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Back when Moth foiling was if not more sensible then certainly more sensibly affordable. Bladerider and Mach 2 Moth pioneer builder Andrew McDougall racing his Mach 2 at the 2009 Moth Worlds in Oregon, before in his words things ‘just got out of hand’. That event was won by a fellow foiling pioneer, Bora Gulari. In the years since Moth development and cost have tracked the exponential curve of ever more marginal gains at ever greater cost more common in fields such as audio technology. So McDougall responded to the fact that a type of sailing he continued to feel passionately about was becoming inaccessible to the very demographic who would most enjoy it… the result being his Waszp one-design Moth ‘alternative’, which has since sold in the thousands, far outstripping its parent
Andy transitioned naturally from dinghies to keelboats competing
at the highest level in Dragons and Darings before moving to offshore racing. He placed third in the 1976 Three Quarter Ton Cup and over a 50-year racing career he continued to take major titles. Arguably one of his most remarkable feats was surviving the
fateful Fastnet Race of 1979, bringing the J/30 Joggernaut into Dunmore in Ireland under jury rig with no electronics after what was a horrendous passage. Andy wrote in his memoirs about that race: ‘We dedicated ourselves to the task of survival. In such situations there is little time for reflection, but I had to consider the folly and selfishness of taking part in this type of race when I had a six-month- old daughter, Zoe. ‘It had already been an eventful spring and summer, not only
had I just become a father, but I had survived a near-fatal accident when I rolled my car on Brading Down – catastrophe seemed to be following me. My dinghy experience proved valuable as we tried every angle of sailing to find the best way for the boat (and us) to survive. Phil [co-navigator] suggested that we head into the wind and stream warps, but our warps were not long or heavy enough to slow Joggernaut down and I feared that the force of the water as the boat went astern would tear off the rudder. ‘We then tried running dead downwind but in a boat with the
J/30’s ability to plane this nearly proved fatal. We shot off at an alarming rate like a surfboard out of control and I shouted that if we continued like this we would go down the front of a wave and disappear for ever. Beam reaching was nearly as disastrous as we had the mast in the water several times with the force of the waves on the side of the boat and the force of the wind in the rigging… ‘Later when it had abated to storm force 7 we put up the storm
jib and headed back to Cornwall. We had taken a bearing to the Kinsale gas rig and had estimated that we were somewhere off the south coast of Ireland when the Dunmore East lifeboat appeared and asked us where we were going. ‘We told them that we had decided to go back to Land’s End
because we weren’t sure where we were and heading for a lee shore without an engine seemed unwise. They told us that we were mad (rather more strongly than that) and recommended we went into Dunmore East in County Waterford and offered us a tow. We declined
28 SEAHORSE
the tow but turned round and headed for Ireland… Spirits high at the prospect of alcohol and dry beds, we hoisted a no2 genoa and jury-rigged the mainsail with a spinnaker pole as a boom. We sailed into Dunmore at about 2am to be greeted by applause from local villagers as we sailed up to the quay. ‘It was only when we joined the lifeboat crew in the yacht club
for hot drinks, soup and sandwiches that we learned of the scale of the disaster that had befallen the Fastnet fleet… On arrival at Heathrow Airport I saw a young man in a wheelchair, I went up to him and asked what he had done. He told me he had broken his leg in the Fastnet Race. I told him about my legs and our Fastnet Race, he laughed and said he felt better already.’ That says everything about Andy Cassell, sailor at heart with the
most enormous humanity. His friendly demeanour will be missed by everyone in Cowes. There’s a considerable hole at the bar of the Cowes Corinthian where he would hold court, interested in everyone and everything. Sara Sutcliffe, CEO of the Royal Yachting Association, summed
up his contribution to the sport and its community saying: ‘The pass- ing of Andy leaves behind a remarkable legacy championing inclusive sailing which has changed the lives of literally thousands of people and will continue to do so for a long time to come.’ Farewell, Admiral. Magnus Wheatley
AUSTRALIA A benevolent dictatorship If you want to have a chat with Andrew McDougall, Amac to his friends, take a ticket and wait in line. Fleets of foiling Waszps in 46 countries mean that he is on Zoom calls day and night, listening, suggesting and simply delighted with what he has created. Blue Robinson took a ticket and waited his turn. Seahorse Magazine: Just remind us, why the Waszp? Andrew McDougall: As you know, I was really involved with the Moth from a very young age. I have always loved the leading-edge stuff, where you can fiddle around and tinker. But as the Moth progressed, it became more and more expensive, and that trajectory has only accelerated in recent years. I would say that Mattias’s
THIERRY MARTINEZ
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