John Pollard (GBR) wins Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta

by Media Pro Int'l on 20 Feb 2007 Britain's John Pollard and his crew are overall regatta winners - With 20-25 knots of wind early this morning on Tampa Bay and wind speeds expected to increase by noon, organizers of the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta at the St Petersburg YC cancelled racing on the final day.

Over 1,000 sailors from 31 US states as well as Canada and the UK competed in the regatta, February 16-18. This afternoon awards were given to winners in 17 one-design classes and to the overall winner, John Pollard (GBR) and his crew on the Melges 24 Excellent. Pollard received a trip to Sunsail in the British Virgin Islands to compete against winner from each of the additional eight stops on the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta series.

Of the 195 teams competing, 75 were from the Tampa Bay area, and, together, they contributed over $3000 to All Children’s Hospital through the regatta’s new partnership with Sailing for Miracles.

The Melges 24 class was the largest competing, with 44 boats. Pollard won his class with four first-place finishes, in six races, for a total 18 points. 'I guess we’re going to Sunsail!' said Pollard to his crew moments after being named the overall winner. Additionally, Excellent was named Boat of the Day, on Friday, and the entire crew was outfitted by Sperry Top-Sider.

In second was Othmar Mueller von Blumencron (Great Falls, Va) and his Gannet with 28 points, while with Melges 24 class president Scott Gregory (Marietta, Ga) and his team Satisfaction finished third with 29 points. Von Blumencron also received the class’ Corinthian Trophy.

Alongside the Melges 24 on Course B was the J/105 class where Worth Harris (Raleigh, NC) finished in first among 18 entries with 15 points, with Steve and Dee Olinger (St Petersburg) in second. Jeffrey Marks (Dunedin, Fla) and his Wasabi finished in third.

The other class competing was the 24-boat J/24 class. Always a strong draw, it was no surprise that some of the regatta’s best competition came in this 30-year-old one-design class. Daniel Borrer (St. Augustine Beach, Fla) and his Jesus Lizard won with 18 points, while Robby Brown (St. Petersburg) on Preparation J was second with 20 points. Paul van Ravensway (Annapolis, Md) finished third with his Millennium Falcon.

For Sandy Curtiss (Lake Bluff, Ill), coming to St. Petersburg is like coming home as many of his friends live here and he is also a member of the St. Petersburg Yacht Club. 'It is just awesome to come here and do this regatta,' said Curtiss. Although he has been competing in the NOOD regattas since his first at Chicago Yacht Club in 1998, this is his first with his Olson 30 Rocking Horse, which he bought two months ago. 'This boat is so much different than my previous (Beneteau) 40.7,' he said. 'It is more like a dinghy. It’s very powerful and it’s a blast to drive. Besides, we can trailer it here from Chicago.'

All five boats in the Olson 30 class finished within two points of each other, all posting at least one first place finish. 'Our main competition came from Opus Dei,' he said. Chris Cyrul (Soddy Dai, Tenn) and his Opus Dei tied on points with Curtiss, but Curtiss had the better scoreline. 'This was the most fun NOOD I’ve ever sailed in.'

In the Melges 32 class, Michael Carroll (St. Petersburg) and Martin Kullman’s New Wave won the eight-boat fleet, by two points over Star, owned by Jeff Ecklund (Ft Lauderdale, Fla).

Many, many NOOD competitors return each year, sometimes to more than one venue. Scott Maust (Pigeon, Mich) is one. 'This was our fifth straight year in St. Pete and the first time we’ve finished in the top three,' said Maust of his Hobie 33 class achievement. 'Overall, it’s a lot of fun and the competition is wonderful. We had some problems on the first day and all the other competitors were helpful to us.'

Friday’s gusting 15-17 knot wind proved a challenge for Maust and crew aboard Thunderbolt, leading to a shredded spinnaker. 'Mirage lent us a spinnaker so we could keep sailing and when we needed some spare parts, Barbarella loaned us what we needed.' Mirage, owned by Christian Schaumloffel (Virginia Beach, Va) finished in first while Barbarella, owned by Jim Blakewell (Oklahoma City, Okla) was fourth. Steven Attard (Temperance, Mich) was third on Viva Las Vegas. 'St Pete has an excellent race committee. We were always busy with upwind finishes, then sailing downwind to the next start. There was no downtime,' said Maust.

The Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta sails next into San Diego, Calif. on March 16-18. For more information including photos, full results and daily reports from Sailing World Senior Editor Stuart Streulli, go to www.sailingworld.com.


