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Near-perfect conditions for St. Petersburg NOOD By Doran Cushing |
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After three breezy days on Tampa Bay, the Sailing World St. Petersburg National Offshore One-design (NOOD) Regatta closed out Feb. 18 with five class champions successfully defending their titles while six new champions were crowned. | 
Brad Kadau (left) and Jan Wiercinski battle downwind in the SR Max class |
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Sailing in the largest fleet on the bay, Peter Bream of Jacksonville, FL, posted six wins in the 30-boat J/24 Class to defend the championship he won the previous two years. "The racing was very tight. But we sailed each start conservatively, in the top ten or twelve boats," Bream said. "We worked our way into the top five boats by the weather mark and then worked to pick off boats for a lead." Bream's team aboard Tarheel took honors in the 30-boat J/24 Class with a 35-point margin. The crew was also awarded the Lewmar Boat of the Day trophy on Day 1 for posting the strongest performance on the opening day of racing. Bill Rogner of Punta Gorda, FL, won six of nine races in the 15-boat Melges 24 Class to keep his string of three St. Petersburg NOOD titles intact. "We worked really hard, and we had great speed all the way around. But the biggest reason we won was Ethan's expertise," Rogner said. "It's taken me three years to learn to sail this boat, but we've got it figured out." Richard Karran of Apollo Beach won eight of 11 races in the eight-boat Wavelength 24 Class to retain the class honors he won in 2000 after finishing third overall in 1999 on a three-way tie-breaker. "We had to shake the rust off" Karran said after his team finished 3-3 in the opening two races. They followed with seven bullets, a fourth, and a closing bullet. Bill Embree of St. Petersburg won nine of 11 races in the seven-boat SR Max Class and Martin Kald of East Elmhurst, NY, finished the 11-race J/80 series with four wins to lock up the class title for the second year. Embree's win earned him the title of SR Max 2001 Southeast champion, and Richard Karran's win also served as the Midwinter championships in the Wavelength 24 Class. The bad luck pattern of windless sailing conditions on Tampa Bay in recent weeks was broken for this national event as the fleet of sailors from 21 states and Canada was provided with three days of strong winds mixed with some short, choppy waves and a cold front, which moved across the region Saturday. And the race committee volunteers, many who have suffered through the recent string of postponements and cancelled races, gave the racers all the racing they could take. With eight races in three days, the J/24 fleet got off easy as most classes sailed either nine or 11 races in generally windy and choppy conditions. "It was Chamber of Commerce stuff," Karran said about the conditions. "We liked it best when it was whitecapping, but you couldn't ask for anything better all three days." |
Despite the conditions, which taxed sailors and boats, perhaps the most dangerous situation came at the awards ceremony when full grown adult males dove across tables in pursuit of the treasured Mt. Gay red hats, which were being tossed up
for grabs. The closest series was sailed in the nine-boat Henderson 30 Class with the final outcome not decided until the final race. Michael Carroll's St. Petersburg-based team aboard New Wave won three of the four closing races to edge the Sarasota-based Speed Racer by two points after nine races. Citing his crew's teamwork and helmsman Marty Kullman for the win, Carroll said, "These guys put us in the right spots at the right times. We had consistent starts...good starts, but conservative." Kullman added, "Having a dinghy sailor (Matt Bryant) trimming the chute works great. I don't have to