Fleet Grows at Marblehead NOOD

Marblehead, MA (July 29, 2016) – Lights winds and a slow start didn’t stymie the action today at the Helly Hansen National Offshore One Design (NOOD) Regatta at Marblehead Race Week. When the wind finally filled from the northeast, it was full steam ahead for all 120 crews in eight of 10 classes that will compete this weekend.

Local team Shred edged out the competition in the popular J/70 fleet — a highly competitive class that travels to every Helly Hansen NOOD Regatta — including a boat of five local teens who were selected as the first-ever Helly Hansen Junior Crew at Marblehead Race Week.

On the Helly Hansen Junior Crew, which is twelfth overall of 28 teams, is Alan McKinnon, 19, team coach; Remi Hutchins, 19; Rowan Byrne, 17; Lilia Hutchins, 15; and Eli Hammett, 13.

For the J/105 class, the largest boats in the regatta, the late start meant time for only one race, but the 14-boat fleet made it a competitive one. Team Air Express of Beverly, Mass., came out in first and earned the honor of flying the Wilmington Trust Leader Spinnaker on Saturday.

The Etchells were also able to fit in a single race, and a Marblehead team led the way. Destiny skipper Tomas Hornos was surprised that the atypical northeasterly wind didn’t affect his go-to strategy for sailing in the bay.

“Typically, the sea breeze comes from the south, usually from the southeast,” Hornos said. “And when it comes from the southeast, you go left. Oddly enough, even though the wind came from the northeast, it still paid to go offshore.”

Two more classes – Laser and Laser Radial – join the regatta on Saturday (July 30) to complete the largest fleet competing in the Helly Hansen Marblehead NOOD in years. This is the only of five national stops in this year’s series that includes dedicated races for Lasers, and this year the massive Laser fleet outnumbers the normally dominant Rhodes 19s for the first time.

On Sunday, regatta organizers will determine an overall winner based on the strongest finish in the most competitive class. That team will be invited to compete in the 2016 Helly Hansen NOOD Championship Regatta on Oct. 23-28 in the British Virgin Islands.

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Source: Evily Giannopoulos, Bonnier Corp