Moths take flight in important Manly sailing races

Skill, local knowledge, grit and determination, saw two teenage sailors from Manly Sailing Club, Jacob Pye and Mattias Coutts, scoop first and second place in the Moth Nationals hosted by the club.

The four-day event, held at Manly January 11-14, saw 11 sailors compete for top honours in the high performance single handed, foiling boats.

They faced some challenging conditions, club vice commodore and principal race officer for the event, Harold Bennett, says.

A couple of days featured nice breezes in the 10-12knot range, one was a wipe out with no wind, and the final day of racing was in very choppy seas with winds of up to 20 knots.

“That is the top end of wind strength and sea conditions for those boats,” Bennett says. “Everyone had difficulty at times getting around the course.”

Could they handle it? Sure they could. On the final day, top contenders Coutts and Pye raced hard, with the lead alternating a number of times. 

Although Pye won six of the event’s 14 races, he ended up winning the championship by a single point.

“Mattias pushed him pretty hard,” Bennett says. “It was very competitive racing.”

Along the way, there was some broken gear and one sore head from connecting with the boom – but Bennett says there was nothing major.

He says the event was a valuable practice run – the club will host the World Moth Championships at the end of the year.

“It was a very important regatta for race management, the club and the sailors,” he says. “Their eyes are wide open now – it can be pretty interesting out there and the international sailors used to quite flat waters could find that challenging.”