San Diego (Calif.) March 17, 2002 – If sailors came to the Sailing World NOOD (National Offshore One-Design) regatta looking for a challenge, they got more than they bargained for. Unusually strong winds turned this three-day sailing regatta, hosted March 15-17 by the San Diego Yacht Club, into intensive spring training for 166 boats from 12 States and Canada.
A low-pressure system ushered in 15- to 20-knot winds for the opening two days of the event, and the fleet saw its requisite carnage in rugged conditions with swells that ran 10 feet high. By Sunday, the breeze had calmed to 5 to 10 knots: contests of wet and wild survival were over, and the fleets tide of adrenalin calmed into what is known as business as usual in this part of the world.
“Today the conditions were more typical and what were used to. It was different from yesterdays sailing, because it wasnt survival mode–and the boat was not a bath zone,” said San Diego skipper Dennis Case, winner of the J/105 class. Despite conditions of two extremes, Case put together a consistent series, winning three individual races and never dropping below fourth place in this 25-boat class, the second-largest in the event.
Tonight, in an awards ceremony held at San Diego Yacht Club, Case and 13 other skippers were crowned class winners at the San Diego NOOD, the second stop on a nine-event national racing circuit.
In the largest 30-boat class, Etchells racer Erik Bentzen of Seattle entered the final day of racing with a three-point lead over San Diegos Andy LaDow. But a slim points lead is never large enough in this class, notable around the globe as a minefield of world-class talent. On the final day of racing, Bentzen held his edge with finishes of 4-10. That final record was enough for a class win over second-place LaDow, a local racer who won the class at the 2000 NOOD.
Two classes used this event to compete for class championships. Zach Berkowitz, a San Francisco sailor clearly in his element in the strong breeze, captured the International 14 West Coast Championship by 18 points, the largest points margin in the regatta. Berkowitz won all six races to take the class title.
Greg Hamm of Las Vegas topped a fleet of eight Holder 20s for the class 2002 National Championship title. Hamm was one of two skippers who successfully defended his class win from the 2001 NOOD.
Chick Pyle and Chuck Nichols of San Diego also successfully defended a class win from last years event, to capture top honors once again in the J/120 class.
Support sponsors who joined host San Diego Yacht Club at the NOOD include: Frederiksen, Hall Spars & Rigging, Marlow Ropes, Mount Gay Rum, North Sails, Raymarine, Ronstan, Samuel Adams and The Boston Beer Company, and Sunsail.
The NOOD regattas are a nine-event racing circuit organized by Sailing World magazine of Newport (R.I.). San Diego was the second stop on the 2002 circuit. The series next stops in early May in Annapolis, Md. (May 3-5).
For race reports and complete results, visit www.sailingworld.com. Top-three standings follow.
–reporting by Elizabeth Carroll
FINAL RESULTS
MELGES 24 (15 boats)
1 Cathy Wood Irvine CA Foxtrot 22
2 Rick Rajewski Redondo Beach CA Sharks Never Sleep
25
3 Brett Gripenstraw Santa Cruz CA Mary Don’t Surf 25
CORSAIR F24 (7 boats)
1 Bob Anderson Santa Ana CA SEA SMOKE 13
2 Mike Gettinger Basalt CO Super Fly 19
3 Sigi Stiemer Surrey, BC CAN BRROCH^3 26
ETCHELLS (30 boats)
1 Erik Bentzen Seattle WA Odin 36
2 Andy LaDow San Diego CA Sponge Bob 40
3 Norm Reynolds San Diego CA Carnival 45
SOLING (6 boats)
1 Steve Smidt San Diego CA BYCOR 15
2 Ian Wareham Eastsound WA Ghost Rider 16
3 Steve Brownsea San Diego CA US 791 25
CORSAIR F28/F31 (8 boats)
1 H.L. Enloe El Paso TX MerLoe (F-31) 15
2 Jeff Cohen Covina CA MENTAL FLOSS (F-31) 21
3 Leonard Gregory Del Mar CA WE’RE TRYING (F-28) 37
ONE DESIGN 35 (1D35) (8 boats)
1 Doug Ament San Diego CA KOINONIA 12
2 John Wylie San Diego CA TABASCO 17
3 William Wright Larkspur CA ZSA ZSA 19
J/120 (10 boats)
1 Chuck Nichols/Chick Pyle San Diego CA C.C. RIDER
17
2 Jed Olenick Olivenhain CA DOCTOR NO 18
3 John Laun San Diego CA CAPER 26
J/105 (25 boats)
1 Dennis Case San Diego CA WINGS 16
2 Carolyn Hardy Newport Beach CA MISCHIEF 23
3 Geoff Longenecker La Jolla CA NEMESIS IS OK 24
INTERNATIOAL 14 (11 boats) – West Coast Championships
1 Zach Berkowitz San Francisco CA (none given) 6
2 Ron Boehm Santa Barbara CA Super Confident Bill 24
3 Paul Galvez/Pablo Rodriguez Aliso Viejo CA (none
given) 25
505(7 boats)
1 Bill Jenkins San Diego CA Weasel 6
2 John Billings San Diego CA The Kitty 11
3 Geoff Nelson San Diego CA Mental Floss 27
J/24 (11 boats)
1 Troy Smith San Diego CA Danada 9
2 Julie Mitchell San Diego CA Geraldine 14
3 Richard Demmler Bellevue WA ITCHY & SCRATCHY 15
ULTIMATE 20 (12 boats)
1 Bob Aman Albany OR ROGUE 8
2 Alan Schroeder San Diego CA Wiz 14
3 Chuck Allen Stockton CA UFO 25
HOLDER 20 (8 boats) – National Championships
1 Greg Hamm Las Vegas NV Scraps 9
2 Will Jaffe Vista CA Maya 13
3 Jerry Buk Fallon NV Overkill 17
CAPRI 22 (8 boats)
1 Steve Ross San Diego CA CarmeLinda 5
2 G. D. Beckett San Diego CA First Site (Black Eye) 14
3 Tom Warren El Cajon CA TOMKAT 15
