nd
SILVER
AUT
3888
Resch Nikolaus
Y.C. Velden
88.0
32.0
24.0
(58.0 DNC)
43.0
15.0
24.0
284.0
226.0
33rd
SILVER
BEL
3388
Good Morgan
BRYC
82.0
25.0
29.0
27.0
49.0
31.0
(58.0 DNC)
301.0
243.0
34th
SILVER
AUS
3770
Emma J Spiers
Woollahra Sailing Club
93.0
34.0
36.0
33.0
28.0
(37.0)
30.0
291.0
254.0
35th
SILVER
GER
3399
Harald Steiner
SVD
94.0
27.0
32.0
36.0
(37.0)
33.0
33.0
292.0
255.0
36th
SILVER
SUI
3387
Roberto Dazio
YCA
104.0
29.0
30.0
35.0
35.0
32.0
(42.0)
307.0
265.0
37th
SILVER
FRA
3935
Gavigniaux Claire
ASNQ
89.0
35.0
(43.0)
40.0
36.0
34.0
32.0
309.0
266.0
38th
SILVER
AUT
3202
Doug Culnane
YCW
95.0
30.0
34.0
38.0
34.0
(40.0)
36.0
307.0
267.0
39th
SILVER
ITA
3789
Andrea Biagioni
cdv Erix
103.0
39.0
31.0
31.0
31.0
(48.0)
43.0
326.0
278.0
40th
SILVER
POL
3842
Michal Domanski
99.0
40.0
(44.0)
34.0
32.0
38.0
37.0
324.0
280.0
41st
SILVER
FRA
3746
Rotteleur Eric
SPORT NAUTIQUE SABLAIS
97.0
38.0
(42.0)
37.0
38.0
42.0
41.0
335.0
293.0
42nd
SILVER
GBR
3192
Chris Jeeves
MAREC
113.0
31.0
39.0
39.0
40.0
39.0
(58.0 DNC)
359.0
301.0
43rd
SILVER
ITA
3679
Luca Rizzotti
Vela Club Campione
105.0
33.0
35.0
45.0
(46.0)
44.0
39.0
347.0
301.0
44th
SILVER
GER
3788
Nina Zühlke
SCNC/SC4
96.0
(47.0)
40.0
44.0
39.0
46.0
38.0
350.0
303.0
45th
SILVER
AUS
3867
David Robinson
Woollahra Sailing Club
102.0
42.0
38.0
42.0
42.0
41.0
(46.0)
353.0
307.0
46th
SILVER
NED
3100
Koos Winnips
WSV Lauwerszee
106.0
45.0
(49.0)
47.0
44.0
47.0
44.0
382.0
333.0
47th
SILVER
GER
3259
Gerold Pauler
SLRV
111.0
(58.0 DNC)
47.0
43.0
45.0
43.0
47.0
394.0
336.0
48th
SILVER
FRA
3122
Poizivara Frédéric
ASNQ
108.0
41.0
46.0
46.0
48.0
(51.0)
49.0
389.0
338.0
49th
SILVER
DEN
3601
Hans Rasmussen
TBL
115.0
44.0
48.0
(58.0 DNC)
47.0
49.0
45.0
406.0
348.0
50th
SILVER
FRA
3755
Le Houerou Damien Damien
CN Lorient
110.0
(58.0 DNF)
58.0 DNC
58.0 DNC
41.0
45.0
40.0
410.0
352.0
51st
SILVER
GBR
3928
Rob Cage
Bewl Valley SC
112.0
48.0
(58.0 DNC)
58.0 DNC
58.0 DNC
50.0
48.0
432.0
374.0
52nd
SILVER
GER
3088
Schönberg Jens
SCR
114.0
(58.0 DNC)
58.0 DNC
41.0
50.0
58.0 DNC
58.0 DNC
437.0
379.0
53rd
SILVER
SUI
3624
Zaeh Martin
RVS
101.0
(58.0 DNC)
58.0 DNC
58.0 DNC
58.0 DNC
58.0 DNC
58.0 DNC
449.0
391.0
54th
SILVER
SUI
3797
Patrick Ruf
YCA
107.0
(58.0 DNC)
58.0 DNC
58.0 DNC
58.0 DNC
58.0 DNC
58.0 DNC
455.0
397.0
55th
SILVER
NED
3852
Arjan De Lange
ZW Workum
109.0
(58.0 DNC)
58.0 DNC
58.0 DNC
58.0 DNC
58.0 DNC
58.0 DNC
457.0
399.0
56th
SILVER
GER
3835
Manfred C. Schreiber
SSC, Schleswig
116.0
(58.0 DNC)
58.0 DNC
58.0 DNC
58.0 DNC
58.0 DNC
58.0 DNC
464.0
406.0
57th
SILVER
NZL
3773
Read Glen
Y.C. Dunedin
117.0
(58.0 DNC)
58.0 DNC
58.0 DNC
58.0 DNC
58.0 DNC
58.0 DNC
465.0
407.0
Results as of 18:26 on August 25, 2012
GOLD Fleet
Sailed: 6, Discards: 1, To count: 5, Entries: 60, Scoring system: Appendix A
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