(San Diego, CA)- The next installment of Sailing World’s NOOD Regattas
will be taking place this weekend in San Diego from March 14th to 16th.
In addition to the one-design and handicap classes, a new “event” has
been added into the mix, the “North Sails Rally Race” that takes place
on Saturday only. J/Sailors will be a significant component in the
regatta, with forty-four teams participating in the large one-design
classes of J/24s, J/70s, J/105s, and J/120s. J/Crews will once again be
the “life of the party” at San Diego’s NOOD, as 44 “J’s” of 114 boats
(39% of the fleet) will have over 250 crew members socializing around
the expansive decks and lawns at San Diego YC.Starting off with the “big boat” J/class, we find a half-dozen of the usual suspects populating the entry list for the J/120’s. This is a remarkably talented group and over time it appears that virtually every boat has won either around-the-buoys or offshore events in Southern California. Recognizing their outstanding records, it’s a bit hard to handicap this fleet. Nevertheless, suffice it to say that anyone can win, especially when you have CAPER (John Laun), CC RIDER (Chuck Nichols), J-ALMIGHTY (Mike Hatch), JIM (John Snook), MELTEMI (Peter Zarcades) and SHENANIGANS (Gary Winton) mixing it up in close company.
The top dogs in SoCAL J/105 sailing are all assembled again for the beginning of their season-long championship quest to determine if they can displace Rick Goebel’s SANITY crew- they were 2013 J/105 SoCAL Season Champions. With a strong, deeply competitive fleet of eighteen boats, it will be tough sledding for many. Notable teams also include Steve & Lucy Howell’s BLINK!, Tom Hurlburt & Chuck Driscoll on BLOW BOAT, Gary Mozer’s Long Beach team on CURRENT OBSESSION 2, Sean O’Keefe on DECOLORES 3, and Jim Dorsey sailing the famous WINGS. Clark Pellett from Chicago YC wisely broke away from the frozen Midwest and is sailing SEALARK in the warm and friendly confines of San Diego Bay! Good thing since Lake Michigan and the rest of the Great Lakes area still 99% frozen over! Isn’t that the sign the ice-age cometh soon?
The J/70s have the largest fleet in the regatta with sixteen teams hoping to grab one of the qualifying spots for the J/70 Worlds in Newport, RI this September. There are several wily veterans mixed in with a host of new teams just starting their J/70 circuits this year. Amongst the veterans, you have Joel Ronning’s CATAPULT crew from Wayzata YC in Minnesota, Eric Kownacki & Tom Jenkins on DFZ, Dan Gribble/ Kurt Weise on GO-RILLA, Jeff Brown from the host San Diego YC, Craig Tallman on JAYA, Bennet Greenwald on PERSEVERANCE and Karl Pomeroy on ZERO TO 60. Amongst the fleet newcomers in the regatta are several talented teams from other classes that have hopped into 70’s for more fun in the sun! Santa Barbara YC’s Scott Deardorff is campaigning CAKE this year (already entered in the J/70 North Americans in Rochester, NY), Beverly Burr is skippering CHICK BOAT from Westlake YC, Patrick Toole is driving ECLIPSE (another Santa Barbarian team that are also J/24 North American Champions!), Dave Vieregg is leading SOGGY DOLLAR, Scott Grealish from Portland, OR is skippering SPLASH and top J/105 sailor Rich Bergmann is sailing ZUNI BEAR.
This year’s turn-out for J/24s is on the comeback trail, with seven boats dialing it up for a thrash and dash around the cans. Good teams are participating and perhaps some are using it as their training for the J/24 Worlds in Newport, RI this September. Past winner Susan Taylor from Cal YC will be out on her TAKE FIVE rocketship hoping to become a repeat champion. She’ll have to contend with Mark Clements BRIGADOON and Tom Tunberg’s Santa Barbarian crew sailing BULLET amongst others for the top of the leaderboard.
Finally, this year's San Diego NOOD also features a one-day North Sails Rally Race. On Saturday, March 15, you might see a sailor riding a bike right up to the J/105 VIGGEN as it docks out. Joe Dagostino, the owner of the San Diego YC-based boat, is an avid cyclist and the peak time for racing is in the spring. Fortunately, he’s got enough time to squeeze in a training ride in the morning before the first-ever North Sails Rally Race at the San Diego NOOD, which will be a one-day, random-leg, PHRF-scored race.
“Normally we wouldn’t have sailed the NOOD, so this got us into it,” says Tom Fisher, Dagostino’s J/105 partner and racing skipper. “We actually love the non-windward/leeward courses around San Diego Bay. San Diego Bay’s topography is really cool. There’s a lot of current and a lot of shifts. It’s really interesting racing.”
Viggen will have its full racing crew onboard, and the race will serve as a tune-up for the season, particularly for San Diego YC’s Yachting Cup, held in early May. “This is a great race to go out and practice for the regattas we’re tuning up for later,” says Fisher.
Fisher heard about the race through a promotion on Scuttlebutt from Editor Craig Leweck, who offered to pay the entry fee for the first five people to contact him. “What's great about the Rally Race is it not only includes a group of racers previously excluded from the NOOD, but it also offers something different for them,” says Leweck.
“Courses offering a variety of wind angles makes us think in new ways, and when the course includes land features, it can really stretch the brain,” Leweck adds. “While regattas should be won by the best teams, the windward/leeward course favors them, so by mixing it up, I hope it inspires some of the casual racers to participate.”
One of the goals of the event, according to race organizers, is to include a wider range of participants, like new-to-racing sailors, families, and sailors with custom boats that don’t fit within the one-design concept of the NOOD.
It’s already inspired some who wouldn’t normally be able to sail the NOOD, like Dagostino’s team, to get out on the water. Fisher’s tuned into the weather for next weekend and is gearing up for the race. “If a spring storm comes through, you can still race inside the bay--it's more sheltered" he says. “You’ve got kind of flat water, and you can power up without the threat of big waves. We like that. For a spring race, it’s a good way to go.” Thanks for contribution- Craig Leweck/ Scuttlebutt.com. Sailing photo credits- Tim Wilkes For more Sperry Top Sider San Diego NOOD sailing information
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