The future was looking grim for Whidbey Island Race Week. The annual July invasion of the quiet confines of the Washington island’s Oak Harbor and Penn Cove was waning. What once decades ago numbered 150 boats petered to 60-something. Small boats couldn’t get launched because the city wouldn’t fix the crane. Bigger boats couldn’t get into the marina because the channel wasn’t dredged. National ­sponsors took a pass.

It appeared the wind-delay water fights, shoreside volleyball and golf tournaments, epic bowling nights and bacon-offs in the campground would evaporate, as so many race weeks have around the country.

But the soggy sailors of the Salish Sea had pulled the “Adult Summer Camp” from the jaws of death before and weren’t ready to give up on it now. Race Week owner Schelleen Rathkopf and her advisory board decided a move to Point Roberts in 2020 could spark a revival.

Point where? Roberts.

“I’ve sailed here 30 years,” says longtime Whidbey participant Charlie Macaulay, “but I’ve actually never been to Point Roberts.” He plans to sail next year.

The name doesn’t exactly ring a bell on the Pacific Northwest sailing scene, but it might well be the right place at the right time. The racing community knew a move away from Oak Harbor was coming, but conventional thought had it going to Anacortes or Port Townsend, already popular ­racing and cruising destinations.

The Point Roberts “surprise” is actually a very fitting move. The town is craving more visitors and an enthusiastic community is eager to make it work. In fact, it’s much like Whidbey Island Race Week’s beginnings. When boat dealer and chamber of commerce vice chairman Stan Stanley started his race week in 1983, it was largely to generate excitement and commerce for the then little-known port of Oak Harbor. It generated that business for decades.

Point Roberts is anticipating a similar boost. While it doesn’t have the infrastructure of a naval-air-station town such as Oak Harbor, it does have beautiful campgrounds and Airbnbs.

And there’s already an away-from-it-all resort feel with parks everywhere and beaches galore. The famous race-week camping community will have several options.

On the sailing aspect, Point Roberts has many key ­ingredients to be a successful host. It has plenty of racing room for several round-the-buoys circles and options for longer-leg, cruising-class courses. Racing can be set up immediately outside the harbor, opening up the possibility for dinghy racing. The harbor is deep enough for TP52s and there is a 35-ton Marine Travelift and a 3,000-pound hoist.

The small port town is uniquely situated on the land south of the 49th Parallel on the tip of the (Canadian) Tsawwassen Peninsula, so one is either getting there by water from the United States or crossing a border. For sailors coming from the States that actually means two borders, getting into Canada, then crossing back into the United States. Organizers have anticipated difficulties arising from U.S. sailors with DUIs on their records not being able to get into Canada; the solution is a 15-minute ferry ride from Blaine to Point Roberts with no border crossings.

Point Roberts presents a very different delivery from the various other sailing centers in the region. While Oak Harbor was a one-day delivery for Seattle boats, the 91-mile delivery to Point Roberts would take two days or a really long day for a big boat. On the other hand, Point Roberts is about 20 miles from Vancouver. It’s an easy delivery from Anacortes, Bellingham and Victoria.

Racers might also use Point Roberts as a starting point for a cruise after race week. The renowned cruising grounds of the Gulf Islands and Strait of Georgia beckon, and returning south through the San Juan Islands could be a fine cruise in itself.

One thing that will have to be confronted head-on will be the handicapping issue. While the Pacific Northwest is one of the original PHRF strongholds, for several decades now there’s been a parting of the ways between PHRF-Northwest—mainly in the States—and PHRF-BC in Canada, and there can be small but significant differences in handicaps and a lack of cooperation between the two. PHRF handicapper Matt Wood anticipates that “good faith between both organizations” will make it work. History, however, suggests otherwise. There’s a growing big-boat fleet, and it’s anticipated that ORC will have to be offered to attract the several TP52s that now call the Northwest home. And, of course, one-design fleets such as the J/105s and Melges 24s have often used Race Week for their class events.

The Adult Summer Camp has cheated death already. Stan Stanley found the original sponsor with Yachting Magazine, so not only did Whidbey Island Race Week have money, but it had media exposure as well. Then came 1994, the year bean counters at Ziff-Davis decided Whidbey Island Race Week was just not making enough money for them and withdrew their support four months before the event. J/Boats dealer Bob Ross came to the rescue with help from regional sponsors such as Fisheries Supply.

One appeal of Point Roberts is it’s not Whidbey Island. After 37 years, the arena-type racing waters of Penn Cove was old hat for veterans. There was the reverse-toilet-bowl ­current and the lifts off the beach. Been there, done that. Because nobody has raced around Point Roberts, the newness of the challenge might be enough to attract some serious racers. And there are plans for serious dinghy racing, which could ­certainly broaden its appeal.

