The San Diego NOOD this year did have a fleet of I-14s, so I would think you would be able to get a start if you wanted. Of course the event did conflict with Cat Fight I. I guess we'll give you some feedback from our experience to let you know if we feel it was all worth it.
-- Have You Seen This? --
Re: NAF-18s at Sailing World NOOD Seattle
[Re: Mark Schneider]
#133499 05/07/0809:07 PM05/07/0809:07 PM
Don's and DHFiend's comments apply here in Chicago also - looking for exposure for multihulls among other sailors. Also here in the midwest, most of our sailing is on inland lakes often away from major population areas and we can frequently be the only sailboats on the water. So we have some added challenges in getting seen by potential recruits and NOOD looked like a good opportunity. Last year we had just one regatta with monohulls - Mendota Yacht Club in Madison, and a couple of boats from CRAW also competed in Louie's Last out of the Milwaukee Yacht Club (and finished 1st and 2nd out of 119 competitors).
We on for the weekend! The weather forecast is for hot and light wind. Our F18 staging area is show center right next to the sponsor parking and the event tent. We'll have the ramp on our right and the beer on our left <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> I'll let you know how it goes.
An article in Sailing World Magazine calls attention to the F18 particapation. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />
Next week[Today] the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta series rolls into Seattle, and now that the entry late fee is in effect (sorry you procrastinators) the entry list has surpassed the 200-mark (as of today, 208). That's an awesome turnout for a first-time event on the national NOOD circuit, which incidentally started in Newport about this time 20 years ago). But what's more incredible than the boat tally is the diverse cross section of one-designs that stepped up to make it happen. There are few events out there today with a make-up like this one.
"To be honest, I didn't know what to expect," says the NOOD regatta's chief George Brengle, "maybe 130 or so. This is way exceeding my expectations."
That's a good thing, of course, for the regatta, but George is going to be one busy, busy man.
Of the 24 classes formed for the Seattle NOOD, we've got keelboats big and small from J/Boats to Beneteau 36.7s, C&C 115s, 6 Meters, and OD35s. There are sportboats; Melges 24s, Rocket 22s, and Ultimate 20s. Representing the dinghy contingency are Tasars, Thistles, and Lasers. Even the catamaran crowd will be in the house (a first for the NOOD series) with a healthy F-18 class and a handful of A Cats. And, as an East Coaster new to the Northwest, I'm excited to finally get to see firsthand the likes of the venerable Thunderbirds, San Juan 21s, and Moore 24s. Talk about a deep mixing pot. The racing is all on Puget Sound, with exception of the Mini 12 class, which will be racing on Portage Bay, in front of Seattle.
The regatta is co-hosted by both the Seattle Yacht Club and the Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle, and the nightly parties will be spread between the two. Friday and Saturday night parties will be at Corinthian and the Sunday awards party will be held at Seattle YC. Each post-race gathering will have music, and of course, food and the legendary Mount Gay free pour (from 5:30 to 7:00 on Fri/Sat and 4:30 Sunday). The local Maritime Pacific Brewing company will be serving up its suds. Tickets are $45 for all three nights, so for all you Seattle sailors waking up from your winter slumber, come down and bump that number up. If the boat is still under the tarp, the parties are there for the taking.
Some of the best sailing conditions in Seattle in the last 10 years - 80+ degrees, Sunny, and wind ranging from 5 to 20 knots. 229 boats, 1200+ sailors...
On the centerboard and multihull course there were much the same conditions, but that didn't stop Scott MacDonald and Mieke Koehoorm from wracking up more bullets to their undefeated streak in the Formula 18 catamaran class (sailing a Nacra Infusion). "We did concentrate on having starts in clear air," says MacDonald. "That was key. Even if the line is favored it doesn't matter because you need speed off the line with these things. Going the right way, clear air—that was our whole thing."
MacDonald says he'll be back next year, with more 18s to join in the fun, and this sentiment was echoed across all the regatta's classes. First-time logistical hiccups aside, the regatta went down as the best major multi-fleet regatta Seattle has seen in years, and next year, hopefully with the same sweet conditions, we'll be in for a repeat.
Photo of Mark Jones on his way to 4th for the event.
Last edited by DHFiend; 05/19/0801:12 PM.
F18 USA 1273 Andrews 77 (SOLD) Melges 32 (SOLD) Formula18 Olympic 49er (FOR SALE) Always outnumbered - Never outgunned....
Re: More: NOOD in the News
[Re: USA1273]
#133505 05/19/0801:42 PM05/19/0801:42 PM
This is now one of only two stops on the nine-event NOOD circuit with dinghy classes (San Diego being the other). A former colleague at the magazine and I long ago schemed an offspring "DOOD" regatta (dinghy only one-design), and while that never came to fruition, this is the closest thing to it, and the overall series is the better for it. But truth be told, the dinghies and small keelboats had always assembled here this time of the year for what was called the S.O.C.K.S Regatta, a hugely popular and long standing multi-class event that attracted the areas many high-performance small-boat sailors. The arrival of the NOOD on the same weekend, and the initial belief that it would primarily be a big-boat event, wasn't welcome news among this crowd.
Brian Ledbetter, Seattle YC's Sailing Director (and the '92 Finn silver medalist) says there was a huge outcry and some resistance, in particular from the Laser and Vanguard 15 sailors, with regard to the regatta's higher entry fees.
But Ledbetter and others at SYC lobbied hard to bring those fees down and limit the racing to the weekend. It was a solution most were amenable to and the end result is that nearly a third of the NOOD regatta's 220-boat fleet are either centerboarders or multihulls (the F-18s, of which, are new to this event). The S.O.C.K.S Regatta may not be on the calendar this year, but the NOOD is laying the foundation for what could someday become a bigger, better dinghy regatta for the region.
The on-the-water cooperation of the two host clubs, Seattle YC, and Corinthian Seattle YC, with its facilities overlooking Puget Sound, is key to pulling off this event, and Ben Glass, Seattle YC's Junior Sailing Coach and US Sailing Developmental Coach of the Year, has been tasked with making sure it all goes off without a hitch. "This could be the biggest regatta we've ever been involved with running," says Glass, "but we're ready for it."
F18 USA 1273 Andrews 77 (SOLD) Melges 32 (SOLD) Formula18 Olympic 49er (FOR SALE) Always outnumbered - Never outgunned....
Re: More: NOOD in the News
[Re: USA1273]
#133506 05/19/0808:32 PM05/19/0808:32 PM
