Please select your home edition
Edition
Barton Marine Pipe Glands

2021 Helly Hansen NOOD Regatta Chicago at Chicago Yacht Club - Overall

by Laura Muma / Sailing World 14 Jun 2021 16:32 AEST June 11-13, 2021
Team Mojo, the Helly Hansen Nood Regatta Chicago Overall Winners © Mark Albertazzi

Team Mojo, the Helly Hansen NOOD Regatta Chicago's overall winning team, took its lumps early in the regatta but ultimately won the seven-boat Beneteau First 40.7 class and the overall title. The Chicago NOOD is the largest regatta hosted on Lake Michigan since the pandemic began.

Team Mojo, a Chicago-based raceboat owned by Gary Powell and Scot Ruhlander, moved into first place on Saturday and never looked back to win the one-design class by one point over Thomas Weber's La Tempete. The 12-member team is already making their plans to attend the Helly Hansen NOOD Caribbean Championship in October in the British Virgin Islands, representing Chicago.

"We sailed our best races yesterday," the co-owners said, acknowledging the first day of the regatta presented challenges for the team. "The crew work was spectacular, and that's what makes it fun."

Sunday's fading breeze allowed for one race to be completed on the final day of the regatta, but it was enough for three teams to capitalize on the conditions and move into winning positions in their classes.

Eagles Wings, the Grand Soleil 44 owned by John Gottwald, won today and earned the overall win in the ORC division. The boat has been in storage for five years, but it took little time for the crew to get up to speed. "Getting it back out on the water has been awesome," he says. The ORC division had close racing all weekend, but today's light air was tough."

"I feel fortunate to come out with a win," says Gottwald, who came into today's racing sandwiched between yesterday's leader, Shawn and Jerry O'Neill's Sydney 38 Eagle, and third-placed Philip Dowd's Farr 40 Inferno.

"Today's conditions were particularly challenging," says Gottwald. "Our strategy was to get clear of everybody and stay out of trouble. We knew Inferno would be ahead of us given their boat rating [boats are scored using a corrected-time formula], so we just had to stay in contact with them and stay far enough ahead of Eagle, who we had to beat by almost four minutes to correct out on time."

In another mixed-boat class, PHRF 1, Jeff Janicek's Dire Wolf won its class, and its first major regatta, since beginning their sailing program not long ago. Like Gottwald, he also launched the boat after an extended absence. "How cool is it that the two boats named after Grateful Dead songs battled it out for the win," says Janicek. His team overtook yesterday's leader Scarlet Begonias and Janicek says, "As the 'Dire Wolf' lyrics go, we collected our dues in the end."

The third team to clinch their class win today was Erizo de Mar in the nine-boat Beneteau First 36.7 class. Arek Szawlowski, the team's main trimmer, says despite a poor start today, thanks to good boatspeed they were able to finish in third place. "It was enough to recover from yesterday's mistakes when we had a bad race."

Other teams that maintained or extended their leads included the J/70s, J/88, Tartan 10, Great Lakes 52, J/105, J/109 and J/111, as well as overall winner, Mojo.

Richard Witzel's Rowdy won the six-boat J/111 fleet, and says he's happy to be racing again. "It's been great to be back sailing at a major regatta," he says. "It's obvious people are super excited to be back on the water, and part of the fun is having a mix of conditions. Chicago delivered over the three days."

Next for the Helly Hansen NOOD Regatta series is Marblehead, Mass., the final stop for the nation's largest regatta series before each city's winning team heads to the British Virgin Islands for the Helly Hansen NOOD Caribbean Championship presented by Sunsail.

For comprehensive results, visit www.yachtscoring.com.

Related Articles

Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta overall
Wrapping up with World-Class podium performances The Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta wrapped up with a full podium and high spirits, marking a thrilling conclusion to a week of elite racing in the iconic waters off Southern California. Posted today at 5:41 am
WASZP Games 2025 Day 1
247 sailors across four fleets racing in Portland Harbour and Weymouth Bay "This race is live" — and with that, the 2025 WASZP Games were officially under way. With 247 sailors across four fleets, Portland Harbour and Weymouth Bay were transformed into a theatre of foiling. Posted today at 4:56 am
Author and artist Alan Lucas OAM has passed away
He wrote nearly 40 successful books for boating enthusiasts Alan's importance to the sailing community cannot be understated, receiving an OAM for contributions to maritime literature and publishing nearly 40 books, with multiple editions. Posted on 21 Jul
Eye on the Prize
The Contenders Chasing Admiral's Cup History For over half a century, the Admiral's Cup was considered the world championship of offshore racing. And then, in 2003, it was gone. Now, after a 22-year absence, the Cup is back. Posted on 21 Jul
Paul Antrobus obituary
One of the outstanding figures of the era of great amateur sailors Sailors around the world will be sad to hear that British offshore sailing legend Paul Antrobus has crossed the bar. One of the "greats" of the IOR era of offshore racing, Paul had a distinguished career both afloat and ashore. Posted on 21 Jul
Antigua launches high-energy racing spin-off
The Antigua Racing Cup is an event for racing purists The Ministry of Tourism, Civil Aviation and Investment is pleased to announce that a new vision for yachting in Antigua and Barbuda is beginning to take shape, building on the long-established brand of Antigua Sailing Week. Posted on 21 Jul
Record MOCRA turn-out for the Rolex Fastnet Race
This year there are 20 multihulls racing for the Crystal Trophy While the four Ultims maxi-trimarans and nine Ocean Fiftys have their own classes in this Saturday's centenary Rolex Fastnet Race, the remaining multihulls convene in the MOCRA class. Posted on 21 Jul
How to follow the Admiral's Cup inshore racing
Scheduled to start on Tuesday, concluding on Thursday The Admiral's Cup Inshore Racing is scheduled to start on Tuesday 22 July with three days of racing concluding on Thursday 24 July. Posted on 21 Jul
A Day at the Races
What's it like to attend a SailGP event? On Sunday I went to the Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix in Portsmouth, sitting in the grandstand and filming with the usual camera I use for interviews to try and give you a taste of the action and atmosphere from the shoreside. Posted on 21 Jul
WASZP Games 2025 Women's Sprint Champs Overall
A thrilling showdown with five high-octane slalom races in Portland Harbour The final day of the WASZP Women's Sprint Championship delivered a thrilling showdown with five high-octane slalom races, pushing sailors to their limits in fast, tactical conditions. Posted on 21 Jul
sMRT AIS Man Overboard Beacons AUS / NZZhik 2024 DecemberX-Yachts X4.0