On the social side of things, Rathkopf has aggressively changed Whidbey Race Week from its raucous-all-the-time reputation to a more family-­oriented event with a sailing camp and special activities for kids, which will continue with Point Roberts Race Week.

Over the years, the fleets shrank, harbors became shallower and hoists broke down; while Stanley and other Oak Harbor sailors shake their heads a bit about the move and Northwest sailors try to wrap their heads around new currents to learn, Rathkopf is taking a very positive outlook.

“Point Roberts is the perfect venue,” she says with the conviction of an organizer. Now it’s up to the sailors to find out exactly where it is on the chart and how to get there.

The post Adult Summer Camp’s New Home appeared first on Sailing World.

On the exterior wall of the Santa Barbara YC is a notice board. Tacked to the cork is a flyer that reads in large letters: “Hitch Hiker Wet Wednesday.” If I’m looking to go sailing, I’m at the right place.

It’s the middle of March, the air along California’s central coast is cool and the water cooler. The San Rafael Mountains are lush green and blooming after destructive wildfires and the rains that followed. It’s 3:30 in the afternoon, and like most California yacht clubs this time of year, the place is quiet, but the grills are set up and the yardarm is fluttering with burgees and signal flags.

Photographer Paul Todd and I follow instructions on the flyer, which explains that, if I’m interested in hitching a ride in the club’s Wednesday night beer can race, I am to sit on the wall outside the marina gate, between two orange flags. Should anyone need a crew or two, this is where they’ll find us. We take a seat. Just a couple of blokes looking for a ride. Soon after, a tall, handsome young man steps up and asks, “Are you guys hitchhikers?”

Indeed, we are. The teen ­introduces himself as Paul Harteck. He has a J/105 and could use our rail meat. He’s only 18, a freshman at Santa Barbara City College. He’s into cars, and engines, and obviously, sailboat racing. The J/105 is technically his old man Larry Harteck’s, but this is really the kid’s program.

Young Harteck is a textbook California youth sailor; groomed in Sabots and Optis, raised around high-performance beach cats and 29er skiffs, then onto Farr 40s and Pac52s. Polite, quiet and humble, you’d never suspect the big-boat ­experience he has until he explains he’s been a nipper for a few of the area’s ­pro-laden grand-prix programs.

As we wait for the rest of the crew, the elder Harteck shares the story of how he bought Repeat Offender out of salvage—a boatyard accident—for $40,000, fixed the holes and the keel, and had himself a family racer. Since he was 14 years old, Paul has been onboard for practically every race.

“It’s my dad’s boat,” he says with a sheepish grin, “but we like it when he’s not around. He’s a bit of a yeller.”

There’s a discussion of what sails are on the boat, and whether the tack shackle on the jib furler should be replaced before we leave. Harteck gives it a quick inspection and confirms the repair can wait another day. Soon, Sarah and Heather, from the U.C. Santa Barbara sailing team arrive. Larry’s boat partner Bill and their longtime crewmember Dave will serve as the adults onboard.

On account of there being two capable hitchhikers, Larry excuses himself to the club’s second-floor deck, from where the race committee will conduct the evening contest.

RELATED: Inside the Classes: The J/105

It’s the second night of the Wet Wednesday series. The races are “fun” and don’t count toward the overall season scores. Hitchhiking is encouraged as a way to find or break in new crew—or simply recruit a few hands for the night. This particular race will start between two white, permanent race marks, with a weather leg to Mark A, a red navigational mark, down through the starting line, which is essentially a leeward gate, back upwind and finish through the starting line. Twenty-six boats show up, a fraction of the summer fleet, and it’s a mix of PHRF classics and one-designs.

Paul eventually asks us what we could do on the boat, which is where our whole ruse of being joe-schmo hitchhikers is revealed. My cohort, the Kiwi photographer often mistaken for celebrity Guy Fiere, agrees to man the mast. I’m happy to trim mainsail and play tactician.

“OK! Let’s go!” he commands as he bounds into the cockpit and starts the engine, which rumbles and knocks to life. Just as we slip docklines, a drenching squall sweeps down the emerald mountainside. Everyone dashes below for foul weather gear and we hoist the mainsail in the pouring rain. Wet Wednesday, indeed.

To our south, however, there’s blue skies, and by the time we’re cleating the main halyard, a vibrant rainbow stretches across the sky as the golden afternoon sun illuminates the Santa Barbara coastline in a golden veil. There’s plenty of time to soak in the scenery, because we’re the fifth of eight starts. While we’re warming up, Paul reminds our bowman, Alex, to keep an eye out for wads of kelp floating in the racecourse.