talk to him as the boat moves around." New Wave was also named the Henderson 30 Midwinter Champion after its victory at the St. Pete NOOD. Patriot, skippered by Case Whittemore of Richmond, VA, led the eight-boat J/29 Class since the first race but collided with Ray Mannix's Semper Fi on a crossing situation early in the final race and withdrew from the race due to the right-of-way violation. Whittemore's team dropped to second for the series behind Jay McArdles' Fast Lane from West Point, VA. Patriot crew Jeff Bright of Pensacola, FL, said, "We thought we were clear of the other boat, but we didn't turn down quickly enough. It's very disappointing to lose that way." Other class winners included Bill Buckles' Liquor Box in the Level 123 Class, Don Corey's Antics in the Ultimate 20 Class, Leo Hiatrides' My Way in the Sonar Class, and co-skippers Gary Shoemaker and Bill Jenkins aboard Crime Scene in the S2 7.9 Class. For Hiatrides, the win confirmed his progress at the NOOD event as he finished third in 1999, second last year, and won the Sonar class this year with local sailor Kuli Kulinichenko at the helm. With the regatta all but wrapped up, Kulinichenko made a mistake in the closing race and was called over early and had to restart. "We went from dead last to third, and that saved the regatta," Kulinichenko said. The Tampa Bay event opened the 2001 season for the NOOD's nine-event national racing circuit, which moves on to San Diego March 16-18. The St. Petersburg NOOD was organized by Sailing World and presented by Mount Gay Rum. Support sponsors included Hall Spars & Rigging, High Sierra Sport Company, Lewmar, North Sails, Samuel Adams, and Sunsail. Summing up his NOOD experience, Karran said, "We're here to have fun, but we're glad to have done so well." |
RESULTS
J/29 (After 9 races) 1. J. McArdle 23; 2. F. Whittemore 28; 3. B. Goldsmith 29; 4. J. Tovey 38; 5. R. Mannix 46; 6. F. Glawson 50; 7. H. Ford 56; 8. J. Tyson 57
J/80 (after 11 races) 1. M. Kald 21; 2. M Hales 32; 3. J. Tihansky 46; 4. G. Pierini 46; 5. G. Ewenson 66; 6. P. Baehr 70; 7. B. Knowles 74; 8. K. Muller 81; 9. V. Neiner 86; 10. T. Lochner 93; 11. A. Poindexter 105
Henderson 30 (after 9 races) 1. M. Carroll 16; 2. S. Liebel 18; 3. R. Sleght 32; 4. W. Kennedy 51; 5. J. Walsh 51; 6. T. DaLia 54; 7. K. Young 59; 8. R. Sherman 64; 9. T. Gore 76
Level 123 (after 9 races) 1. B. Buckles/Tartan 10 14; 2. E. Peters/Abbott 33 30; 3. S. Bruesewitz/Tartan 10 32; 4. D. Hannick/Tripp 26 45; 5. B. LaMontte/Tartan 10 46; 6. D. MacKenzie/SR 25 49; 7. D. Fritz/Tartan 10 49; 8. D. Rychel/Tripp 26 59
Melges 24 (after 9 races) 1. B. Rogner 13; 2. J. Pearson 28; 3. F. McCarthy 37; 4. J. Jones 43; 5. D. Kessler 60; 6. J Hyatt 70; 7. R. McElwain 70; 8. C. Schoendorf 71; 9. R. Kidd 71; 10. R. Hamm 90; 11. B. Newsome 92; 12. J. Reichel 99; 13. L. Drinkwine 104; 14. S. Grote 104; 15. T. Delaney 134
S2 7.9 (after 11 races) 1. G. Shoemaker/B. Jenkins 13; 2. T. Line III 32; 3. S. Vielhauer 37; 4. P. Derrig 49; 5. J. Krakau 55; 6. W Talbert 55; 7. H. Antley 71
Sonar (after 10 races) 1. L Hiatrides 21; 2. E. Sherman 28; 3. Quigley/Oullette 33; 4. P. DeWolfe 60; 5. C. Obenshain 68; 6. D. Trude 73; 7. R. Frankel 81; 8. P. Callahan 83; 9. L. Hilliard 92; 10. W. Freytag 103; 11. Angle/Doerr 103; 12. M. Siedlecki 115; 13. B. Cowan 120; 14. B. Lischer 128; 15. I. Yarmo 149; 16. M. Silverstein 155
SR Max (after 11 races) 1. B. Embree 17; 2. B. Kadau 27; 3. J. Wiercinski 40; 4. W. Johnson 44; 5. M. Coan 52; 6. D. Midgett 55; 7. J. Diener 86
Ultimate 20 (after 11 races) 1. D. Corey 27; 2.. C. Cushing 32; 3. D. Crall 39; 4. K. Knight 44; 5. D. Crook 50; 6. A. Young 64; 7. R. Causey 67
Wavelength 24 (after 11 races) 1. R. Karran 18; 2. J. Bockelman 34; 3. S. Choate 45; 4. R. Sowden 47; 5. S. Tylor 49; 6. J. Wilkinson 56; 7. J. Burgess 65; 8. J. Miller 86
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