Final - Top 3 places in each class

Course A

Hobie 33 (6 boats)
1. Christian Schaumloffel, Virginia Beach, Va., Mirage, 1-2-2-1-4-1, 11
2. Steven Attard, Temperance, Mich., Viva Las Vegas, 2-1-1- 4-2-4, 14
3. Scott Maust, Pigeon, Mich., Thunderbolt, 4-4-4-3-1-3, 19

J/109 (7 boats)
1. Jon Halbert, League City, Texas, Vitesse, 2-1-1-5-3-2, 14 points
2. Steve Rhyne, Seabrook Texas, Mojo, 1-3-2-4-5-1, 16
3. Adrian Begley, Atlantic Highlands, N.J., Mad Dogs & Englishmen, 5-4-4-1-1-5, 20

Melges 32 (8 boats)
1. Carroll / Kullman, Tampa Fla., New Wave, 2-3-1-3-2-2, 13
2. Jeff Ecklund, Fort Lauderdale FL Star, 1-1-3-8-1-1, 15
3. Caleb Everett, San Francisco, Calif., Stewball, 8-2-2-2-5-4, 23

Olson 30 (5 boats)
1. Bob Bozeman St. Petersburg FL Twisted Fate, 4-1-4-1-2-3, 15
1. Chris Cyrul, Soddy Dai, Tenn., Opus Dei, 2-2-1-2-4-4, 15 points
2. Sandy Curtiss, Lake Bluff, Ill., Rocking Horse, 1-3-3-5-1-5, 18

S2 7.9 (8 boats)
1. Spike Boston, Point Edward ON CA Frequent Flyer 1-1-1-1-1-1, 6 points
2. John Spierling, Shelby Twp, Mich., Rebel, 2-3-3-7-3-2, 20
3. Joe/Jeff Pawlowski, East Amherst, N.Y., Magic, 4-2-2-3-5-6, 22

Tartan 10 (5 boats)
1. Simon/ Buckles, Loraw, OH Liquor Box, 1-2-1-3-2-1, 10 points
2. Jeff Sampson/ Jim Ward, Lakewood, Ohio, Looking For LaFonda, 2-1-3-1-3-2, 12
3. Ken Schram, Mason, MI, Britsar, 3-3-2-2-1-3, 14

Wavelength 24 (12 boats)
1. Edwards/ Gates, Satellite Beach, Fla., Whatta Ride, 1-2-1-5-1-1, 11 points
2. Steven Choate, Robert La., The Bear, 2-1-2-4-2-2, 13
3. Duane Chaloupka, Loveland, Colo., Whatta Schock, 5-6-5-1-5-7, 29

Course B

Melges 24 (41 boats)
1. John Pollard, Torquay, Devon, GBR Excellent, 1-1-1-8-3-1, 15 points
2. H. Gregory, Marietta, Ga., Team Satisfaction, 8-4-5-4-1-7, 29
3. Othmar Mueller von Blumencron, Great Falls, Va., Ganne, 3-2- 2-10-8-4, 29

J/24 (24 boats)
1. Daniel Borrer, St. Augustine Beach, Fla., Jesus Lizard, 1-7-1-4-4-1, 18 points
3. Robby Brown, St. Petersburg, Fla., Preperation J, 2-8-3-1-1-5, 20
2. Paul van Ravenswa, Annapolis, Md., Millennium Falcon, 3-3-4-12-9-6, 37

J/105 (18 boats)
1. Worth Harris, Raleigh, N.C., Rum at Six, 1-4-2-1-3-4, 15 points
2. Steve and Dee Olinger, St Petersburg, Fla., J'Makin' Waves, 7-3-1-4-4-1, 20
3. A. Jeffrey Marks, Dunedin, Fla., Wasabi, 8-6-12-3-1-2, 32

Course C

Corsair 28R (5 boats)
1. Cliff Farrah, Destin, Fla., Strategery, 3-1\RDG-1-4-3-1, 10
2. Kathryn Garlick, Terra Ceia, FL (no boat name), 1-4-2-1-2, 10
3. Valdek Kwasniewski, Venice, Fla., Hi Five, 2-3-1-2-4, 12

Corsair 24 (4 boats)
1. Bert Rice, Gulf Breeze, Fla., Mark Twain, 1-1-1-3-2, 8 points
2. Kurt Gregory, St. Petersburg, KeyWee, 2-8\DNC-3-4-4, 21
3. Edward Dixon, Marco Island, Fla., TriPower, 3- 8\DNC-8\DNF-2-3, 24

Ultimate 20 (13 boats)
1. Brad Boston, Point Edward, Ontario, CAN, Honour, 1-1-1-10-2, 15 points
2. Van Sheppard, Kanata, Ontario, CAN, Wizz, 3 -2-7-4-3, 19
3. Don Corey, Cornelius, N.C., Antics, 6-4-9-2-1, 22

Viper 640 (6 boats, two races)
1. Justin Scott, Greenwich, Conn., Tusker, 1-1-1-1, 4
2. David Guerra, Cantonment, Fla., Water Moccasin, 2- 6\DNC-3-3, 14
3. James Harrell, Atlanta, Ga., Scratch, 6\DNC- 6\DNC-2-