“The kelp is back,” Paul observes aloud as he scans the course. “There’s a lot of down-coast current, too.”

With strong current offshore, he assures me the smart strategy will be to start clean, get right ASAP, tack in the shallow water and cover any of the competition. From there, it should be straight-forward. Like the savvy local, he has it figured out already.

Harteck nails the start with a few feet to spare, reaches back to pump the backstay a few times and promptly gets in tune with the boat’s heel angle. I ask him if he uses target speeds. Nope. He doesn’t even bother looking the mast displays. “It’s all about feel,” he says. “I just know when it feels slow.”

Our tack toward shoreline current relief, as planned, is perfect and the trailing J/105—our primary ­competition—is to leeward, so we wait for them to tack before doing the same directly in front of them. Game, set.

Leading around the weather mark, the mainsheet gets stuck in the jaws of the cam cleat, but Paul, who can’t possibly weigh more than 130 pounds wet, fights the forces of the aluminum tiller and the big rudder that’s stalled beneath the boat. Someone on the crew yells to him to bear away.

“I am,” he responds in a cool, hushed tone.

Once the spinnaker is set, we try our first jibe of the night. It’s a thing of beauty. So is the next, and we’re still comfortably ahead of our rival, ­struggling with its spinnaker. The gate mark comes quick in the 15-knot puffs and swift current, which makes our first douse a bit rushed. In the chaos of the douse, the jib sheets get wedged in the foredeck hatch. It won’t roll out, and tension on the boat is escalating.

Harteck doesn’t say a word, allowing the team to sort out the problem themselves. The kid is clearly not a yeller like his pops. The spinnaker disappears down the hatch, we round the mark bareheaded, but the exit angle is still perfect. The kid is a natural. Once the jib sheet is cleared, the grey sail unfurls and fills with a snap, Dave grinds it home and we’re headed to the shoreline again. The boat is quiet, until Paul says to no one in particular—or maybe it was to himself—“Well, that wasn’t so good.”

He calls every move of the loose cover and we win the night’s only race with ease. We sail straight into the harbor, douse our sails, and Harteck glides the boat into its slip with the precision of a professional boat captain. We’ve arrived wet, but safe and victorious, and there’s even cold beer awaiting. Thanks for the ride, kid. That was fun.

The post Taken For a Ride appeared first on Sailing World.

Among the budding cherry blossom trees and the first sunny days of spring, skippers and crew will be brushing pollen off the decks and trailers to prepare for what is, for many, the first major regatta of the season. Nine classes, plus the North Sails Rally Race fleet, will be in Annapolis this weekend for the third stop of the 2016 Helly Hansen NOOD Regatta Series.

At this year’s Annapolis NOOD, the two newest classes of the regatta will be the ones to watch. The J/70 class boasts a fleet of 42 boats and top international performers among its registrants. Will Welles’ Scamp, Dan Troutman’s Pied Piper, and Bruno Pasquinelli’s Stampede will arrive in Annapolis following strong performances at Sperry Charleston Race Week. For the C&C 30 class, the Annapolis NOOD is the first event under its finalized class rules, specifically the mandate for owner-drivers. The paint is still drying on Mark Bremer’s City Girl, so this regatta will be trial by fire for the new team.

The J/105 fleet continues to show up in force, and the NOOD is no exception. “We have learned to enjoy subjecting ourselves to the vagaries of the Chesapeake Bay,” says Bermuda-based skipper James Macdonald. “It’s always a challenge to sail well.”

Macdonald, skipper of the aptly-named, Bermuda-flagged J/105 Distant Passion admits that the class isn’t as active as it once was, but maintains that there are still hotspots for regattas, including Annapolis. In Bermuda, says Macdonald, he generally races between six and eight other boats in their weeknight and weekend racing series. “In Annapolis, we see nearly twenty boats,” he says. “Those twenty are of high caliber as well. When it blows here, the racing gets interesting. When it’s lighter, the J/105 can be underpowered, but that’s when the tweaking and tactics come into play.”

After sailing his first J/105 from Bermuda to Key West Race Week and not enjoying the long haul, Macdonald purchased a second J/105 in 2009, Distant Passion, exclusively for sailing events in North America, like the Annapolis NOOD. When not competing in Annapolis, Block Island, or even Ontario, Distant Passion sits on a trailer in Annapolis, what Macdonald calls a good “jumping off point” for northeast regattas. Conveniently, then, the boat is already in place for this weekend’s competition.

