Aussies lead Moths

A report form the Worlds in Les Sables d'Olonne

The Australian Moth Team have shown their dominance on the first day of the 2003 World Moth Championships currently being held in France.

Defending World Champion Mark Thorpe maintains the speed that has seen him remain at the forefront of the class for almost a decade. With two first places, Thorpe leads current Australian Champion Rohan Veal who scored a second and third in the predominantly light conditions. In third place is Les Thorpe, younger brother of Mark and runner-up in successive Australian Championships.

Veal also demonstrated the potential of his centreboard-mounted hydrofoil configuration, taking out the practice race on Sunday by a large margin before reverting to a conventional configuration for the first two races. Veal's on board GPS clocked over 18 knots of boat speed in the weekend's moderate conditions.

The International Moth is one of only a few Internationally recognised development dinghy classes. Over 75 years of development have seen the Moth's performance far outstrip its size. Thorpe's Hungry Tiger design has set the pace for several years, with his latest boats weighing in around 26-30kgs fully rigged. Despite hydrofoil challengers in both 2000 and 2003, the Hungry Tiger appears to remain at the top of the pack.

Competitors from Britain, Japan, Germany, Switzerland, France, Denmark, The Netherlands and Australia have made their way to Les Sable d'Olonne for the week long championship. The 10 race series concludes on Saturday.

Race 1

Pos	Sail no	Name	Nat	Rgs	Pts
1	AUS 9294	THORPE Mark	AUS	1	1
2	AUS 9329	VEAL Rohan	AUS	2	2
3	GER 1040	KLOPPENBURG Sven	GER	3	3
4	SUI 607	RUF Patrick	SUI	4	4
5	AUS 9318	THORPE Les	AUS	5	5
6	SUI 610	DUVOISIN Frédéric	SUI	6	6
7	AUS 9330	ROBINSON Mark	AUS	7	7
8	JPN 1251	SHIGE Yumiko	JPN	8	8
9	GBR 4024	NEWMAN Colin	GBR	9	9
10	GBR 4043	HARRISON Martin	GBR	10	10
11	GBR 4042	PAYNE Simon	GBR	11	11
12	GER 1030	GIRGSDIES Michaël	GER	12	12
13	GBR 4001	ADAMS Richie	GBR	13	13
14	JPN 1242	TANAKA Tsutomu	JPN	14	14
15	GBR 4040	PYBUS Doug	GBR	15	15
16	GBR 4045	WEATHERSTONE Martin	GBR	16	16
17	GBR 4026	WATSON Alan	GBR	17	17
18	GBR 4014	PUDNEY Liz	GBR	18	18
19	GBR 4046	WHEELER Russel	GBR	19	19
20	GER 1034	ZURMUHL Jens	GER	20	20
21	SUI 611	MOURET Samuel	SUI	21	21
22	GBR 4002	WALKER Stewart	GBR	22	22
23	JPN 1249	WATANABE Yasuhiro	JPN	23	23
24	NED 164	KNOL Richard	NED	24	24
25	JPN 1232	SUZUKI Hideo	JPN	25	25
26	GBR 4039	PROPPER Simon	GBR	26	26
27	FRA 2008	DAREXY Guillaume	85007	27	27
28	SUI 590	CORBAZ Alain	SUI	28	28
29	GER 1004	HUELSMEYER Joachim	GER	29	29
30	AUS 9257	CROCKER Ben	AUS	30	30
31	FRA 2002	CHARPENTIER Jean-Jacques	85033	31	31
32	FRA 2004	DAREXY Hervé	85007	32	32
33	GBR 4031	HOWES Andrew	GBR	33	33
34	FRA 3924	DESMARS Thomas	44055	34	34
OCS	GBR 4050	FORDSIKE Ian	GBR	OCS	46
DNF	FRA 3943	VROYLANDT Eric	60009	DNF	46
DNF	FRA 10	VERRIER Mathieu	74002	DNF	46
DNF	FRA 2006	BAUSSET Pierre	83021	DNF	46
DNF	FRA 2009	BALKWILL David	85007	DNF	46
DNF	GER 1038	NEHLS Olav	GER	DNF	46
DNF	FRA 2005	DE BRISOULT Mathieu	85007	DNF	46
DNF	GBR 4057	ANGELL Roger	GBR	DNF	46
DNF	GER 1020	STEINLEIN Tim	GER	DNF	46
DNF	DEN 100	DROST Jan Alje	DEN	DNF	46
DNC	NED 161	BAKKER Hubert	NED	DNC	46

Race 2

1	AUS 9294	THORPE Mark	AUS	1	1
2	AUS 9318	THORPE Les	AUS	2	2
3	AUS 9329	VEAL Rohan	AUS	3	3
4	GBR 4050	FORDSIKE Ian	GBR	4	4
5	GER 1040	KLOPPENBURG Sven	GER	5	5
6	GBR 4040	PYBUS Doug	GBR	6	6
7	SUI 607	RUF Patrick	SUI	7	7
8	GBR 4043	HARRISON Martin	GBR	8	8
9	JPN 1242	TANAKA Tsutomu	JPN	9	9
10	JPN 1249	WATANABE Yasuhiro	JPN	10	10
11	GBR 4024	NEWMAN Colin	GBR	11	11
12	GBR 4046	WHEELER Russel	GBR	12	12
13	JPN 1232	SUZUKI Hideo	JPN	13	13
14	SUI 610	DUVOISIN Frédéric	SUI	14	14
15	JPN 1251	SHIGE Yumiko	JPN	15	15
16	GER 1034	ZURMUHL Jens	GER	16	16
17	AUS 9330	ROBINSON Mark	AUS	17	17
18	GBR 4026	WATSON Alan	GBR	18	18
19	GER 1030	GIRGSDIES Michaël	GER	19	19
20	GBR 4042	PAYNE Simon	GBR	20	20
21	GBR 4045	WEATHERSTONE Martin	GBR	21	21
22	AUS 9257	CROCKER Ben	AUS	22	22
23	SUI 611	MOURET Samuel	SUI	23	23
24	GBR 4031	HOWES Andrew	GBR	24	24
25	FRA 2008	DARESKY Guillaume	85007	25	25
26	GBR 4039	PROPPER Simon	GBR	26	26
27	GBR 4002	WALKER Stewart	GBR	27	27
28	NED 164	KNOL Richard	NED	28	28
29	GER 1004	HUELSMEYER Joachim	GER	29	29
30	SUI 590	CORBAZ Alain	SUI	30	30
31	FRA 2002	CHARPENTIER Jean-Jacques	85033	31	31
32	FRA 2004	DARESKY Hervé	85007	32	32
---	GER 1020	STEINLEIN Tim	GER	---	46
---	FRA 2005	DE BRISOULT Mathieu	85007	---	46
---	FRA 10	VERRIER Mathieu	74002	---	46
---	DEN 100	DROST Jan Alje	DEN	---	46
---	FRA 2006	BAUSSET Pierre	83021	---	46
---	GBR 4014	PUDNEY Liz	GBR	---	46
---	FRA 2009	BALKWILL David	85007	---	46
---	GBR 4057	ANGELL Roger	GBR	---	46
---	FRA 3943	VROYLANDT Eric	60009	---	46
---	GER 1038	NEHLS Olav	GER	---	46
---	NED 161	BAKKER Hubert	NED	---	46
---	FRA 3924	DESMARS Thomas	44055	---	46
---	GBR 4001	ADAMS Richie	GBR	---	46