The international moth is a development class with a history of over 70 years of innovation, which has seen the boats evolve from traditional wooden dinghies to high-performance, carbon flying machines capable of speeds over 30 knots.

Built almost entirely from carbon fibre, the moth is the most technically advanced racing dinghy in the world with an all up weight of around 30kg. With the introduction of foils, gybing and tacking in mid-air is the most exhilarating experience on the water.

I first spotted a moth while racing at stokes bay in my laser. After seeing it fly past and lapping me 10 times I thought ‘wow those looks fun’. So I studied some YouTube videos, felt confident enough to bite the bullet - and bought my first moth.

The first time I set foot in the boat was quite a shock. It feels nothing like sailing a laser, which I had raced for 7 years. The main differences are that you constantly have to keep the boat healed over to windward like windsurfing, otherwise the sail gets too overpowered when the boat is level and it will just flip over. Also, a lot of trimming of the mainsheet is required to control the heal angle of the boat with the amount of pressure running through the sail. What I love about the moth - apart from the insane high-speeds - is the freedom to develop from foil design, deck layout and the rig tuning. 

The atmosphere at moth events feels much more sociable than other classes. Everyone loves chatting about new developments they are trying with their boats, and how the day’s sailing went, and then a gathering at the local pub where the drinking competitions normally ensue.

I’ve competed in two national and one European championships since joining the class, where I finished 24th, 7th and 6th. My ambition this year is to take one step further and get on the podium at the moth Europeans at Lake Hourtin near Bordeaux in France, and the nationals at Weymouth. In December the Amlin Invitational Moth Regatta in Bermuda is going ahead for a second time – it’s the best venue I’ve ever sailed at, I and can’t wait to sail there again. In 2017, the Worlds will be held at Lake Garda. That will likely be the biggest and most competitive event yet, and a lot of Olympic and America’s Cup sailors are already talking about taking part.

James McMillan.