Moths fast and furious

WA’s Moth sailing fleet will get an ideal tune-up ahead of the 2019 Moth World Sailing Championships in Perth, when they hit Koombana Bay for a series of races on Saturday.

With Bunbury possessing some of the finest sailing conditions in the southern hemisphere, Koombana Bay Sailing Club official Darrin Tinley said the fleet’s visit was significant for the region.

“It is very exciting,” he said.

“For those people who have never been interested in sailing but took up watching the last America’s Cup, they were able to see boats boiling around at 50 knots, which is basically flying above the water.

“So the significance of that is the moths were the precursor to this.

“They are only 11 foot yachts but they go incredibly fast and they are very exciting. They do not sit in the water at all.”

Tinley, who works as the club’s rear commodore of sailing, is tipping the sprint racing to be incredibly tight.

“We are hoping to run about 10 races,” he said.“They are all going to be super short, so each one should be between 12-15 minutes.

“It is just going to be very fast and furious.”

The races will give all sailors a fantastic opportunity to familiarise themselves with WA’s unique conditions.

“We have got arguably some of the finest waters in the world for sailing at Koombana Bay,” Tinley said.

Racing is tipped to get under way from 10.30am onwards. The championships, which will be held at the Mounts Bay Sailing Club between December 9-18, are tipped to attract more than 120 sailors, including Olympic gold medallists Tom Slingsby and Tom Burton.

In a massive coup for WA, a number of contracted America’s Cup sailors could make an appearance at the event, pending commitments.