Significant revisions were made to the rules governing the Bacardi Moth World Championship after the opening qualifying races were postponed yesterday because of strong gales in the Great Sound.

The original format consisted of a six-race qualifying series with the fleet to be divided for the 12-race final series. The format now consists of a single series of 18 races. The race committee also intend to complete an extra race each day once racing gets under way “to get back on schedule”.

David Campbell-James, the principal race officer, said: “That will allow us to keep the reserve day on Friday, Good Friday, which is a big holiday in Bermuda.”

A revision was also made to the various methods used to determine a boat’s series score.

Yesterday marked the second time in three days that adverse weather has wreaked havoc on the Moth fleet as the final day of the Bacardi Moth Bermuda National Championship on Saturday also fell foul of strong winds.

Bermuda’s Joshua Greenslade was crowned national champion while Englishman Paul Goodison, a two-times Moth world champion, topped the overall leaderboard.

Only a local sailor could be crowned national champion, even though the regatta was open to overseas competitors.

Goodison is vying for a third straight Moth world title and is among a group of sailors involved in the America’s Cup, which Bermuda hosted last year, that includes Artemis Racing team-mates Iain Jensen and Francesco Bruni, and Oracle Team USA pair Tom Slingsby and Rome Kirby.

The Moth World championship, which also features a Masters division as well as a sole entry in the women’s and youth divisions, is being hosted for the first time by the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club in conjunction with the International Moth Class Association. The International Moth is a high-performance foiling dinghy capable of speeds exceeding 30 knots.