J/24 HOT PURSUIT Wins Overall
(Seattle, WA)- Sun, wind, one-design racing. Who could ask for anything more sailing in the Pacific Northwest? That would be awesome, but that's rare in Seattle! Organizers of the third annual Sperry Topsider Seattle NOOD regatta got more than what they wished for-- beautiful weather. Regatta Chief George Brengle's praying were answered in spades (what vintage wine was offered to Neptune and the weather Gods?). The J fleet certainly took advantage of this year's conditions, especially the J/24 fleet whom were sailing their Northwest Championships and were also preparing for their upcoming J/24 North Americans this coming weekend.
Winning the J/24 class was HOT PURSUIT, well sailed by skipper Mike Johnson from Corinthian YC in Seattle (see his story below in J/Community). With the exception of a 15th and Z flag penalty in races 3 and 5, Mike's team basically sailed an extremely consistent series finishing mostly in the top three, setting the tone and pace for this weekend's J/24 North American Championships. As expected, Pat Toole from Santa Barbara YC sailed his THREE BIG DOGS into second place just ten points back. Third was Team SELF ABUSE skippered by Harry Dursch from Corinthian YC in Seattle. The big surprise for the regatta was the strength of the performance from Wakayama Sailing Club's Hidetuki Miyagawa, from Wakayama, Japan, sailing SIESTA to fourth place even after having to score two DNFs in races 1 and 6. Had Hidetuki-san maintained his pace in these two races, his WSC team was easily on contention for a podium finish-- we wish him better luck in the J/24 NA's! Rounding out the top five was another anticipated top finisher, TMC RACING skippered by Mike Whitfield from Berkeley YC on San Francisco Bay.
The J/105s saw a closely fought run for the gold between JADED and LAST TANGO withe outcome going up for grabs in the last race. Nevertheless, Gerald Hirschler's JADED from Corinthian YC won by a slim one point margin over JP Petersen's LAST TANGO, also from CYC. Lying third was Erik Kristen's JUBILEE from CYC, fourth was Robert Blaylock's USAWI from SBYC and fifth was Lorenzo Migliorini's ALLEGRO VIVACE from CYC.It was only rockin' and rollin' in the J/109 class and after the dust cleared in the fourteenth (!!) race, it was Bob Arney's IT'S ONLY ROCK AND ROLL from CYC that won with thirty-two points, winning the last three races to seal the deal! Second was David MacLean's ILLUSIONIST sailing from CYC and third was J-TRIPPER sailed by the Nordquists from Seattle YC. Photo credits- Tim Wilkes Sailing Photography
For more Sperry Topsider Seattle NOOD Regatta Sailing and Results info.