ALLEGRO SIMPLICITA Tops J/105s, SEA BAGS Overwhelms J/24s(Marblehead, MA)– More than 130 boats in nine classes competed in the Helly Hansen NOOD Regatta in Marblehead, featuring the J/70 New England Championship. According to one sailor, “It was a very tough weekend of sailing. There was everything from light air and flat water, to heavy air and high seas.” Indeed, Mother Nature tossed everything including the dirty dishes and the kitchen sink at the fleet all weekend long!
The first day saw clear skies and temperatures in the high 70s. Winds topped out at 6-8 knots, making for a slow but competitive day on the water. The J/70s had 23 boats in the class and finished the day with three races. Jud Smith’s AFRICA sat in first place with four points, followed by Will Welles’ SCAMP with seven points and RASCAL, in third place with 17 points, skippered by Henry Brauer and Stewart Neff.
Smith thought the team overall did great. “Winds started in westerly, and ended southerly. It was a challenging day with breeze changes, but we held the lead.” Smith’s crew consists of his wife, Cindy, along with Will Felder and Marc Gauthier. He continued and said, “We got a clean break in one of the races when the race got called back. Not sure if tomorrow will be more wind, but Sunday should be how I like – a little more wind, a little drag-racey.”
Mark
Masur and his crew, aboard the J/105 Two Feathers, were winning their
class after the first day of racing, with two first place finishes
followed by a tenth place in the third and final race of the day. The
performance was enough to win them the Wilmington Trust Leader
Spinnaker, awarded to the daily winner of the J/105 class to fly on the
course the next day. “We’re used to sailing in chop, so the smooth water
was a whole lot of fun,” says Masur. “We’ve been getting great starts,
besides the last race when we got buried, but the crew was great and we
picked up four boats.”Bowman Sean McGuire chimed in with his point of view: “We’re at a point where we’ve been sailing together for so long, we’re all comfortable on the boat. We communicate, but we’re already on top of our jobs. It’s an intuitive part of sailing together—it all clicks.”
Masur and his crew are in Marblehead for the NOOD from Texas. “The fleet has welcomed us with open arms,” says Masur. “The cost of the J/105 has gone down, new people have come in, and the fleet has rejuvenated. It makes it an excellent, fun experience. We can’t finish in the back of the pack tomorrow while flying this spinnaker,” says Masur. “It’s good motivation.”
After the second day or racing, the J/105 lass was now led by Fred deNapoli’s Allegro Semplicita with 12 points, followed in second place for a tie by Mark Masur’s Two Feathers, and Mark Lindquist’s Sterling with 20 points.
“Today’s
racing conditions were a lot like last year’s in the New England
regatta, so the team knew which side of the course to go on,” says
deNapoli. “We have a new tactician, Hugh Greville, better known as
“Cookie,” and it was his first race with the boat, crew, and overall
class. He had never been on a J/105 before. The entire crew is awesome –
we have the best boat handling out there and it makes my job very easy.
In 2003, I borrowed a J/105 and came in second by a point or two. Last
year I again came in second by a point or so. We’ve always been the
bridesmaid, and never the bride. It would be nice to win, but anything
could happen with a seven point lead.” He finished saying, “It isn’t
over until it’s over. We need to keep our head in the game and do well
tomorrow.”In addition to leading the J/105 class, deNapoli’s boat wins a black Wilmington Trust Spinnaker, signifying the winning boat in each day’s heat. The “leader spinnaker” will be given away one last time tomorrow, and will go home with the overall winner as a keepsake.
de
Napoli’s perspective was somewhat prophetic. After the third day of
racing, they became the J/105 class winner, taking home the black
Wilmington Trust Leader Spinnaker. The “leader spinnaker” was given to
the winning boat of each day, and switched owners a few times over the
regatta. Ultimately, the overall class winner took it home for good. In
second place in the class was Mark Marsur’s Two Feathers, followed by
Mark Lindquist’s Sterling. Fourth was Ric Dexter’s CIRCE’s CUP and
fifth was Jon Samei’s BLOWN AWAY.Jud Smith’s AFRICA simply walked away with the J/70 New England Championship title, his best regatta performance in the class to date, counting five 1sts in their scoreline for a total of just 16 pts net. Taking three 1sts and three 3rds enroute to a solid second overall was Will Welles’ SCAMP with a total of 25 pts net (Welles is the current J/24 World Champion, too). Like his J/105 friends from Texas, Bruno Pasquinelli’s crew on STAMPEDE from Fort Worth, TX sailed one of their best series to date as well, counting a 1-2-4 in their record to take third overall with 48 pts net. Rounding out the top five was Dave Franzel’s SPRING from Boston, MA in fourth and fifth was John Brim’s RIMETTE from Long Island Sound.
The
J/70 New England Corinthians Champion is Tyler Doyle sailing USA 245
with 72 pts net. The racing was close in this group, with second place
just 5 pts back- Sam and Martha Altreuter’s LEADFOOT with 77 pts. Third
went to Daan Goedkoop’s FLUFF on a tiebreaker on 88 pts with Frank
McNamara’s CHINOOK. Fifth sitting on just 89 pts was Ted Johnson’s
VITAMIN J.The world of J/24s saw top dogs like Carter White’s SEA BAGS SAILING TEAM from Portland YC win 7 of 9 races to win by just a few points— like 16 to be exact! A crushing performance by the “Maine-iacs”! Second was John Denman’s AIRODOODLE from Jubilee YC in Beverly, MA. with 25 pts. Only one point back in third was Mike Taber’s XINGU. Rounding out the top five were Fred Deom’s HIJACK in 4th and Andrew Sayre’s LITTLE MARTHA in 5th. Sailing photo credits- Paul Todd/ Outside Images. For more Helly Hansen Marblehead NOOD regatta sailing information
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