Rhodes 19 Class Wins Marblehead NOOD Overall Title

Marblehead, MA (July 31, 2016) – Local teams brought home top marks as the Helly Hansen National Offshore One Design (NOOD) Regatta at Marblehead Race Week concluded today.

In the largest Helly Hansen Marblehead NOOD in years with 190 entrants, it was Marblehead locals Charlie Pendleton and Jim Raisides that won the overall title as the winner of the uber-competitive Rhodes 19 class. The victory earned team Bight Me an invitation 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.

“We had a good lead going into the day, but had to watch the guys behind us that are good at closing,” Pendleton said. “Our game plan was to get off the line and just stay near competitors.”

“Patience was really important, because we couldn’t just go chasing wind, we had to use what you had where we were,” Raisides said. “But the big thing is the communication between us. After so many years sailing together, we’re constantly talking, all the time.”

J/105 defending champion Fred deNapoli of Danvers, Mass., led his team on the Allegro Semplicita to the top spot in that class, earning the signature Wilmington Trust Leader Spinnaker for the second year in a row.

Five local teenagers, selected as the first-ever Helly Hansen Junior Crew, competed against the masters in the J/70 class. They finished sixteenth overall of 28 teams. On the Helly Hansen Junior Crew: Alan McKinnon, 19, team coach; Remi Hutchins, 19; Rowan Byrne, 17; Lilia Hutchins, 15; and Eli Hammett, 13.

For full recap… click here.

Class winners are listed below.

Laser: Marek Zaleski, Norwalk, Conn.
Laser Radial: Ryosuke Sakai, Astoria, N.Y.
Rhodes 19: Bight Me, Charlie Pendleton, Marblehead, Mass.
Town Class: Lille Venn, Berit Solstad, Stowe, Vt.
IOD: Javelin, Norm Cressy and Bruce Dyson, Lexington, Mass.
Etchells: Destiny, Tomas Hornos, Marblehead, Mass.
J/105: Allegro Semplicita, J/105, Fred deNapoli, Danvers, Mass.
J/24: Sea Bags Sailing Team, Carter White, Portland, Maine
J/70: Savasana, Brian Keane, Weston, Mass.
J/70 (Corinthian Division): Shred, Stein Skaane, Marblehead, Mass.
Viper 640: Vellamo, Colin Santangelo, West Roxbury, Mass.

Event details – Scoreboard – Facebook

Source: Evily Giannopoulos, Bonnier Corp