The second day of racing at the Annapolis NOOD dawned cold and windy. A stalled cold front that bedeviled sailors on Friday had finally pulled through on Friday evening and brought colder temperatures and northeasterly breezes on Saturday morning. Crews donned all the clothing in their ditty bags and hoped for a few rays of sunshine, but the big player wasnt the breeze or the temperature, but the current. A strong ebb tide played a huge role in the racing Saturday, and tacticians spent a great deal of the day either clapping themselves on the back or wishing theyd spent the weekend doing gardening chores at home.”The current was a big deal today,” said Larry Morris, of Severna Park, MD, owner and driver of the Arlberg 30 Solstice. “Especially at the top marks. Some people had to tack six or seven times before they were able to round the mark.” The Solstice crew are in fifth overall with 25 points, but were already planning their strategy for Sundays racing. “We need two races tomorrow,” said Morris. “Weve been inconsistent, but plan on trying not to post a big number in the first race, which we havent done so far this event.” Anthony Kotoun, of Newport, R.I. and the U.S. Virgin Islands is sailing as tactician on Bold 3, which lies in 5th place in the Mumm 30 class, and agreed with the consensus on current Saturday. “Current was 80 percent of the racing today,” said Kotoun. “You had to get your nose out of the fray on the starting line or you were done. Tomorrow well be in avoid and conquer mode. Were going to avoid everyone else on the starting line and try to let it rip, we have nowhere to go but up.” Most sailors have a healthy respect for sharks, and stay as far away from them as they can, but at the tent party at the Annapolis NOOD Saturday night, sailors in the Pearson 30 class flocked toward a 5-foot shark by the name of Bruce T. Shark. The crews of Irish Mist, Constellation, and Stardancer, all racers in the 7-boat class, circled Bruce and exchanged stories, challenges, and braggadacio about the days races. “We hang out a lot together, do parties, and tell each other how to sail better. Its all competition on the water, but afterwards, its all about being together.” And while wed like to attribute the quote to a single person in the group, its hard, because the crew and skippers in the class tend to speak in a cacophonous medley of voices. As far as we could tell, Bruce T. Shark spends most of his time with the Stardancer crew, but represents the entire class. John Blais of Hampton, Virginia, is the owner of Stardancer and the custodial parent of Bruce T. “We sailed 132 miles to get to this event,” said Blais. “Ive been sailing Pearsons for 30 years and have been using articles in Sailing World to help his boats performance. “We read an article in SW that said the best way to get better was to sail outside your normal area, so here we are.”In the 12-Meter class, Ted Turner, sailed Courageous, which hed steered to victory in the 1977 Americas Cup. Turner showed that hed lost none of his touch as he sailed the newly-renovated Courageous to a 2-0 scoreline against Freedom, defender of the 1980 Americas Cup. Freedom, owned and steered by Ernest Jacquet of Boston, Mass., is no slouch, having won the Modern 12-Meter class at the Americas Cup Jubilee off the Isle of Wight last year.Results after 2 day: (low score wins) 12 Meter 1. Ted Turner “Courageous” 11 Atlanta2. Ernest Jacquet “Freedom” 18 Boston1D35 Class Points State (locales: city/state) 1. Douglas DeVos 12 Michigan 2. Buddy Cribb Jr. 16 Florida 3. John Fisher 16 Massachusetts Beneteau 36.7 Class 1. Garth Hichens 8 Annapolis, MD 2. Wes Siegner 11 Chevy Chase, MD 3. Jim Keen 18 Solomons, MD Henderson 30 Class 1. Michael Carroll 6 Florida 2. Jeffrey Gale 14 Bahamas 3. David Irwin 16 Texas J/105 Class 1. Alec Cutler 14 Annapolis, MD 2. Bill Sutton/Marty Hubitz 29 Arlington, VA 3. Steve Phillips 31 Arnold, MD J/35 Class 1. Peter Scheidt 10 Highland, MD 2. Kevin McNeil 13 Annapolis, MD 3. Sagerolm/Christofel 18 Annapolis, MD Mumm 30 Class 1. Chris Sherin 10 New York 2. Bodo & Nick von der Wense 12 Pennsylvania 3. David Pyles 14 Easton, MD J 22 Class 1. James Hayes 13 Annapolis, MD 2. Peter McChesney 14 Annapolis, MD 3. Doug Clark 23 New York J/24 Class 1. Will Welles 20 2. Tim Healy 22 Rhode Island 3. Paul Michalowski 23 Massachussetts J/80 1. Matt Baker 8 New Jersey 2.Ann Farmelo 11 New York 3. John Storck 12 New York Etchells Class 1. Dennis Conner 13 California 2. Ben Hall 22 Rhode Island 3. Gary Gilbert 24 Oakton, VA J/30 Class 1. David McConaughy 10 Newport News, VA 2. Dallam/Griffiths/McGuirk 13 Bel Air, MD 3. Bill Munz 18 Annapolis, MD Melges 24 1. Travis Weisleder 13 Newport, RI 2. Chris Doubek 15 Illinois 3. Ron Weed 15 Arnold, MD Alberg 30 1. Read Beigel 8 Severna Park, MD 3. Liddick Mattox 22 Annapolis, MD 3. Rolf Townshend 23 Severna Park, MD Cal 25 1. Tom Corboy 9 Annapolis MD 2. Geoffrey Swanhart 13 Sterling, VA 3. Timothy Bloomfield 23 Sherwood Forest, MD Catalina 27 Class 1. Tom Walsh 17 Pasadena, MD 2. Francis Wright 18 Annapolis, MD 3. John Ebell 19 Annapolis, MD Pearson 30 1. Henry Starr 9 Silver Springs, MD 2. John Blais III 12 Hampton, VA 3. Roy Lappalainen 14 Baltimore, MD S2 7.9 Class 1. Brad Boston 5 Ontario, Canada 2. Bob Fleck 12 Alexandria, VA 3. Paul Fruehauf 17 Wilmington, DE
