Shifty but solid at Helly Hansen NOOD Regatta

St. Petersburg, FL (February 14, 2015) – Favorable conditions yielded a full day of racing for nearly 1,000 sailors competing at the second day of the Helly Hansen NOOD Regatta series on Tampa Bay, with winds starting out in the 10-knot range before dropping off before day’s end.

Raymond Mannix, skipper of the J/29 Semper Fi, put in an outstanding performance in his PHRF 2 division, winning the day’s first two races and finishing second to St. Petersburg YC Commodore Harvey Ford in the second. After seven races, Semper Fi holds an 8-point lead over Ford’s WildKat, a good cushion with which to carry into Sunday’s final races.

“We had some a few exciting starts,” said Mannix, of Largo, Fla. “We got hit in the first start and got tangled up, but we got back going and ended up crossing the starting line right on time. In the second, the boat next us was called over early and had to go back; fortunately we were able to start clean and just popped out and crushed everyone.

“Today was a good day for tactician,” Mannix added. “We really played the shifts. It was shiftier than yesterday; more consistent; the lighter it got in the end, the harder it got. Playing the shifts and getting it right was the key. It helps that we’ve sailed this boat for 17 years and know how to make it go.”

The North Sails Boat Local Boat of the Day was awarded to Allen Thomas’s Farr 395 Wired, which had two firsts and a second on the day, moving them ever closer to their PHRF 1 rivals on Greg Dumas’ Warrior.

Tomorrow’s final day of the action is scheduled to begin at approximately 10:00 a.m., dependent on wind and weather conditions. Spectators can see the races can be seen from the Municipal Pier or aboard private boats.

Tonight NOOD Premiere Sponsor, North Sails, will present the best performing local boat with an award for that day’s best racing, in addition to the daily awards for the top three crews in each class. The final awards will be presented on Sunday, February 15, at the culmination of the event.

The overall winner in St. Pete will receive a trip to the British Virgin Islands to compete in the Helly Hansen NOOD Championship Regatta aboard a Sunsail 44i.

Event website – Results

Day Two Results: Top-Three Boats in Each Class

Sonar (One Design – 7 Boats)
1. Valiant, Rick Doerr , USA – 2 -4 -1 -2 -1 -1 -1 -1 ; 13
2. Bandit, Andrew & Melissa Fisher , USA – 1 -1 -3 -1 -2 -2 -4 -2 ; 16
3. Pingrrrrr, Susan Davidson , USA – 3 -2 -2 -3 -4 -4 -2 -3 ; 23

VX One (One Design – 6 Boats)
1. VX Racing, Brian Bennett , USA – 1 -1 -1 -1 -2 -7 -3 -2 ; 18
2. Commando, Andrew Walford , USA – 2 -3 -4 -4 -4 -1 -1 -3 ; 22
3. Flash Rider, Michael Norris , USA – 3 -4 -3 -2 -1 -7 -2 -1 ; 23

Ensign (One Design – 10 Boats)
1. Salt Life, Sean Adams , USA – 1 -1 -2 -2 -5 -1 -2 ; 14
2. Vision, Zeke Durica , USA – 2 -5 -1 -4 -2 -3 -3 ; 20
3. Tiburon, Richard Anderson , USA – 7 -3 -3 -3 -1 -7 -1 ; 25

Lightning (One Design – 12 Boats)
1. Dazzler, Allan Terhune, Jr , USA – 2 -2 -3 -1 -2 -2 -1 ; 13
2. 15296, Geoff Becker , USA – 1 -1 -2 -3 -3 -1 -3 ; 14
3. 15445 , Matt Fisher , USA – 4 -3 -1 -13 -1 -4 -6 ; 32

A Cats (One Design – 14 Boats)
1. ShackAttack, Ken Marshack , USA – 3 -5 -2 -4 -4 -3 ; 21
2. el Presidente, Bailey White , USA – 5 -6 -1 -1 -6 -4 ; 23
3. Zhik, Mike Krantz , USA – 4 -4 -5 -5 -3 -6 ; 27

J 70 (One Design – 20 Boats)
1. New Wave, Martin Kullman , USA – 2 -2 -1 -1 -4 -1 -3 ; 14
2. Catapult, Joel Ronning , USA – 4 -4 -4 -3 -3 -5 -1 ; 24
3. Rascal, Will Welles , USA – 6 -1 -7 -2 -5 -3.5 -2 ; 26.5

Melges 24 (One Design – 14 Boats)
1. Zingara, Richard Reid , CAN – 1 -1 -4 -2 -2 -1 -1 ; 12
2. Hot Mess, Rob Britts , USA – 3 -2 -2 -1 -1 -2 -2 ; 13
3. USA 505, David King , USA – 4 -2 -3 -9 -6 -3 -8 ; 35

J 24 (One Design – 12 Boats)
1. Honey Badger, Travis Odenbach , USA – 2 -1 -1 -4 -7 -1 -3 ; 19
2. Long Shot, John Poulson , USA – 3 -2 -4 -1 -4 -4 -2 ; 20
3. SeaBagsJ24.com, Carter White , USA – 7 -6 -2 -5 -1 -2 -1 ; 24

S2 7.9 (One Design – 6 Boats)
1. Rebel496, John Spierling , USA – 1 -1 -1 -1 -2 -2 -1 ; 9
2. Matros , Tom Bryant , USA – 2 -3 -7 -7 -1 -1 -2 ; 23
3. ALZYK, AL Wolczyk , USA – 5 -2 -4 -2 -4 -4 -3 ; 24

PHRF 1 (PHRF – 9 Boats)
1. Warrior, Grant Dumas , USA – 1 -3 -2 -1 -1 -2 -4 ; 14
2. Wired, Allen Thomas , USA – 2 -2 -5 -8 -2 -1 -1 ; 21
3. Raven, Mike Kayusa , USA – 7 -1 -4 -3 -3 -5 -2 ; 25

PHRF 2 (PHRF – 9 Boats)
1. Semper Fi, Raymond Mannix , USA – 2 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -2 ; 9
2. WildKat, Harvey Ford , USA – 1 -3 -3 -4 -2 -3 -1 ; 17
3. Family Circus, Robert Wetmore , USA – 4 -5 -2 -3 -4 -2 -7 ; 27

North Rally Race (PHRF – 8 Boats)
1. Mi Sueño, Ron Kinney , USA – 1 ; 1
2. Wing it, Michael Doyle , USA – 2 ; 2
3. Prime Plus, Mark Requa , USA – 3 ; 3

Report by event media.