We are thrilled to announce that the NAF-18 class will be getting a start at this year's inaugural NOOD regatta in Seattle. We'll be racing Sat and Sun May 17, 18. Check http://www.sailingworld.com/nood_regatta.jsp?location=2637. NOR and On-line registration should be availabe soon.

Our other big F-18 regatta this summer is the Canadian Grand Prix in Comox, BC June 5 - 8. Four days of racing in one of the most beautiful parts of North America. Prize money for the top 3 finishers, lunches, 2 dinners provided, fantastic giveaways. NOR and Registration info here:
http://www.islandcatsailing.com/cms/index.php?section=18

We expect 12 - 15 boats from Seattle and Vancouver will be racing these weekends. If anyone is looking for a great event to travel to in the Northwest, these are them. Both locations will offer tons for the whole family.

Scott, this is great news. Who did you need to talk to to arrange a start for the F18s? It would be great if we could get beachcat representation at some of the other NOODs. I've poked around the NOOD website and there doesn't seem to be a lot of information.

Mark.

This particular event has been running for a number of years as SOCKS (Seattle One Design Centerboard and Keelboats Regatta) and has been open to cats. Up until this year, only the regional A-Cat Fleet has attended. It was on our calendar until we heard SOCKS was being replaced by the NOOD. Luckily, Seattle Yacht Club decided to keep the small boats too, so we'll be racing with lasers, tasers, 505s, I-14s etc. It seems that the I-14s are included in the San Diego NOOD, so I would think the F-18 fleet in SoCal should be able to get a start there if they were interested. You'd have to check with the local organizers of the other NOODs to try to get a start.

In the past, the Seattle Hobie Fleet scheduled their Hobie 101 clinic the same weekend and didn't attend. This year they changed the sched to not have a conflict. I am hoping that the H16, 17s and 18s decide to place some importance to this regatta too.

These are the types of events that cat sailors need to have attend if we want to grow the sport. Lots of other classes, lots of youth sailors, show them how exciting our boats are.

Thanks Scott. I've found a contact for the Chicago NOOD here, so I'll see what I can find out.

Hey All,

I think this is great news for the PNW F18 fleet and a great opportunity to gain valuable exposure in what will be one of the two most publicized events of the year in the PNW. I think a lot of credit for keeping the trapeze dinghys goes to dinghy fleet captains that really pressed CYC and SYC to not abandon the dinghy racing that was traditionally contested at SOCKs (a dinghy event so strong that it once considered for OCR status). Traditionally, midsize OD keelboats comprise the majority of the NOOD events around the US and hearing that NOOD was replacing SOCKS I was concerned this would be a big hit against the dinghy calendar. Fortunately this was not the case.

Now I mention exposure because as an ex Tornado sailor and very active racer competing around the world, I did not even know there was and F18 fleet in the PNW/West Coast until I read an article at www.thedailysail.com about the impressive turnout and fleet cap at the upcoming F18 worlds and searched for North American fleets. The inclusion of the F18 at the NOOD was one of the key reasons for me stepping up my purchase of my Hobie Tiger last week and I am looking forward to racing my new boat this year as much as possible. I also hope to bring in two additional new boat owners and the exposure at the NOOD event is going to be critical in grounding the F18/Tiger in people’s purchase decision set.

I also believe a critical component in youth sailing (in the past I have organized several youth coaching clinics such as ORCA) is showing that there is much more to sailing than struggling slowly upwind in a Laser or crewing on a slow midsize lead mine. If sailing is to inspire youth to participate then they need to see modern alternatives such as the 29r, 49er, I14, A Cat, ad F18s at Yacht Club events, on the water and to have access to the sailors. NOOD will be a good opportunity for this. My own indoctrination into the world of multiple hulls began at dinghy club in the mid-west that supported Sharks and Tornados as well as Snipes and Lightings and I consider myself to be very lucky to have had the opportunities that the Yacht Club and fleet support afforded me (e.g. World Championships, Olympic Trials, etc.).

I look forward to meeting everyone this year and looking to get involved in promoting what is arguably one of the fastest growing fleets in the world.

New F18 fleet member/owner, leadmine program manager, dinghy racer…..

Paul

Registration is available online and is functioning properly.
http://www.sailingworld.com/nood-regatta...1000057659.html
There is also an online list of registered skippers. It is immediately updated when you register.
http://www.regattanetwork.com/clubmgmt/applet_fleetsplit_nood.php?regatta_id=1756
The first two entries were F18’s!



Some notes:

Membership in US Sailing is a requirement for at least one person on the boat.
You can join US Sailing online and obtain a membership number without paying anything at first. You will get a membership number that you can use to register for the regatta.
A discounted membership is available through the Multihull Council. You have to print out the form and write a check, with a stamp and everything.
i. http://www.ussailing.org/multihull/ga_form.asp is the link to the form.

ii. Then send your Golden Anchor discounted membership to John Williams per the instructions.

Registered, see you there.

Just wanted to clarify. Canadian entries are not required to be US Sailing members. We do have to be CYA members however (or US Sailing if we so choose)
Most yacht club members in Canada are CYA members, you just have to get your card and number.

http://www.regattanetwork.com/clubmgmt/applet_fleetsplit_nood.php?regatta_id=1756

The F18 Class is the first class to meet the 6 boat registration requirement. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

We are doing our best to establish a positive precedence for you guys trying to get a foot in the door for the other NOOD events. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

For those of you thinking of coming, the registration fee goes up by $50 after May 5th. That date will sneak up on you, so get on it now!!!

It is official - F18s have a fleet start at the Seattle NOODs... 12 boats so far.

Thanks to all those that pre-registered - this was critical to get us our own start.

