It’s official; the 2004 Annapolis NOOD is a record-breaker. 292 boats in
19 classes took to the waters of the Chesapeake Friday and sailed three
races on four race circles in a breeze that never went below 10 knots,
and was as high as 19 on some courses. The largest class was the J/22s,
with 81 boats entered, as their crews get ready for the class’s world
championships, to be held May 17-21 off Annapolis.
Ray Wulff, of Riva Md., is the regatta chairman for the J/22 Worlds and
is racing in the 81-boat class. “Trying to set up for the start is
hard,” says Wulff. “On one side you’ve got John Bertrand, on the other,
Peter McChesney.” Wulff, with a 12-20-2, for the day, had the starts
figured out by the third race. “We set up a little later than we
normally would and cleared out to the right where there was less current
against us.” But a good start does not a race make, as Wulff
illustrates. “Working the boat downwind was the key,” he said. “The
harder you work downwind, the bigger the gains.”
There’s nothing like a Spring regatta to shake the cobwebs off, get the
blood flowing, and see whether or not your crew work is going to need
some improvement. For Dennis Hannick, of King George, Va., and the crew
of the Tripp 26 Radio Flyer, it was a combination of all three. “We
fouled a boat in another class and put figure eights in our spinnaker;
stuff that doesn’t happen to us.” But that wasn’t the end of the torture
for the crew of Radio Flyer. “We had the spinnaker up on the way in and
called for an ease on the sheet, but the guy got eased and we broke the
pole around the headstay.” Thankfully, Hannick’s crew has another pole
ready to go for tomorrow’s racing.
Leading the Tripp 26 class are Michele and Dan Zinn, of Annapolis,
sailing Captain Tripps. “My wife drives,” said Don. “She was flying
today. We’re usually the fastest Tripp in the breeze, but the
competition is right there, there are always a couple of boats
overlapped.” The boat’s name comes from the Stephen King novel, The
Stand, a tale of worldwide catastrophe caused by a disease loosed from a
government research facility. “My wife is a huge Stephen King fan,” said
Don, “I’m in Biotech, and we kill the competition.”
Sailing in the 7-boat Alberg 30 class aboard Danely, were Marianne
Worley of Silver Springs, Md., and Brigid Gutens, of Eastport, Md., who
work as a team trimming and grinding the headsails. “If you didn’t have
a good day out there today, you’ll never be happy,” said Worley. “We had
great wind and lots of speed.” The crew of Danely was sailing without
the boat’s owner, Sherod Cooper, who was recovering from surgery. “This
is the first time in many years that Sherod didn’t sail in the NOOD, so
we asked him if we could race the boat,” said Gutens. “So we’ve
dedicated this weekend to him and called him after our last finish.” The
crew of Danely ended the day with a 4-5-6, and were pleased to end up in
the middle of the class. “We’re usually dead last,” said Worley, so
we’re happy.”