The NOOD is a perfect event for he and his crew, says Macdonald, because the three-day event structure gives them enough time to make the trip worthwhile. Macdonald’s tactician, Jon Corless, also runs his own J/105 program in Bermuda, but the two combine forces for faraway regattas. They bring a variety of crew every year, another option made available by the characteristics of the J/105. “It’s easy to sail in some ways,” says Macdonald. “There are still enough controls for great variation among the fleet, but overall it’s a great way to get new keelboat sailors comfortable with the bigger boats.” Macdonald and Corless will be sailing against the Helly Hansen Junior Crew, a group of youth sailors with little to no keelboat experience.

While the J/105 has imports from further afield, the Etchells and Alberg 30 classes are full of local sailors. In Annapolis, the Etchells fleet has struggled to maintain numbers. According to skipper Jeff Borland, a lot of the fleet was lost to the Harbor 20, the J/22 and then the J/24. “We’re in the process of slowly rebuilding the fleet,” says Borland, an AYC member. “We used to require drivers to be over 50-years-old to sail in the AYC fleet, but we’ve changed the rules and now we see younger members buying these boats.”

Borland, a software engineer from Silver Springs, Marlyand, was attracted to what he fondly calls the “Wetchells” because of his love for tweaking controls on the boat. “The Etchells is more cerebral than physical,” he says. “I just love the feel of this boat, it drives so nicely and you can do so much more with it than other one design classes.”

The Annapolis NOOD is the local Etchells fleet’s biggest event of the season, and as Borland points out, it’s also their first, so it’s a reunion of sorts as well as a kick-off. “It’s an entire weekend of good friends and good competition,” says Borland. “Everyone knows each other and it’s a great way to put each other to the test in a major regatta.”

The Etchells aren’t the only born-and-bred Annapolis fleet making moves to recruit younger sailors into its ranks. The trusty Alberg 30s, a racing-cruiser hybrid with a strong foothold in the Chesapeake, has also seen a resurgence in younger owners. “These boats are comfortable in the deep blue and shallow enough to take you anywhere,” says Jonathan Adams, skipper of Laughing Gull and past Commodore of the Chesapeake Bay Alberg 30 Association. “We’re seeing folks who are looking for a boat that can do it all, and seeking a change of pace in life, buying these boats.”

According to Adams, the Alberg first came to Annapolis in 1964, when a consortium of locals purchased 20 to 30 boats at once, founding the Chesapeake Bay Alberg 30 Association, and began attracting local sailors as crew. In the 52 years since, many sailors have moved on to race higher performance boats, but the association remains 200-members strong. “I have so many sailors who want to race, I don’t have enough boats to put them on,” says Adams.

Of note, among the Alberg crews are also two of the oldest sailors in the Annapolis NOOD, Harry Gamber and Ralph Townsend. “Ralph is the perfect example of how to make sailing fun and not just about winning,” says Adams. “He can make the boat go without a whole lot of effort, which is fun to watch. Harry is the oldest AYC member still racing, and Ralph have a great time out there.”

For these three classes, and the other nine slated to compete next weekend in Annapolis, the forecast looks to be a challenging one. While the larger one-designs will be tested by the light air, the smaller boats will have three days of intense tactical battles ahead of them.

Full results for the event will be available on yachtscoring.com.

The post From Near and Far appeared first on Sailing World.

Sailing is a pastime that doesn’t discriminate based on age. It’s a competitive outlet where young sail with, against, and alongside elders, as well their peers. And whereas many youth sports segregate kids to the field of play and adults to the sidelines, sailboat racing does not. Sailing is the ultimate lifetime sport. Ask the outstanding youth sailors selected to be members of Helly Hansen’s Junior Crew, which will compete at the 2016 Helly Hansen NOOD Regatta in Annapolis in May.

“There’s small hole in the pipeline of our sport where kids can fall out after junior sailing,” says Dave Reed, Editor of Sailing World, which owns the 26-year NOOD Regatta series. “They come back eventually, but miss out on great years of keelboat team sailing. This initiative will prove the value of having young sailors on the team. They bring infectious curiosity and energy to every race.”

These five sailors, aged 14 to 17 will compete in the J/105 class, against national champions and highly experienced teams, putting their dingy skills to use in the big keelboat:

​Annabelle Hutchinson, Age 17

Born and raised in Annapolis, Annabelle Hutchinson comes from a big sailing family. She has raced competitively on the St. Mary’s High School sailing team since freshman year, and while she loves dinghy sailing, she is very excited to get more experience on keelboats.

​​Andrew Hiller, Age14

Andrew Hiller has been sailing as long as he can remember, mostly in Optis and a local J/70 fleet on Wednesday nights. He also plays Water Polo for Navy.

