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RACINGIt’s Part of the NOOD Tradition…2008 Sperry NOOD Regatta,St. Petersburg, Feb. 15-17Cover: Hard hiking at the weather mark (Melges 24).By Doran CushingWhat happens when too manyMelges 24s occupy the samespace at the same time.Every sailor knows about the“weather liars.” Just watch thesix o’clock news as the “meteorologist”certified by other meteorologistsexplains the current weatherwhile something entirely different ishappening in the studio parking lot.In this part of the country, they arewrong about 60 percent of the time.The Sperry National OffshoreOne-Design Regatta at Saint Petersburg—St. Pete NOODfor the knowing, and “what do you mean, nude racing?” forthe unknowing—has a history of erratic, unpredicted,stormy…and boring breeze. While the weather guessershad it close, no one could predict the subtle differences outon Tampa Bay this year.While the northeastern course struggled, the middle andsouthern courses seemed to benefit from their proximity toland. It was no easy call for sailors or the race committees.Day One, FridayA light and variable breeze was predicted. Up north, theJ/105 and J/24, Melges 24 and 32 had the most boats ontheir circle and the least wind. Race one turned out to beshortened, and it was the only race for the fleet on Friday.In the 49-boat Melges 24 class, Paul Hulsey’s MichiganbasedHoodlum drifted to the finish line first with first aspinnaker, then a jib, then spinnaker over the last 100 yardswhile the breeze filled from behind. It wasn’t pretty. GeorgeHaynie’s Firewater from Davis Island YC in Tampa was thetop local finisher in fourth place. The rock stars, includingTerry Hutchinson and Brian Porter, didn’t make the top ten.With a strong turnout in the J/24 class (many of theboats had just finished the Midwinters in Tampa), local boatPigs in Hiding with skipper Warren Sweet finished second toChip Till’s North Carolina Tunnel of Love. Despite startingfive minutes after the faster Melges 24, several of the topJ/24s mingled with the Melges at the finish line in the miserablyspotty wind.Adam Rosen and Jeff Marks brought the ClearwaterbasedWasabi to the front of the 12-boat J/105 fleet with visitingBella Rosa and Achiever V rounding out the top three.Taking a customary place…a winning place…was NewWave with Mike Carroll’s Tampa Bay team, driven by MartyKullman, leading the six-boat Melges 32 fleet.On the lower (more southern) courses, each of the 11classes managed two races in tolerable but light winds. Toplocal finisher in Hobie 33s wasMatthew Petrat’s Hot Stuff with a 3-1 score. Joe Bonness of Naples posteda 1-2 in the Soverel 33 classaboard his Maria with MichaelBogatin’s Kaching of Tampa inthird. Olympian Paul Callahan ledthe Sonars with a 2-1 score sailingwith his Paralympics team in anable-bodied fleet. Mateo Vargas ofTreasure Island was third. Canadian sailmaker Brad Bostoncontinued his winning ways in St. Pete (and most otherplaces) with two bullets in the Ultimate 20 class. His father,Spike Boston, continued his winning NOOD ways with theday one lead in the S2 7.9 class. Christopher Woodle andSchock Therapy of St. Petersburg nailed both races to lead theseven-boat Wavelength 24 class with Jim Kalahar’s Limerickwith double twos.The fastest boats on the bay—at least in theory—werethe Corsair trimarans. Light air is not their favorite mode,but Ed and Lois Dixon of Marco Island opened with twowins in the C-24 class aboard TriPower and a lead over PatNugent’s Vorpal Blade from Palm Harbor. Sailmaker DougFisher led the way in the Corsair 28R class with a one-pointedge over Robert Onsgard and Robert Remmers fromMiami. Also racing were fleets of Viper 640s, Flying TigersOlson 30s, and J/80s.The St. Petersburg Yacht Club filled its traditional roleof feeding and beveraging a few hundred sunburnedsailors. Sperry Top-sider and the St. Petersburg Ships Storeoffered bargain prices on quality gear just a few feet fromthe dining tables Friday night, while Mount Gay Rum andNewcastle Ale did what they do best. Other sponsors of theevent included Gill, North Sails, Sunsail, and Clearpoint.Day Two, SaturdayThe breeze was a little better, but not much better. At least itwas warm and sunny. The north course suffered a bit more,getting in three races for the Melges 32 and two races for thethree other classes. The southern circles each provided threeraces for their fleets, but nothing to get excited about.Hot Stuff held on for a three-way tie for first in theHobie 33s. Maria kept her lead in the Soverel 33s. SpikeBoston started to run away with the S2 7.9 class, as did BradBoston in the Ultimate 20s and Paul Callahan in the Sonars.Eleven seemed to be the lucky number from day one asTerry Hutchinson of Annapolis, MD, followed the double-50 April 2008 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindsmagazine.com