Congratulations, that's great. Incidentally, NOOD unfortunately declined our request to run an F-18 class at the Chicago event, despite us having expressions of interest from six boats - the requirement for Seattle I believe. They declined without explanation (although I did ask). We'll try again next year.

Every part of the country is a bit different so I am curious,

Why do you think participating in the NOOD is good for your class?

My experience on the east coast is that these big events are very expensive for what you get, the parties are a bit of PIA and you don't get much PR value out of it.

(The New England Fleet declines the Newport Regatta while the Hobie fleets decline CORK in Kingston)

We race on the same weekend as the NOOD about 1 mile further south and had 25 A cats and 7 N20's plus the 15 5o5s

I don't think anyone thought we should be racing as part of the NOOD.

Lots of SA discusion about the cost benfits for Etchels, J22's and Melges 24's in a NOOD event as well in Annapolis.

Is this the only big boat race that guys could compete in out there?

My $00.02 ...

This event will be a high profile event for the area, with potential for media coverage. It will also be run by two large yacht clubs.
Our particapation will help to get the visibility we desire to build the class.
It will also let the organizing groups see that we are serious and established. This, I hope will open doors for more event particapation in the future.

I agree with your take, Don. I'd actually looked hard at making the 18-hour drive to sail with you for that because I feel it is a good "foot-in-the-door." I understand where Mark is coming from on this, but I tend to feel that the entry fee is pretty reasonable (even though higher than average) and the exposure the F18s stand to gain is priceless.

It looks like you have a great turn-out. You're our ambassadors in the NOOD - keep in mind that several of us in SoCal are hoping that we can use your example for the San Diego event next year.

Well done, Don et. al.

<img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

This is the only event of the year where dinghys have interaction with the keelboat fleets.

First, for the NOOD in Seattle over a third of the boats are dinghys and cats.

Second, this is the best opportunity of the year to showcase the ACats and F18 in a yacht club surrounding with 1000+ sailors to see them.

NOOD exposure tied in with other cat focused fleet builidng events will be very good for the F18 fleet. We are putting a lot of effort this year to driving this class in the PNW and with 10+ boats at our first event in BC and then 12+ pre registered at the NOODs - we are showing some good numbers for a year 1 push.

Hopefully excitement and fleet size will only move upward for the F18s and I hope this exposure will help push the two keel boat sailors I know sailing NOOD that have hobie 16s to move up to F18s.

WOW.... That is a lot of non offshore boats.

Sounds like you have a great plan...

once again.. all regions are different.

http://www.regattanetwork.com/clubmgmt/applet_fleetsplit_nood.php?regatta_id=1756

This is the direct link to the particapants list. You'll see the mix and the numbers.

There was a lot of hand wringing going on when NOODs was anounced. NOOD with SYC/CYC blessing replaced SOCKs which was Seattle's premire centerboard and keel one design regatta. We were fortunate that the NOOD officials did not kill the dinghys.

The cost has nearly doubled for the small boats but in my opinion the good news is that NOODs historically have the best RC for a non-championship events. I am hearing rumors that we have a US Sailing Team/Olympic Silver Medalist running our course and the events I have run with that person have always been very well managed.

Will they bring in RC PRO's for your event to lead your existing RC teams?

In Annapolis NOODs, , Eastport and Annapolis YC provide the same A and B team RC's that they normally provide to run the 4 circles. It's not clear what Sailing World actually does here..... other then brand the event and do the PR. I can't see Easport or AYC giving up the leadership to somebody else.

Since you already had a succesful event in the spring... Was the PR factor of Sailing World NOOD the big draw?

Mark

John,

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.

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.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/othersports/2004415148_sail15.html

An article in Sailing World Magazine calls attention to the F18 particapation. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

http://www.sailingworld.com/nood-regattas/seattle-wa/a-different-sort-of-nood-1000060241.html

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...

12 F18s completing 10 races

Results:

http://www.sailingworld.com/nood-regatta...1000060363.html

Top 3 were all different designs

1. Nacra Infusion
2. Hobie Tiger
3. Nacra F18

From Sailing World...

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.

From Sailing World - A little context on the shift from SOCKs to NOOD. In the end well over a third of the entries were dinghies or cats...

That it's always raining in Seattle, I'm told, is a cliché. True as that may be, the region has had an average of 13 inches of rain thus far this year, and all I've heard since hitting the wet ground here in Seattle is how miserable the spring has been. But a forecast of northerly sea breezes, record high-temperatures, and sun--yes, three solid days of the golden stuff--is helping ratchet up the numbers for the first Sperry Top-Sider Seattle NOOD Regatta to 220 as of this writing on Thursday morning, and as par for the course with this town, late entries can and will likely trickle in on registration day. Given the already strong turnout from the area's numerous keelboat classes, we can only expect the late comers to show amongst the centerboard classes, which are racing only on Saturday and Sunday.

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."

Nice job Paul. Cheer's ta puddle learnin'

Thanks RFW - we are getting there in just a few short months, a lot of the credit goes to my crew who has allowed me to just focus on boatspeed.

Links to a few good photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/75869001@N00/2502698419/in/set-72157605132882035/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/75869001@N00/2502692609/in/set-72157605132882035/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/75869001@N00/2503460906/in/set-72157605132882035/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/75869001@N00/2503454760/in/set-72157605132882035/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/75869001@N00/2502621375/in/set-72157605132882035/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/75869001@N00/2504254218/in/set-72157605132882035/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/75869001@N00/2503406081/in/set-72157605132882035/

A few more photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/75869001@N00/2502656349/in/set-72157605132882035/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/75869001@N00/2502736583/in/set-72157605132882035/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/75869001@N00/2501944245/in/set-72157605132882035/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/75869001@N00/2503538670/in/set-72157605132882035/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/75869001@N00/2502703159/in/set-72157605132882035/