A stable 8 to 12 knots Ora allowed for all six scheduled races, with strong performances from Tom Slingsby and Iain Jensen, both from Australia.
At the Fraglia Vela Malcesine, on the shores of Lake Garda, the first day of the “Redoro Frantoi Veneti” Moth World Championship took place; over 150 athletes from more than 24 nations make up the star-studded fleet of Olympic gold medallists, America’s Cup sailors, SailGP sailors, and multiple world champions in various classes, including the Moth took to Lake Garda to hash it out on foils.
The last World Championship for the Moth, given the last years of the pandemic was in 2019 in Perth, Western Australia. As is often the case at Moth World Championships, and with this event being in high demand, the boats have been divided into two fleets of equal number: the Yellow and Blue fleets ahead before they will be split by rank into Gold and Silver fleets.
Six races in total were held, with the first start at 14:25 to give the Ora time to stabilise. Two races were run for the Yellow fleet, followed by three for the Blue, and then another for the Yellow to make up the total of six.
The breeze settled at 8 to 12 knots and proved to be perfect to highlight the talent of some of the best sailors in the world that this competition has brought together.
Tom Slingsby, defending World Champion from Australia is on top of the standings after three races in the Yellow fleet, with three first places, all obtained by some margin over the second placed boat.
Currently second in the same fleet is consecutive three-time Moth World Champion 2016-2018 Paul Goodison, England, closely followed by the Nacra 17 Olympic gold medallist in Tokyo, Ruggero Tita, of Italy.
In the Blue fleet, Iain Jensen, winner of the recent Italian Open Moth Nationals, is currently in first place, with a performance that mirrored the one of Slingsby. Second is Kyle Langford who was second in the pre-Worlds last week; third, rounding out the top three in the Blue fleet, who are all Australian, World Champion in both 2011 and 2014, Nathan Outteridge.
Iain Jensen: “I am happy with today’s three wins on the first day of qualifying for the World Championship; the wind was absolutely perfect and stable for the three races, with really tight racing. I can’t wait to get back on the water tomorrow for the second day “.
Iain Jensen to windward of Dylan Fletcher – Moth Worlds – Copyright Martina Orsini
The warning signal for the second day of racing will be at 1300 local time on Friday 3 September 2021.