​​Kate Riley, Age 16

Kate Riley has been sailing dinghies (420s and Optis) since she was about six years old and has been racing on her high school’s sailing team since 8th grade. She has had some experience with sailing keelboats, but she hopes to have more opportunities to do so as her sailing career advances.

Ben Podlich, Age 15

Ben Podlich has been sailing since he was a little kid, and has been racing at the high school level for the past couple years. He loves sailing in dinghies, but gladly takes any opportunity he can get to sail keelboats, as they are the future in terms of sailing as an adult.

They’re not old enough, yet, however, to be given the keys to the Cadillac. Rather, Annapolis YC’s Sailing Director Jane Millman, will oversee the campaign. She will be on board to ensure the safe return of Dr. Alexander’s yacht, More Cowbell.

“I chose sailors who I feel represent what the sport of sailing is about, a Corinthian spirit and willingness to learn in any situation,” says Millman. “By bringing different ages and skill levels together, we will have success in continuing to instill and foster a passion for keelboat sailing at a young age.”

The Helly Hansen Junior Crew is an initiative of the NOOD’s partner, Helly Hansen, which has been making gear for sports and work on the ocean and in the mountains since 1887. They dress world-class sailors, skiers and adventurers with full-protection gear, with the understanding that if you’re not comfortable, you’re not performing at your best. This is especially true on raceboats, so to be sure the Junior Crew are focused on sailing fast and competitive, they will be outfitted with proper Helly Hansen gear.

Follow their weekend on the Helly Hansen NOOD Regatta in Annapolis homepage, and on Twitter and Instagram at #HellyHansen and #HHNOOD.

The post Annapolis Youth Sailors Selected to Helly Hansen Junior Crew appeared first on Sailing World.

Sailing World: October 2011

In August, I hustled up to Marblehead, Mass., to observe a few days of the J/105 North Americans, catching the tail end of the skipper’s meeting, where PRO Ken Legler addressed competitors and casually mentioned his intention to use a triangle course or two during the regatta.

Gasp! The crowd was electrified.

“Yes. It is my intention to set a couple of triangle courses for you,” he said. “We need to bring reaching back into sailing. The tactical and boathandling skills of the reach are now a lost art.”

He then explained from the podium, as if lecturing, the geometry of the equilateral triangle: 60-60-60. If the first beat is a mile and a half, he explained more than once, then the reach leg would be three miles, and then, of course three miles back to the leeward mark, which was set to leeward of the finish line.

With the conclusion of the skipper’s meeting, the crowd dispersed, and there was no more talk of triangles . . . until the following day, when Legler posted “T” on the course board.

Overnight, a team that was one man short had drafted me, so I was able to experience for myself a reach leg in a lead-laden sprit boat.

We had an excellent start and rounded the weather mark sixth in the 42-boat fleet. We had a five-length gap or so on the boats behind us, and we were looking good. We set the chute, and then stared off into the clear horizon looking for a 4-foot tetrahedon three miles away.

“I don’t see it,” one of us said.

Of course we couldn’t see it.

Oblivious to where we were supposed to be pointing our bow, we soaked three lengths below the boats ahead of us, taking the low road while we had pressure.

“Why are those guys going so high behind us,” came the question a few minutes later. “Are they luffing each other?”

The boats ahead, as well, were soon pointing off in a direction we deemed far too high to be correct. It turns out they were sailing to the mark, and once we realized the error of our low-road ways, we found ourselves fighting upwind as boats on the high road eased their sheets and streamed past. After three miles of tight-reaching, which is not the J/105’s fastest point of sail, we had to shoot the mark in a crowd, hitting it, and well . . . you can guess how it went from there.

Boy, did we feel stupid. But not as stupid as we did later, when Legler addressed the triangle race in his daily debrief. What he saw was an utter lack of navigational skill. Who in the fleet had actually calculated the angle of the first reach leg, and then compensated for the current set? The winners did, but not many others.

Guilty as charged.

But the outcome of our race wasn’t entirely our fault. During the leg, the wind had unexpectedly shifted 30 degrees forward, making it impossible for us and a few others to recover from a slight tactical move early in the leg. The shift had eliminated any passing lanes, turning it into a parade.

The result of an informal tent poll was 50-50, Legler admitted. Teams that did the math liked it. Those that didn’t . . . didn’t. But the mere mention of another triangle course attempt later in the regatta brought more jeers than cheers. I give him credit for trying, but long reaches with heavy-displacement sprit boats isn’t exciting or challenging. Sorry, Ken. Let’s leave the reaches to the planers and pinners. Big boys like their sausages.

The post Triangle on Trial appeared first on Sailing World.

