Issue date
Russ Evans won the 2017 Moth New Zealand Championship, the first time the trophy has been awarded since 2008.
(Russ Evans on his way to winning the 2017 Moth New Zealand Championship. Photo: Suellen Davies / Royal Akarana Yacht Club)
Hosted by Royal Akarana Yacht Club, Evans won the regatta by two points ahead of Pierluigi de Felice, whose crash coming into the finish line on the final race decided the final outcome.
Ten races were completed with two drops over the two-day regatta. The borderline conditions made for challenging racing with a constant 15-20 knots both days. Due to the wind direction, racing took place east of Bean Rock, meaning the sailors also had ferry wake to contend with.
“PG [de Felice], sorry about that crash on the last race, but that’s sailing,” Evans said at the prizegiving.
De Felice responded: “Yes, that’s true. That’s sailing.”
Third went to Stuart Goodes, who had to withdraw from the final two races due to damage.
Fourth went to Brad Marsh, who on Saturday said, “that was the best day of Moth racing I’ve ever had in my life". Sunday was a different story and Marsh was quoted as saying, “that was the worst day of Moth racing I’ve ever had in my life".
The next time the Moth fleet descend on RAYC will be the April 1-2 for the annual Sail Akarana regatta. The two-day event will see entrants across numerous classes including 18’ skiffs, 12’ skiffs, Flying 15, M-Class, RS Feva, Starling, A-Class, RS700, Waszps and Moths.
Results
1st – Russ Evans 12pts
2nd - Pierluigi de Felice 14pts
3rd – Stuart Goodes 25pts
4th – Brad Marsh 29pts
5th – Hamish Pepper 33pts
Full Results
