(Annapolis, MD)- With a virtual armada of 156 J/Teams attending the
Sperry Topsider Annapolis NOOD Regatta (74% of the whole fleet of 211),
the eight J one-design classes (J/22, J/24, J/70, J/80, J/30, J/105,
J/35, J/109) all had their fair share of spectacular, sunny racing on
Friday. From there it was only a matter of time that conditions would
deteriorate on the notoriously fickle Chesapeake Bay.
For the most part the Annapolis NOOD weather conditions made for great
fleet racing so long as sailors on the five division circles were
well-behaved and the PRO's at each did a good job of managing the fleet
and the racing. Some were clearly better than others. On Friday, the
fleet was treated to a brisk ENE 10-20 kts with lots of choppy waters, a
fast-flowing flood current and very shifty breezes with big puffs. In
such conditions, most fleets sailed four races. By Saturday, the
forecast was beginning to see diminishing winds and the sailor's
confidence in the breeze fell along with those prognostications. The
forecast ENE was in fact 100% wrong, instead the fleet was treated to
mostly NW-NE 6-14 kts, getting even shiftier and was full of holes, so
much so that the third races for most fleets saw their last leg or two
become a matter of rolling the dice. Sadly, Sunday's forecast was even
more wrong. The forecast easterlies never materialized until late
afternoon with a gorgeous sunny day. Instead, the fleets were treated
to an even crazier NW to E breeze blowing 0-10 kts with holes
everywhere- a one race "craps shoot" for most, or none for others!
With the third largest J fleet, the J/80's sailing with 23 boats had a very
competitive fleet, especially as some teams were using it as part of
their J/80 Worlds in Marseilles, France. For the first six races, it
looked like the Crump Family (Will & Marie) and Marie's brother Tom
Klok sailing R80 would have a "runaway" on their hands, easily leading
the fleet by a significant margin. However, a serious brain fade in the
7th race upset their chances at a comfortable win. Consequently, Brian
Keane's SAVASANA team jumped at the opportunity to take over the lead,
sailing well to win the last race as well as the series win for J/80s.
The R80 team settled for second overall. Third was a new name at the
top, John White sailing USA 1162. Fourth was Kristen Robinson's
familiar ANGRY CHAMELEON and fifth was another veteran J/80 team, Chris
& Liz Chadwick's CHURCH KEY.Sailing photo credits- Tim Wilkes.com. For more Sperry Topsider NOOD Sailing Regatta sailing information