Rolex Big Boat Series 2011

Rolex Big Boat Series 2011

Rolex Big Boat Series 2011

Rolex Big Boat Series 2011

Rolex Big Boat Series 2011

Rolex Big Boat Series 2011

Rolex Big Boat Series 2011

Rolex Big Boat Series 2011

Rolex Big Boat Series 2011

Rolex Big Boat Series 2011

Rolex Big Boat Series 2011

Rolex Big Boat Series 2011

Rolex Big Boat Series 2011

Rolex Big Boat Series 2011

Rolex Big Boat Series 2011

Rolex Big Boat Series 2011

The post 2011 Rolex Big Boat Series appeared first on Sailing World.

Bill Lynn is a Marblehead local through and through. He’s been sailing at Marblehead Race Week since he was a kid, and he’s a partner in Atlantis Weather Gear, the sailing apparel brand based right downtown. But to say he was a favorite to win the J/105 class at the 2011 Sperry Top-Sider Marblehead NOOD would be a long shot. First of all, he doesn’t usually drive Shooting Star; the boat’s owner, Laurie Willard, does. But Willard couldn’t race this weekend, so he put Lynn at the helm. The crew also included Ben Willard (Laurie’s son), Matt Contorchick and his wife, Catherine Sullivan, former Sailing World senior editor Chris Hufstader, and Lynn’s daughter, Hannah.

Going in to Sunday’s racing, Shooting Star sat in fourth place in the 31-boat J/105 class, three points out of first. It was only a wing and prayer that got the team past Henry Brauer and Stewart Neff’s Scimitar, Bernard Girod’s Rock & Roll, and Matthew Pike’s Got Qi?, and up onto the podium at the Corinthian YC, where they received the regatta’s overall prize—and an invitation to compete against the winners of the other NOOD regattas at the Sperry Top-Sider Caribbean NOOD Championship, which takes place this November in the British Virgin Islands.
**
How did you manage the final day?**
We weren’t sure how many races we’d sail, and the problem for us was that our throwout wasn’t as bad as everybody else’s. As you factored in the drops, we had a deeper hole to dig out of. So we just went out there and tried to win a race. It was a matter of seeing who could tee it up for one last win.
**
So what’s your stance on throwouts?**
I go back and forth. I’ve probably lost as many regattas by not having a throwout as I have by having a throwout. So, over the course of time, I think it all comes out in the wash. I guess I’ve been burned both ways. I sort of like having no drop, but then again, if you get black-flagged or have an OCS early in the series, your regatta’s over.
**
What was the most memorable incident that happened on the racecourse?**
Well, the one that probably pissed the most people off was in the first race on Sunday [what turned out to be the penultimate race of the series -Ed.]. They ended up shortening course and finishing us after the first downwind leg. We had a lousy start at the pin end, and rounded the windward mark in ninth. The guys we needed to beat were third or fourth. Everybody was parading downwind on starboard. All the forecasts had been calling for the classic sea breeze to fill in, but the wind was at 230 degrees, which is way right of the sea breeze direction. So we gybed and sailed away from the fleet, and when the sea breeze filled in we were left of the fleet. We ended up crossing everybody for the win. That was a bit of a hail mary, but we did have a game plan in place.

I heard a lot of talk about the patterns of the windshifts off Marblehead. Everyone seems to have their own combination of “right, left, right.” Do you subscribe to a particular theory?
To me, it’s left early, right late. The key is when to make the transition. Yesterday, the forecasts predicted the classic sea breeze, but it was anything but typical. I don’t know what was going on. On our course in the second race, there were two different breezes with a 40-degree difference between them. The sea breeze was supposed to fill in from the left, but the right kept paying off. It was bizarre.

I used to come up to Marblehead Race Week each summer with my parents when we were racing Etchells—this was before I lived here—and it seemed like we’d always lose a day because of lack of wind. But I think over the past 30 years what’s helped us up here up in Marblehead is what makes the summer conditions worse and worse on Long Island Sound. The more they pave Peobody [Mass.], the more predictable the seabreeze becomes.

Still, I have no idea what was going on yesterday.

**So by winning the Marblehead NOOD have you jinxed yourself going into the North Americans [which begin August 10 at Marblehead’s Eastern YC]?
**Well, I don’t know about that. I don’t know if we have a real shot at winning, but we’re going to go out there and have fun.

**Will you practice at all before the regatta?
**Practice? We don’t practice! [Laughs] We’re a pretty casual operation.

**Have you been involved at all in the planning for the North Americans?
**A little bit. Atlantis is the apparel provider for the event, so I’ve been involved a bit with the planning because of that.

