It was the largest Helly Hansen NOOD Regatta in recent years, with more than 200 boats in 17 classes competing in the unpredictable conditions of the Chesapeake Bay. Some of the country’s top sailing talent was represented on the water, but there was one crew that stood out among the crowd.
“The weekend was pretty wild,” said Conor Hayes, skipper of the J/80 “More Gostosa” and Overall Winner of the regatta. “Yesterday was great breeze, really shifty, and today was off the hook. Breeze on the whole time.”
Organizers select the overall winner based on the weekend's most competitive fleet, and Hayes said the conditions made for exciting challenges on the water for the J/80s. The Gilford, N.H., native attributed his success to the quick, precise maneuvering of his crew, which included his father Kevin Hayes, cousin Dan Jolda and friend Graham Philpot.
“We've been together for years and years, which was huge today. That’s the difference-maker when you're sailing in big conditions, where you have no margin of error for mistakes. Sometimes you have to throw pretty risky maneuvers in, but I was not at all concerned because the crew work was on point all day.”
As the Helly Hansen Annapolis NOOD’s overall winner, team “More Gostosa” will compete in the Helly Hansen NOOD Caribbean Championship Regatta, presented by Sunsail in the British Virgin Islands in October.
While Hayes has never been a winning skipper at a NOOD Regatta, the weekend proved successful for a couple of previous Overall Winners. The 2016 Helly Hansen Annapolis NOOD champion, Terry Flynn, once again won the J/22 class and in the J/70 class, Bruce Golison followed up his win at the 2016 Helly Hansen San Diego NOOD with another first-place finish. Still new to the class, this event was the “Midlife Crisis” crew’s opportunity to make strides in the direction of future championships.
“We were able to qualify here for the 2018 Worlds, and that was important to us,” said Golison. “It was a good regatta and a good learning experience, and kept us going on our way to what we want to accomplish.”
FINAL RESULTS (Top Three)
J/22 (One Design - 29 Boats)
1. Tejas, Terry Flynn, USA - 4 -3 -1 -3 -1 -3; 15
2. Uncle Fluffy, Zeke Horowitz, USA - 1 -12 -6 -1 -2 -2; 24
3. USA 789, Jake Doyle, USA - 2 -4 -10 -4 -5 -5; 30
Alberg 30 (One Design - 9 Boats)
1. Argo, T.C. Williams, USA - 2 -3 -2 -4 -2; 13
2. Latika, William Woodford, USA - 3 -4 -1 -5 -1; 14
3. LinGin, Tim Williams, USA - 1 -1 -5 -3 -4; 14
Cal 25 (One Design - 5 Boats)
1. White Cap, Timothy Bloomfield, USA - 1 -1 -2; 4
2. Chicken Little, Charlie Husar, USA - 2 -2 -1; 5
3. Harlequin, Leo Surla, USA - 4 -4 -3; 11
Ensign (One Design - 7 Boats)
1. Chowder, William Murphey, USA - 1 -1 -1 -1 -2; 6
2. Never Enz, peter heffernan, USA - 3 -3 -2 -2 -1; 11
3. The White Lady, Peter Kogut, USA - 4 -4 -8 -3 -4; 23
J/70 (One Design - 43 Boats)
1. Midlife Crisis, Bruce Golison, USA - 4 -2 -1 -8 -7; 22
2. Savasana, Brian Keane, USA - 9 -7 -4 -5 -1; 26
3. New Wave, Martin Kullman, USA - 15 -6 -2 -3 -3; 29
J/70 Corinthian (One Design - 21 Boats)
1. Pinch and Roll, Jay Greenfield, USA - 3 -18 -10 -14 -12 ; 57
2. Muse, Heather Gregg / Joe Bardenheier, USA - 2 -12 -27 -13 -6; 60
3. Leading Edge, Todd Hiller, USA - 7 -20 -15 -10 -13; 65
Viper 640 (One Design - 14 Boats)
1. Jenny, Jackson Benvenutti, USA - 2 -1 -12 -1 -1; 17
2. Henry,Doug, David & Madeline, Henry Amthor, USA - 4 -10 -4 -4 -3 ; 25
3. Copperhead, Hugh Dougherty, USA - 7 -12 -10 -3 -2; 34
J/24 (One Design - 8 Boats)
1. Bangor packet, Tony Parker, USA - 1 -1 -1 -1 -3; 7
2. Buxton, Peter Rich, USA - 3 -2 -3 -2 -2; 12
3. Spaceman Spiff, Pete Kassal, USA - 4 -3 -2 -3 -1; 13
J/30 (One Design - 14 Boats)
1. Totaled Mayhem, Doug & Amy Stryker, USA - 1 -2 -1 -2 -5; 11
2. Blue Meanie, Steve Buzbee, USA - 2 -1 -3 -1 -4; 11
3. Bebop, Bob Rutsch, USA - 4 -5 -4 -6 -2; 21
J/80 (One Design - 23 Boats)
1. More Gostosa, Conor Hayes, USA - 3 -4 -1 -1 -1 ; 10
2. USA 1162, John White, USA - 4 -1 -2 -2 -6 ; 15
3. Courageous, Gary Panariello, USA - 1 -5 -4 -14 -7; 31
Etchells (One Design - 8 Boats)
1. Caramba, Jose Fuentes, USA - 3 -4 -1 -1 -1 ; 10
2. Ca$h Money, Matt Lalumiere, USA - 1 -3 -2 -2 -2 ; 10
3. R + D, Christopher Brady, USA - 2 -1 -4 -4 -3; 14
J/35 (One Design - 7 Boats)
1. Aunt Jean, James Sagerholm / Jerry Christofel, USA - 1 -1 -2; 4
2. Abientot, Roger Lant, USA - 2 -2 -4; 8
3. Medicine Man, Chuck Kohlerman, USA - 5 -3 -1; 9
J/105 (One Design - 22 Boats)
1. Live Edge, Michael Mountford, Can - 1 -6 -4; 11
2. Bat IV, Andrew Kennedy, USA - 3 -7 -6; 16
3. Mirage, Lewis/ Salvesen, USA - 6 -1 -10; 17
J/111 (One Design - 9 Boats)
1. Skeleton Key, Peter Wagner, USA - 1 -1 -1; 3
2. Velocity, Martin Roesch, USA - 3 -3 -2; 8
3. Bravo, Sedgwick Ward, USA - 6 -4 -3; 13
C&C 30 (One Design - 6 Boats)
1. Extreme2, Dan Cheresh, USA - 1 -1 -1 -2 -3; 8
2. Don't Panic, Julian Mann, USA - 3 -3 -4 -3 -1; 14
3. Nemesis, Walt Thirion, USA - 2 -2 -3 -5 -2; 14
Farr 30 (One Design - 6 Boats)
1. Ramrod, Rod Jabin, USA - 1 -1 -2; 4
2. Seabiscuit, Kevin McNeil, USA - 2 -3 -1; 6
3. Tangley, Peter Toombs, CAN - 4 -2 -3; 9
North Sails Rally - Cruiser (Saturday Only) (PHRF - 7 Boats)
1. Magic 8 Ball, David Robinson, USA - 1; 1
2. Celerity, Rick Lober, USA - 2; 2
3. Carry On, Russ Matijevich, USA - 3; 3
North Sails Rally - Spinnaker (Saturday Only) (PHRF - 3 Boats)
1. Jeroboam, Laurent Givry, USA - 1; 1
2. Orion, Jon Opert, USA - 2; 2
3. Priority One, Brian Olson, USA - 3; 3