Results after 1 day: (low score winning)
Class Boat Race 1,2,3 Total Points
City/State
J/22
1. Scott Nixon USA 1464 1,1,6 8
Annapolis, MD
2. Kevin Doyle Mo’ Money 3,2,14 19 Niagara
Falls, NY
3. Kevin Wolfe US 404 10,5,4 19 Garland, TX
J/24
1. Wataru Sakamoto Siesta 1,1,1 3
JAPAN
2. Mark Hillman Tribal Pleasures 4,2,2 8
Bethesda, MD
3. Peter Rich Show Dog 3,4,4 11
Annapolis, MD
Star
1. Kevin McNeil 1,1,4 6
Annapolis, MD
2. Jock Kolhlas 4,2,1 7 Miami,
FL
3. Josh Phypers More Pleasure 2,4,3 9
Marblehead, MD
Alberg 30
1. Rolph Townshend Skybird 1,1,1 3 Severna
Park, MD
2. Charles Currier Infinity 2,2,2 6
Annapolis, MD
3. Lanny Helms Windswept 3,3,3 9
Columbia, MD
Cal 25
1. Authur Libby Love Shack 1,1,4 6 Severna
Park, MD
2. Tim Bloomfield White Cap 2,3,2 7
Sherwood Forest, MD
3. Charles Husar Chicken Little 3,2,3 8
Annapolis, MD
Catalina 27
1. Julian Richards Jolly Mom 1,1,2 4
Annapolis, MD
2. Tom Walsh Four Little Ducks 2,2,1 5
Pasadena, MD
3. John Ebell Hi Tide 4,4,3 11
Annapolis, MD
Pearson 30
1. Roy Lappalainen Severn Run 1,1,3 5
Baltimore, MD
2. Roy Ericson Irish Mist 2,3,1 6
Annapolis, MD
3. John Blais Stardancer 3,2,2 7
Hampton, VA
S2 7.9
1. Bob Fleck Horizon 1,2,1 4
Alexandria, VA
2. David Nielsen Far Fig Newton 2,3,2 7
Annapolis, MD
3. Doug Frye Robyn 3,1,4 8
Spring Lake, MI
Etchells
1. Gary Gilbert Annie 2,6,1 9
Oakton, VA
2. Slyvan Chaix Georges III 1,2,6 9
3. Kerry Klinger Scout 7,1,3 11
Larchmont, NY
J/27
1. Douglas Davies Amethyst 1,1,2 4
Stony Brook, NY
2. Erik Fridley jebap 3,2,1, 6
Annapolis, MD
3. Peter Johnson Piglet 2,3,3 8
Orchard Park, NY
J/30
1. Bob Rutsch Bebop 5,2,1 8
Chevy Chase, MD
2. Larry Christy Big Kahuna 6,1,2 9
Annapolis, MD
3. Chuck O’Malley Waka Jawaka 4,4,4 12
Annapolis, MD
J/80
1. John Storck Rumor 1,2,1 4
Huntington, NY
2. David Jannetti Jibber Jabber 2,1,5 8
Sag Harbor, NY
3. Matt Baker Hypedrive 4,3,2 9
Princeton, NJ
Tripp 26
1. Michele Zinn Captain Tripps 2,2,1 5
Annapolis
2. Mark Anstey Lickety Split 1,4,5 10 Arnold,
MD
3. George Benisek Northern Dancer 4,3,3 10
Annapolis, MD
Beneteau 36.7
1. Garth Hichens To Be Decided 1,1,1 3
Annapolis, MD
2. Wes Siegner Abino 2,4,2 8 Chevy
Chase, MD
3. Tom Orlow Northern Light 4,3,4 11
Levering, MI
Henderson 30
1. Liebel Brothers Speed Racer 1,2,4 7
St. Petersburg, FL
2. Jack Holt Girlfriend 3,3,1 7
Perrl River, NY
3. Neil Rattan Love Letter 4,1,3 8
Westport, CT
J/105
1. Jay Corcoran No More Trouble 2,5,2 9 Annapolis, MD
2. Cedric Lewis Mirage 3,2,4 9
Annapolis, MD
3. Jim Konigsberg Inigo 1,1,12 14
Fairfax, VA
J/35
1. Jim Sagerholm Aunt Jean 1,1,3 5
Annapolis, MD
2. Peter Scheidt Maggie 2,2,1 5
Highland, MD
3. Charles Kohlerman Medicine Man 5,3,2 10
Brookhaven, PA
Melges 24
1. John Pollard Xcellent 2,1,2 5 United
Kingdom
2. Bob Dockery Barracuda 1,3,3 7 Longboat
Key, FL
3. Joe Woods Silver 3,2,4 9
England
Mumm 30
1. Dan Cheresh Team Intermec 1,1,4 6 Holland,
MI
2. Fred Sherratt Steadfast 3,3,1 7
Toronto, CA
3. Thomas Ritter Tramp 5,4,3 12
Bloomfield Hills, MI