**I noticed a lot of people wearing Atlantis gear around Marblehead, right down to the launch drivers. Did you make sure to saturate your hometown market?
**Well if we can’t be big in Marblehead, where can we be big? Pretty much, though, it just comes down to a lot of nice folks helping to support a local company.

• For complete results, click here.
• For photos by Tim Wilkes, click here.
• For more event coverage, click here.

The post A Star Shines in Marblehead appeared first on Sailing World.

PreviewMarblehead960

We’re coming into the home stretch of the 2011 Sperry Top-Sider NOOD series. The “regular season” wraps up in Marblehead, Mass., where racing for 155 teams spread across 10 one-design classes begins this Thursday. On Sunday, we’ll be extending to the overall winner of the Marblehead NOOD the final invitation to November’s Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Championship, during which the overall winners from all eight NOOD locations will race Sunsail 44is through the British Virgin Islands.

With New England’s summer racing season in full swing, there’s a lot of excitement heading into the Marblehead NOOD. Here’s the latest from a few of the classes competing at this weekend’s regatta.

J/105
For many J/105 sailors, the Marblehead NOOD will serve as a tune up for the class’s North American championship, which takes place at Eastern YC from August 10 to 14. “Our local fleet of 17 regular competitors will grow to 29 boats,” says class representative Jack Attridge. “They’re coming from as far away as California, Texas, and Canada.

The local J-105 fleet has attracted about 20 boats on a regular basis for recent NOOD regattas,” continues Attridge. “It’s a very competitive, owner-driver friendly fleet. The North Americans committee, headed by Doug Morgan of Steel Away III, has been very busy putting together a first-class event and the week promises to be fun and very competitive.”

Doug Morgan and his father, Peter, are stalwarts of Marbleahead’s J/105 fleet. “For years, the J/105 fleet has been growing and attracting some of the best one-design sailors in this area,” says the elder Morgan. “It’s likely that the J/105 fleet will be the largest in the NOODS this year and probably the most competitive, since the early arrivers for the NAs are serious enough about their racing campaigns to come here two weeks early to race in the NOOD regatta to gain some local knowledge.”

The Morgans and other members of Marblehead’s J/105 Fleet No. 2 will be rolling out the red carpet for their guests over the next few weeks. “We’re working hard to assure that the J/105 visitors for both regattas have a great experience in Marblehead,” says Morgan. “It’s one of the best one-design racing areas anywhere.”

**Alerion Express 28
**”The NOODS have been our one opportunity for class racing the past three years on the East Coast,” says Airtha‘s George Spiecker. “We’re trying to show how a very popular day sailer—with over 100 boats in striking distance of Marblehead—can also be a raceboat.”

Alerion Express sailors will be gathering for a special dinner with factory representatives on Saturday evening.

Rhodes 19
“The Marblehead Rhodes 19 Fleet is celebrating its 50th anniversary this summer,” says Christina Pandapas of Mo Hotta Mo Betta. “Despite the fact that the boat was introduced just after World War II and is hardly the sexiest one-design boat, the Rhodes continues to be the largest one-design fleet in Marblehead, with more than 20 boats on the line on any given Saturday. It consistently draws the largest number of NOOD entries each year.”

Pandapas says there are a lot of good husband-wife teams in the fleet, including Sweep‘s Bill and Renee Heffernan, who won last year’s NOOD as well as the 2010 Rhodes 19 National Championships in a 42-boat fleet. For her part, Pandapas and her husband, Kim, will be shooting for their seventh NOOD victory this weekend.

“Other Marblehead one-design fleets have taken pretty substantial hits, except the J/105s,” says Pandapas. “But the Rhodes keeps sailing steadily on with solid numbers that have even been growing recently. In addition to ‘old guard’ who have been sailing Rhodes for decades, we have a new crop of younger, former college sailors, including Evan Cooke, a former Boston College sailor who has been skippering for owner Pete Kaznoski (crew) for the past several years [aboard Sundance] and is on fire this season. I would pick them as a favorite to win NOOD this year. There is also Elise Mazareas and Joe Fava, former BC sailing teammates who bought a Rhodes [Dinner Out] together this year.”

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Day2SF960

Bruce Stone really, really likes racing J/105s. On Saturday morning, he flew from Rhode Island, where he’d just spent the week competing at Block Island Race Week, to San Francisco, where he had just enough time to zip down to St. Francis YC and lead his Arbitrage team out to the racecourse for the first start of the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta.

In Block Island, the team was racing a borrowed boat in light and variable conditions; returning to San Francisco, they were back in a familiar boat, racing in familiar, 18-25 knot conditions. “It was like putting on an old pair of shoes,” says Nicole Breault, who calls tactics and trims mainsail. “And that’s such a good feeling. You just know when it’s happening. All the information is coming in, everyone is doing their job, and the boathandling is like clockwork. If we had to make a last-minute douse at the leeward gate, the team just made it happen.”

