3 Reasons to Love Moth Sailing
Love moth sailing or wondering what it is? As the 2023 Moth Worlds main sponsor, we wanted to find out more about this bug like boat and how it got named ’formula one on water’.
- Foiling
Moths are just over three meters long and weigh a mere 30 kilos. These boats can effectively fly on water. What we mean by this, is they use hydrofoil technology to lift the hull out of the water to create less drag and increase speed.
The feel of foiling is not like ordinary sailing boats. Once the boat gets foiling, it accelerates quickly, and you have to be careful not to fall out the back. Foiling feels like flying but with the constant fear that you might crash land into the water.
Find out more about foiling in the video below.
- Speed
One of the fastest 1-person dinghy sailing boats in the world, a foiling Moth can reach 14 knots upwind and 20 knots downwind in just 10 knots of wind. In 20 knots of breeze, they'll be cranking along at 17 knots upwind and 25-30 knots down. To those of you that don’t work in knots, that’s a max speed of about 35 mph, not quite as fast as an actual moth with an average speed of 54mph.
Take a look at the clip below from the 2021 Moth Nationals to see the speed these boats hit.
- The thrill
With the combination of reaching top sailing speeds and the feeling of flying over the water, moth sailing can be extremely nerve racking. Once you first get started, finding the balance will be hard. Then, once you've found your balance, you'll find yourself crashing into the water all the time. When you’re racing a moth, making only one mistake can really affect your race. But, once you’ve figured it out, it’s all worth it!
Watch the video below for some jaw-dropping moth crashes.