Is It A boat, Is It A Plane? It's The International Moth Irish Open

Think canoe. Think adding trampoline wings onto each side. Think hoisting a large high-tech sail. Bolt on some hydrofoils and add wind. Voila! International Moth, the breeding ground for sailing technology advances.

Howth Yacht Club in Dublin hosted the inaugural International Moth Irish Open over the weekend of the 2nd and 3rd of November. The growing Irish fleet certainly displayed quality with two Irish Olympians; Annalise Murphy (Laser Radial) and Ryan Seaton (49er) as well as two professional sailing coaches; Rory Fitzpatrick (Annalise's coach) and Alistair Kissane amongst the fleet.

Racing on Saturday fell victim to 40 knot gusts and had to be postponed. During the lull, Howth's adopted Scot; Graeme Grant launched and tore around the harbour giving spectators a taste for what was to come on Sunday.

Near perfect race conditions greeted the six helms on Sunday. Race Officer Richard Kissane and his team ran four great races back to back sailing a windward-leeward course with 20 knot winds in ideal flat waters near the harbour mouth. A crowd on the East and West Piers watched open-jawed as the first International Moth Irish Open unfolded in front of them.

Race 1 saw the Moths show there turn of speed. A lead change on the final downwind saw Graeme take the first bullet. Race 2 displayed some close racing at the front of the fleet as Alistair lead for most of the race only to be over taken by Annalise before the final downwind. Race 3 gave plenty of opportunity but Ryan proved the dominant force leading for most of the race and taking his first bullet of the day. The final race of the day and the championship, Race 4 was a real competition to get up on the foils and going. Ryan closely shadowed Annalise around the course but Murphy was piped on the finish line and had to settle for third.

Four exhilarating races later and the winner of the Teapot Trophy had been decided. The wiry Graeme Grant topped the leader board followed by the two Olympians, Ryan Seaton and Annalise Murphy who both recently competed at the Moth Worlds in Hawaii. Fresh from the Championship, Annalise recorded the weekend's fastest speed of 24.1 knots (45kph) and pocketed the special prize.