Being HAPPY Pays Big Time
(Houston, TX- Sept. 26-27)- Sixty nine boats showed up for this year's edition of the SW NOOD in Houston, Texas. Showing up in force and demonstrating with their feet the great fun, camraderie and joy of sailing their boats were forty J owners (nearly 60% of the fleet!). But, how much fun would they have drifting around the buoys in Galveston Bay? A few comments like "it ain't ever happen here before" were a familiar refrain when the fleet looked out over the mill pond known as the Bay. Despite the less than satisfactory winds, the RC did a great job of getting off six races and the fleet, as usual, loved the on-shore festivities.
In the thirteen boat strong J/24 Texas World Championships (just kidding), it was clear that being HAPPY was key. Bob Harden, the winner on MR HAPPY, has been sailing the J/24 for more than 30 years. He's learned quite a bit about the boat in those three decades. Of course, one of the most important lessons is, never get too confident. With one race remaining in the Sperry Top-Sider Houston NOOD Regatta to win the J/24 class, Harden's veteran team from Austin, Texas, on MR HAPPY was in second, one point behind Corey Harding's HAPPY DANCE (who also had the tie break). Boat names aside, one boat wasn't going to be so pleased with the outcome of the final race.
Harden won the start, and then did his best to keep at least one boat in between him and Harding to ensure the class win. His come-from-behind victory also earned him overall regatta honors for the final NOOD regatta of the 2009 season, a prize that comes with a Suunto Elementum Ventus watch and a Sunsail charter boat for the 2009 NOOD Caribbean Rendezvous in the British Virgin Island in November. The finalists for the overall winner, who also received Suunto watches, included Yandell Rogers in the J/80 class. Harden's crew on Mr. Happy included: Mike LeFebvre, trim; Tom Lappin, compass,
Eric Nelson, head cheerleader; Jay Sacco, bow. -- see Stu Streuli's interview on Sailing World:
http://www.sailingworld.com/nood-regattas/houston-tx/2009-sperry-top-sider-houston-nood-coverage-1000075680.html
As for the other classes, they too had a light air affair like the J/24s. The seven boat J/22 class went down to the wire for the two leaders, Chris Wilke on BLEW BY YOU and Ruthie Lambert on OUT OF SIGHT. Wilke managed to win the last race and win the J/22 class by one point, with Lambert in second. Third a few more points back was Richard Voyles on MUST GO FASTER-- hmm, an appropriate name when faced with daunting competition named BLEW BY YOU or simply OUT OF SIGHT!
In the fourteen boat J/80 class, Yandell Rogers showed them all how it's done by taking four firsts in six races to win with a total of sixteen points-- his one bad race, a ninth place, putting a blemish on a near perfect record. Al Poindexter's ANDALE was second and Bruno Pasquinelli racing TI'AMO in third.
The J/105s had a nice turnout of six boats with Bill Zartier's SOLARIS pulling out all the stops in the last two races- getting a 1-1 to win the J/105 class over Malcolm Bremer's BABE. Third a ways back was JB Bednar's STINGER.
For more info: http://www.sailingworld.com/nood-regattas
