(Marblehead, MA)- The Sperry Topsider Marblehead NOOD regatta featured
the inaugural J/70 New England Championship and fleets of J/105s and
J/24s-- all co-hosted by the famous trio of yacht clubs in the harbor
(Eastern YC, Boston YC and Corinthian YC). Of the 150+ sailboats
participating, the largest brand represented were J's with 42 boats (28%
of the fleet) sailing in the waters off Marblehead. The sailors were
treated to a wide variety of weather conditions and in the end, the
J/70s had very close racing with just 15 pts separating the top six.
Continuing
their string of 2013 regatta wins in J/70s was Bennet Greenwald's team
on PERSEVERANCE, taking the top spot by the narrowest of margins over
local Marbleheaders- Jud & Cindy Smith on USA 179. In fact, both
boats led the fleet from the very first day and after three days of
racing ended up tied on total points, but after the toss race was
factored in Greenwald's team won by just two points net. Joel Ronning's
CATAPULT team again managed to finish on the podium, taking third
overall with 20 pts net. Local hero Tyler Doyle (some of famous
sailmaker in Marblehead, Robbie Doyle) sailed his best regatta so far,
taking fourth in class. Also sailing a strong series was the team of
Heather Gregg-Earl & Joe Bardenheier on MUSE Powered by Atlantis
Weathergear for 5th place. Heather was also top women J/70 skipper,
followed closely by Suzy Leech on JUNKANOO in 6th.
Sailing Photo credits- Tim Wilkes.com. For
more J/70 New England's & Marblehead NOOD sailing information
