We apologize for the delay in getting results and stories about the 2004 Detroit NOOD online. We’ve had some technical difficulties, which were corrected early Sunday morning.
Day 2 of the 2004 Detroit NOOD was another drop-dead gorgeous day on Lake St. Claire, and while the breeze was a tad light for the second day in a row, it was still a great day for racing. Bob Kirkman, of Northville, Mich., and his crew on the J/120 Hot Ticket enjoyed the day, scoring a 3, 1, despite being over early on the second race. ” We had good crew work and got a little lucky,” said Kirkman. ” We’ve all sailed together for a long time; I’ve got 5 family members sailing with me, 2 sons, a daughter-in-law, and my wife, Jenny. We’ve been sailing together for 20 years.” One of the highlights of today’s races for Kirkman was Race 2, when they were over early and managed to claw back to first place. ” We looked for breeze on the left side, as we did all day, and it worked.” In first place by 6 points over the second-place boat in the class, Kirkman has a game plan for the final day of racing. “We want to be consistent and not make any stupid mistakes.”
At every regatta, there are those who end up on the wrong side of the law, even if it wasn’t their fault. Sitting at the tent paging through a rulebook was Graham Andrews, of Windsor, Ontario, who’s sailing on a Melges 24. “We were seeking redress after hitting a mark because we were forced into it,” explained Andrews. “We had the inside overlap, were forced into the mark, got tangled up in it, and had the whole fleet sail around us. We protested the boat next to us, but lost the arbitration. What we should have done is protested the outermost boat. We’ll have a word with them later.” As Sailing World readers may remember, Andrews was on the crew of a Swan 65 chartered by Daimler Chrysler for last year’s Transatlantic Challenge, and wrote about it for SW last year.
Hoping for a miracle in the 8-boat J/24 class is the crew of Instant Karma, in second place by 7 points behind the impeccably sailed Mind Games, in first with a 2,1,1,1,1 scoreline. “We had tons of boatspeed,” said Chris Schaefer, of Harbor Woods, Mich., sailing on Instant Karma. “We pushed Mind Games right when we should have put them left, and they ended up beating us. Now, all we can try to do tomorrow is try to push them back to last place, and get first place ourselves.” Racing with Schaefer for the past ten years is his friend Mat Kolling, of Point Place, Ohio, who has a long history with Schaefer. “They call us the Weasel Brothers,’ said Kolling. We’ve been hanging together all our lives.” For many of the competitors at the Detroit NOOD, this weekend is the first big series of the season, but not for Koller. “I’ve already done 13 regattas this year,” he said, “and I think I’m already tuned in. I was racing my iceboat from January on, and won the Renegade class championship.”
Racing a new boat can be tough, as Bob Acker of Port Edward, Ontario found out, sailing on Hunting Party in the S2 7.9 class Saturday. We were a little off the pace in the light winds today,” said Acker. “We’re new owners to the boat and we’re just getting the hang of it; figuring out how to sail the boat, and that’s frustrating without wind. We’ve also got a brand-new rig, and we’re trying to figure that out, too.” Hunting Party’s game plan for the final day of racing on Sunday? “Do better,” said Acker. Hunting party will be sailing at the Chicago NOOD next weekend and in the S2 7.9 national championship, to be held the third week of August in Port Edward.