With flawless crew work, stellar starts, and a never-say-die attitude, the Arbitrage team put up a 2-1-2-1-2 scoreline to win the 17-boat J/105 class and earn the event’s overall prize, which includes an invite to compete in the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Championship regatta this November in the British Virgin Islands. “There were plenty of times this weekend when we found ourselves in a tight spot,” says Stone. “At a couple of the starts, we were sandwiched between two good sailors and had to fight to maintain our lane. Other times, we’d get the slows in the heavy chop, and we’d have to make some adjustments to get back up to speed.”

In addition to Stone and Breault, the Arbitrage team includes Terry Brennan (pit), Mike Straus (trimmer), Will Madison (bow), and Marc Acheson (mast). “What makes the teamwork good,” says Breault, “is when you do make mistakes, you fix them right away.”

Stone moved to San Francisco from the East Coast in the early 1980s and has been running a bi-coastal program for the past 11 years. “We keep Arbitrage here on the Bay, and then we borrow boats on the East Coast,” he says. “We find owners who want to race but don’t have a team, or don’t have the experience, and then we bring the team, help rerig the boat, and go racing. I pay the variable costs, and they provide the boat.

“We’ve raced seven different boats in 11 years,” he continues. “A few years ago, on Power Play at the Sail Newport Regatta, we had three bullets in one day. The owner was just ecstatic. He said, ‘I’ve never been on a boat that had one bullet, let alone three in one day.’ We had him doing mast, and he just had a blast. It’s worked out really well that way.”

Stone, it seems, is one of those guys who dives into life head first. He had never sailed before moving to San Francisco, but he bought a boat and sailed 50 races the first year. He paid his dues racing IOR, moved on the the J/24, and settled into the J/105 in 1999. “It’s just a great boat for the Bay,” he says. “The 105-percent jib is perfect for the big breeze, and you can roll it up at the windward mark, which is nice. The boat is easy enough to handle, so you can focus on tactics. And you don’t need to have five 200 pounders on the rail. We’ve had 115-pounders doing bow or pit, so it’s a great boat for a mixed-sex team. Plus, compared to other similarly sized boats, you need a lot less crew, which is great for today’s economy.”

When he’s not racing J/105s, the former hedge fund manager puts his efforts towards a junior sailing program he started in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. “Sailing is really taking off down there,” says Stone, picking up the latest NOOD backpack in his collection. “The kids are crazy about these things. We often give out our NOOD backpacks as prizes for the junior regattas. They’re going to love this!”

• See more coverage of the 2011 Sperry Top-Sider San Francisco NOOD
• View photos by Tim Wilkes
• See complete results.

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MikeThumbC

Hugh Bethelll knows what it takes to win. Among the feathers in his cap after a decade behind the wheel of his J/105 Jester is a class victory at the 2005 Annapolis NOOD.

“I’ve been doing this long enough to be able to tell when the chips are falling into place,” says the Baltimore resident. “And they start falling into place—or not—months before a big event.”

Between crewmember health issues, schedule conflicts, and soggy weather, Bethell’s team got off to a late start this spring. In fact, the first time the boat left the dock with a race crew aboard was an hour before the start of the 2011 Sperry Top-Sider Annapolis NOOD, and even then, the race crew only included four people—Bethell, regulars Bradley Rodier and Mike Oh, and me. So make that three and a half. J/105s typically sail with five or six crewmembers.

But we had a new suit of sails, the boat was in order, and a light southwesterly was blowing across the Chesapeake as we headed out to our circle. Expectations were low, but spirits were high.

As the new guy aboard, I appreciated the crew’s methodical approach to boathandling. We talked over every maneuver well in advance and, afterwards, discussed what needed improvement. In this manner, we managed to get the boat cleanly around the course, without any major tangles, shrimping episodes, or breakdowns, even as the breeze piped into the 25-knot range.

Bethell is a dinghy sailor at heart, and he aced all three starts. We had good speed compared to the other 27 boats in our class, and more often than not, we found ourselves in the hunt. But in the radically oscillating wind, our strategy was less than perfect. We frequently found ourselves strung out in the corners, where fortunes change quickly and scorelines end up looking like this: 22-3-21.

Despite our up-and-down day, when the racing was over we turned towards the dock in a jovial mood. To be disappointed in our results would’ve been unreasonable, given the state of our chips. We had worked as a team and made improvements on every leg, which, if you ask me, is victory in itself.

Cedric Lewis’ Mirage leads the J/105 division. For compete results, click here.

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