News - San Diego Yacht Club

Announcement

Zack Downing at the 2025 Moth World Championship

Sunday, July 20, 2025

My preparation for the 2025 Moth World Championship began in April with a training camp supported by America One Racing in Long Beach. With Worlds to be hosted by Fraglia Vela Malcesine in July, we aimed to replicate Garda’s afternoon Ora breeze. The week revealed a significant speed gap. The rest of the group had taken little time off since the previous Worlds. Their equipment and technique was dialed while I was still learning a new boat.
Determined to catch up, I spent every free day with training partners in Long Beach and left for Italy with increased confidence.

I arrived in Malcesine just two days before Foiling Week, which I spent assembling the boat and fitting new steel foils (which I had brought as luggage on my flight). Four scorching, jet-lagged days of racing followed. I was forced to miss a day due to sail issues and earned multiple UFD scores as I refined my starting technique. Nonetheless, the regatta provided invaluable practice.

The famously reliable Ora rarely appeared during the gap between Foiling Week and Worlds. We mostly trained in the morning Pelèr instead. I developed a routine during this time: sail-pasta-boatwork. These sessions without the pressure of racing allowed me to learn to
optimize my new foils and sail.

“It’s never usually like this.”

No races were completed over the two-day Pre-Worlds event. I had hoped to formally validate the improvements I made over the previous week. The focus instead was on measurement, registration, and final tweaks.

The regatta format called for a two day qualifying series, a reserve day, then a three day finals series. Unstable winds stretched qualifying across four days with only four races completed per flight. I was able to overcome profoundly bad luck - amplified by the abbreviated series - and secure a spot in Gold Fleet.

Moth Worlds attracts the top talent in our sport. Gold Fleet featured countless veterans of SailGP, the America’s Cup, and the Olympics. The finals series opened in a patchy Ora. In the first race, I nailed the start and rounded the first windward gate inside the top ten. The breeze destabilized as a storm developed and I finished the race in a respectable 23rd. Gear breakdowns, heavy chop and fatigue cost points in the remaining five races. I ended the regatta 47th of 139. This was an encouraging result in such elite company.

Preparation for next year’s edition of Moth Worlds in Perth begins now. The focus will be both training and developing equipment for the anticipated strong winds. My path to improvement is clear: I have great boat speed during tuning; the next leap is converting that speed into race consistency.

Thank you to SDYC’s Competition Fund for its generous support; to fellow SDYC member Alex Camet for on- and off-water help in Garda; and to my family and fiancée for constant encouragement. Representing SDYC against the world’s best sailors was an honor and I look forward to building on this year’s result.

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Zack Downing at the 2025 Moth World Championship

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Zack Downing at the 2025 Moth World Championship