Cressy Rises to the Top at Marblehead NOOD
Cressy Rises to the Top at Marblehead NOOD
A familiar name from the first family of the Sperry Top-Sider Marblehead NOOD (aka Marblehead Race Week) is leading the Rhodes 19 fleet with one day of racing remaining.
The 11th annual Sperry Top-Sider National Offshore One Design (NOOD) Regatta in Marblehead enjoyed a second day of great sailboat racing on Massachusetts Bay. More than 180 boats hit the water to continue the series toward the Marblehead NOOD regatta overall title.
In a sea of more than 1,000 sailors competing for the title, a familiar skipper stood out from the competition, as Jonathan Cressy, the 2007 Marblehead NOOD regatta overall winner, and his boat Sheerboom overtook the top spot in the Rhodes 19 fleet today, after finishing in sixth-place yesterday.
Cressy of Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., only leads the Rhodes 19 fleet by two points, but with only one day remaining in the regatta, the 2007 titlist could once again sail away with a win in Marblehead.
"Today was certainly an improvement from where we were positioned yesterday, but we're not out of the water just yet," said Cressy. "Hopefully today's success will give us the momentum we need to finish this regatta with a win."
Cressy, along with the sailors will hit the water tomorrow, Sunday July 27 for the final day of racing, where one boat will be named the overall winner in Marblehead.
Marblehead's overall winner will be invited to participate in the 2008 NOOD Regatta Championships in the British Virgin Islands in November to compete aboard Sunsail 39's against the overall winners from each stop on the nine-regatta Sperry Top-Sider NOOD circuit.
The Marblehead NOOD regatta is the seventh stop of the nine-event series and is consistently one of the most well-attended events on the NOOD schedule.
Following Marblehead, the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD regatta series will set sail for Larchmont, N.Y., Sept. 6-7, 2008. Additional venues for 2008 include St. Petersburg, Fla.; San Diego, Calif.; Annapolis, Md.; Seattle, Wash.; Detroit, Mich.; Chicago, Ill.; and Houston, Texas.
The NOODs routinely attract a very diverse group of competitors, from America's Cup, Olympic sailors, professional sailors and world and national champions to local day sailors participating in their first regatta.
Created by Sailing World in 1988, the NOODs attract nearly 2,000 boats and more than 30,000 competitors and spectators annually. Each event in the series features multiple days of sailboat racing for one-design models from 20 to 70 feet in length. In addition to local sailors, sailing's top stars - including America's Cup and Olympic champions - are well-represented at the NOODs. Competitive sailors rate the NOODs as the top national event in each region of the country.
For more information on the 2008 Sperry Top-Sider NOOD regattas, visit www.sailingworld.com.
Sperry Top-Sider is the national title sponsor of the 2008 Marblehead NOOD, which is presented by Sailing World. Support sponsors who will join the event include Gill, Sunsail, North Sails, ClearPoint High Definition Weather, Active.com, Furuno and Lewmar, Flagship Adventures and Mount Gay Rum.
About Sperry Top-Sider
Since 1935, Sperry Top-Sider has been the leading brand of footwear for those who love the water. From its introduction of the world's first siped rubber outsole for nonmarking traction, to advanced technical fabrication to combat the elements, Sperry Top-Sider remains the vanguard of high-performance amphibious footwear and apparel. Available around the globe in fine independent, marine, outdoor and department stores, Sperry Top-Sider is the official footwear of US Sailing, the National Safe Boating Council and Team Horton-Nichols. Based in historic Lexington, Massachusetts, Sperry Top-Sider supports a wide range of water-related activities through its many sponsorships, including Acura Key West, the National Safe Boating Council and Sperry Top-Sider NOOD regattas. Sperry Top-Sider is a division of the Stride Rite Corp., a subsidiary of Collective Brands Inc. For more information, visit www.sperrytopsider.com.
