J/70 Class wins NOOD Chicago Overall

Chicago, IL (June 19, 2016) – Sunday marked the last day of racing for the Chicago Helly Hansen National Offshore One Design (NOOD) Regatta, the largest national sailboat racing circuit in the United States. More than 150 sailboats and hundreds of local and national sailors came together over the last four days on Lake Michigan.

Skipper Martin Johnsson and crew of J/70 Aquaholiks were crowned the overall winners of the regatta — beating out more than a dozen classes — and were also awarded first place in the J/70 fleet. Johnsson (Libertyville, IL) said communication was key to his team (none of which are professional sailors) winning it all by a single point over John Heaton’s Empeiria.

“We got on their air and positioned ourselves for the finish,” he said. “We did a good job at positioning ourselves to get on top of those guys at the finish and the last two jibes.”

And bringing home the top prize at the regatta on Father’s Day was made all the more special as Johnsson’s dad, Jorgen, was among his Aquaholiks crew. The victory earned his team an invitation to the British Virgin Islands to compete against winners from the other four series stops at the Helly Hansen NOOD Regatta Championship, hosted by Sunsail, in the British Virgin Islands Oct. 22-28.

Onboard the Sydney 38 Eagle were three generations of O’Neill sailors, which proved to be the winning combination as Eagle took home the win for the PHRF Division. “We’ve had this boat for 16 years and the core of the team has been together for three decades, but this weekend we had some new guys including my son, Conner, 18. With my father Jerry, 78, that makes three generations. With my wife onboard as well, it was a great way to spend the weekend with family.”

Returning champions in the J/109 class, Peter Priede and crew of Full Tilt managed to defend the overall win again this year.

In addition, the J/111 class crowned the winner of its North American Championship, which included a fourth day of racing on Thursday for the fleet. Karl Brummel, Steve Henderson and Mike Mayer’s Kashmir brought home the win, securing the title by seven points over Bennett Greenwald’s Perseverance.

The first-ever Helly Hansen Junior Crew, comprised of four local teenagers, competed against the pros in the J/70 class. They finished 19 overall.

Source: NOOD Chicago

Event details – Scoreboard – Photos

Report from J/111 class:
Patience. Plenty of it was required over the four-day Helly Hansen NOOD Regatta in Chicago as wind conditions varied from fresh to frustrating, and wind shifts swung unpredictably from the lakeshore to offshore. But those who kept their composure during long morning postponements were rewarded with challenging races in the end.

Irrespective of the outcome for each of the 163 teams sailing in the regatta, it was a beautiful weekend to be on the cooler Lake Michigan waters, looking westward to the heat factory of downtown Chicago. For the family teams who populated the fleets, it was also an ideal way to spend their Father’s Day doing what they love.

J/111 co-owners Karl Brummel, Steve Henderson, and Mike Mayer on Kashmir put a hard fought performance to win the J/111 North American Championship. They won both races on Sunday — the first one easily and the second one after recovering from a bad start — to secure the title by 7 points over Bennett Greenwald’s Perseverance.

After a slow start in the four-day series, in which they posted a 4-6, they kept their finishes in the top three, and as is usually the key to such regattas, consistency was what mattered most.