J/109 MOMENTOUS, J/105 SEALARK & J/27 TRUE NORTH Class Winners!(Chicago, IL)- Wind, waves, and sunshine greeted competitors at the first day of racing at the Sperry Top-Sider Chicago NOOD Regatta. This past weekend the Chicago Yacht Club hosted the annual NOOD regatta. The wind was up on Friday, lightning a bit heavy on Saturday morning and the wind finally came in for the races on Sunday. The RC's PRO and team were able to get in 9 races in total, with 7 boats on the line for the J/111s. The J one-design classes on the other courses had similar experiences, with great breezes and good competition.
For
the J/111 fleet, despite what the final cumulative score reflected, the
Chicago NOOD's featured incredibly close racing all the way until the
final day with 5 boats separated by only 7 points going into Sunday-- it
was any one's regatta to win. With 4 separate boats scoring a first in
at least one race and a consistent shuffling in the standings at the end
of each day it goes to show how competitive J/111 Fleet 1 can be. The
starting line and mark roundings were very interesting places to be
every race and it forced every boat to sail with focus. One bad
spinnaker hoist or douse had the potential to set a boat back 3 or 4
spots. On Saturday afternoon's last race, 5 out of the 7 boats were
called over early, however 2 of those were still able to place 2nd and
3rd. The wind was as shifty as ever on Lake Michigan and was the cause
for some exciting comebacks. It was a fantastic regatta where the J/111
really got to display all of its glory. In fact, every downwind leg on
Friday's races was an amazing show for all on the course with 4-5 ft
waves offering up fantastic surfing opportunities. The trio of
Brummel/Henderson/Mayer on KASHMIR took first overall, followed by
William Smith's WOOTON from Bay Harbor YC in second, Steve Dabrowski's
NIGHTHAWK in third, Paul Stahlberg's MENTAL fourth and Rich Witzel's
ROWDY fifth. 
For
the J/105s, this year it was a closely fought affair between the top
five boats. The outcome for them was not at all determined until the
fleet had completed their final topsy-turvy seventh race with only 10
pts separating all five boats! Taking top honors was Clark Pellett's
SEALARK in first. They were followed by Mike Tuman's STRIKING in
second, John Moore's HERE'S JOHNNY in third, Tom & Gyt Petkus on
VYTIS in fourth, and Sandy Curtiss on ROCKING HORSE in 5th. 
In
the J/109s, despite several top teams in attendance (including top
Chicago Mackinac and J/109 North American contenders), the fleet
produced the only significant leader from day one. Despite taking a DNS
in race three, Kevin Saedi's MOMENTUS simply out-sailed everyone to
take the 109s. Second was Jack Toliver's VANDA III with Peter Priede's
FULL TILT in third overall.In the handicap racing world, PHRF 1, we'll see Mitch Padnos's J/122 SUFFICIENT REASON take a fourth place after a slow start. In PHRF 2 Larry Taunt's J/35 BAD DOG took second overall. Winning PHRF 3 was the J/27 TRUE NORTH (Dan Arntzen) and taking third overall was the J/30 PLANXTY (Kate & Dennis Bartley).
The Offshore contingent in the ORR Race class saw the J/124 STILL MESSIN' (Adam Esselman) take 5th in class. In ORR Cruise the J/100 BARRACUDA sailed by David Hughes took third in class! Sailing Photo Credit- Tim Wilkes.com For more Sperry Topsider Chicago NOOD Regatta sailing information
|
