CST Composites Moth World Championships – Weymouth UK 5-11 July 2008
Over the next 7 days the largest ever fleet of foiling moths will begin gathering in Weymouth for the CST Composites Moth World Championships.
A fleet of 80 – 100 boats is expected with competitors coming from all corners of the globe.
As more sailors master the tricky art of hydrofoil sailing there is expected to be much greater depth at the top of the fleet than at Lake Garda in 2007 when foil master Rohan Veal walked away with the title.
2006 World Champion and defending European Champion Simon Payne recently showed his good form with a clear win in the UK National Championships held in Weymouth. Payne has been putting in a big effort to win back his title and is sure to be a contender this time around. Payne says "I feel OK about this event, I understand there are factors I can't control and contenders I've never met, but compared to last year I feel well prepared and I'm happy to be coming into this event after winning the UK nationals."
Others who will be vying for top honours include Australian Champion Mat Belcher and last years World Championship runner up Scott Babbage who says he feels much better prepared than this time last year. "I am coming off 4 months preparation rather than only 2 months last time around. I have much more confidence in my equipment making it through the event, however, I don't think I have the same speed advantage that I had last time – that's going to make it difficult to better my last year's number 2 finish".
With development of hulls and foils becoming more focussed on fine-tuning over the past 12 months many of the top competitors have turned their attention to their rigs in a constant search for speed.
The new CST 40mm high modulus mast has quickly found its place on most boats at the front of the fleet with the windage gains over the previous 51mm masts being exploited.
The fit between event sponsor CST Composites and the Moth class is a natural one as Manager Clive Watts notes: "CST has been affiliated with the Moth Class for many years and shares a common interest in development, innovation and performance. The timing of sponsoring the 2008 World Championships coincided perfectly with the introduction of our new high modulus spar technology and new online store www.carbonfibreexpress.com
For more information on the moth class please go to the International Moth Class Association web site at www.moth-sailing.org
For more information on CST Composites and their products go to www.cstcomposites.com
For more information on the World Championships event contact the Media Officer – Alexandra Harris at alex@sailingbits.com
