For starters, the boats are flying around the course, literally flying! They look like little insects buzzing above the water- the name is certainly fitting!
The next thing you notice is the speed of the racing. Boats look like they are just on the verge of being out of control, but they never seem to go over the edge. Guess it helps when you have some of the best dinghy sailors in the world at the helm. There were a few guys who took the risk of port tacking the start line over the last few days. From our view on the coach boat, they looked like Kamikazes, but they pulled it off without killing themselves or other boats. High risk high reward seems to be the motto of the Moth class.
And the racing is fast, very fast. Normally, in a dinghy event, a slow tack will cost you four or five boat lengths. In the Moth, a mistake can be penalized with a loss of fifteen and that's being generous! Because of the speed of racing, the sailors need to be very alert and in tune with their boat. Even the guys at the top of the fleet can make a mistake though. There were a few boats coming around the windward mark that took a cartwheel and the skipper took a face plant. Entertaining from the shore, yes, but a quick slip like that will cost you a few places for sure
Check out Sail Groove for videos taken of the first seven races at The Gorge.
