VITAMIN J Prescribes J/24s, JEROBOAM Clubs J/30s(Marblehead, MA)- This year's Sperry Top-Sider Marblehead NOOD Regatta could either be seen as an atypical Marblehead regatta, or a typical one. However one saw the conditions for the three days, it was certain that many teams had tales of euphoria and those of seeming despair, too. Winds on Friday were in the southerly quadrant with grayish skies and 4-10 knots winds shifting 15-25 degrees; Saturday a spectacular showcase of classic northwesterly, shifty 15-30 degree winds 10-20 knots; and Sunday a complete and utter discombobulation of breeze from what should have been yet another "classic" southerly sea-breeze day (shifts ONLY swinging a total of nearly 140 degrees- from East to Southwest!). There's no question the top teams were challenged by the conditions, some rolling the dice more than others, some winning that roll and others losing the odds badly.
For
the J/105 class, it was a tightly fought group amongst the top six for
the entire weekend. The characters were not entirely unexpected, with
the leaders after two days of sailing being Stew Neff/ Henry Brauer on
SCIMITAR from Marblehead, MA tied with by Bernie Girod on ROCK &
ROLL from Santa Barbara, CA for first place; they were followed by Bill
Lynn on SHOOTING STAR from Marblehead, Brian Keane on SAVASANA from
Buzzards Bay, Ken Colburn on GHOST from Marblehead, Matt Piek on GOT Q?
from Hingham, MA and Sean Doyle on KESTREL from Larchmont, NY. Going
into the last day, anyone could mathematically win. And, faced with
what looked to be a "normal" sea-breeze day, it was likely the standings
wouldn't change too appreciably. Instead, the fleet was faced with an
unusual day, the top five went topsy-turvy and even the local sailors
were somewhat perplexed by the crazy conditions with winds shifting in
total over 140 degrees!Out of the fray, the winner that emerged was local Marblehead sailor Bill Lynn and team on SHOOTING STAR winning the J/105 class by a whisker-length with 23 pts. Having rounded the weather mark in the first race of the last day in 12th place, down in fifth place in the standings at the start of the day, SHOOTING STAR opted to gybe away onto port away from the fleet on a "Hail Mary" play into shore, all by themselves. It paid off, winning the fifth race. Yet another even crazier sixth race saw SHOOTING STAR pull yet another rabbit out of the hat! The last race saw a 75 degree shift roll through the course and a wildly erratic RC finish line (45 degrees off the posted course) that threw the fleet into disarray, ultimately enabling SHOOTING STAR to finish 7th in the last race, safely securing their tenuous lead to take both the J/105 class but also the coveted Sailing World Overall Best Performance Trophy-- earning Bill and crew a trip to the British Virgin Islands later in the year for the SW NOOD Championship Regatta in 42 foot cruising tubs equipped with Jacuzzi's and twin-blenders. Second was Matt Pike on GOT Q with 24 pts only one point back, third was Bernie Girod on ROCK & ROLL with 25 points only one point further back, fourth was Henry Brauer/ Stew Neff on SCIMITAR yet another one point back with 26 pts and fifth was Ken Colburn on GHOST with 28 pts!! Tight racing- only six points separating the top seven boats! And a fun group of sailors to race against! The J/105 Northamericans will certainly be a challenge amongst this group when you throw in several J/105 champions like Bill Zartler on SOLARIS from Houston YC, Joerg Esdorn on KINCSEM from American YC, Damian Emery on ECLIPSE and Bruce Stone from St Francis YC on JOUSTER.
For
the J/24s, it was the team of of VITAMIN J led by Ted Johnson that ran
away from their competitors finishing with a total of 18 pts. Second
was John Denman's AIRODOODLE with 21 pts and third was Matt Herbster on
HIGH FIVE with 33 pts. Fourth was Chris Clancy on LITTLE MARTHA and
fifth was Mike Taber on XINGU.In the J/30s, it's obvious this group not only has fun, but they've mastered the party, too! Wow, smoking hot this crew is! Mt Gay may sponsor this fleet next year! Leading the pack home with an awesome display of talent was Key Deyett and crew on JEROBOAM, simply smoking the fleet with five 1st, two 2nds and tossing 4th! Ouch. But, a popular crew nevertheless amongst the J/30 sailors! Giving them a run for the money was Luke Buxton on EVELYN with four 2nds, two 3rds, first and a toss 5th! Third was Jon Lacks on VIVA from Hull YC. For more Marblehead NOOD sailing information. Sailing Photo Credits- Tim Wilkes/ timwilkes.com
