Marblehead NOOD (New England Championships) July 25-27

[Paul Zinger]

Registration's open!

http://www.yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=941

[Peter Beardsley]

This is the Viper New England Championship in 2014, 3 days of racing in Marblehead, should be one of the larger turnouts of the season with moderate luck.  Sign up early and often.

[Eddy Parker]

Just got off the phone with my friend Cindy over at Boston Yacht Club and someone has the gall to book a wedding on the weekend of the NOOD.  Where should we stay while there?

[Doug Slocum]

Hey Eddy,

With Boston YC taken up by a wedding, and Eastern YC out of commission due to a fire in the clubhouse, accommodations are hampered heavily in Marblehead.

The Marblehead Inn, and Harbor Light Inn are both B&Bs in town, but definitely not the cheapest alternative.

Hotels in Danvers are typically a 20-30 minute drive away, but cheaper.  I forget what is available in Salem, but that's probably your best bet if there are openings. 

[Peter Beardsley]

Now up to 15 entries.  More to come - sign up today though. 

[Mark Engelhardt]

The NOR says:   "Moorings for the regatta may be arranged by calling the Eastern, Corinthian,
or Boston Yacht Clubs. Boats from out of town will need to arrange for a mooring. The Viper 640's, Stars and Finns are the only fleets with
haul-out privileges this year."

Where will the Vipers be?  Do I need to email/call someone to arrange the details? 

Mark
P.S. Tomorrow is the last day to pay before the price goes up!

[Peter Beardsley]

I am planning to be on the Eastern YC pier near the hoist.  Decent spot, easy hoist access. 

[Cole Constantineau]

Hey Mark!

I'm not sure of how this works with the yacht clubs in Marblehead, but it seems that Eastern and Boston have the best dry-sailing areas, so it would probably end up being those guys that host out of town vipers.  Otherwise, I do think we have room at Marblehead Sailing Center.  You should contact Doug Slocum for info on Eastern YC or Kay Vanvalkenburg for info on Parker's..  Will message you their phone #'s..

Cheers,

Cole

[Matt Rowlinson]

We have previously sailed out of Eastern when we have come to Race Week in the past; would be very happy to do so again if that will be possible. Are there still Viperers who are members there?

"Grendel" CAN 70

[Peter Beardsley]

This is the note Doug sent me from EYC's waterfront manager when I asked Doug about storage a few weeks ago:

"We will not be able to extend storage to NOOD Regatta participants in the boatyard. The drysailing yard is full. The Eastern pays the town of Marblehead for Sattlelite parking.  There is trailer storage available at Riverhead beach for NOOD Regatta participants.   Is the Viper hauling and launching each day?  Hauling, launching, and launch service is included in the event due to the Eastern being a host of the event. There is no need to register separately.  Vipers have been located on the stone pier adjacent to the cranes during past NOOD regattas.  Vipers will have to coexist with dinghies on the pier this year.  Eastern Yacht Club is the only host of Junior Race Week.  We are very specific regarding arrival times for participants in the Senior Division of the event.  Senior Race Week starts at6:00pm on Wednesday July 23rd and it ends on Sunday July 27th. Senior NOOD Regatta participants should not arrive prior to the start time listed or be on the property after the completion of the event."

[Ed "Buttons" Padin, Class Administrator]

Viper 2014 New England Champs start today as part of the Sperry Tospider NOOD Regatta in Marblehead, MA sponsored by Sailing World magazine. The forecast is for light winds today and there was chatter on the docks last night whether there would be enough breeze to actually race.

16 boats have registered for the regatta but two have had to drop out for personal/business reasons and one probably will miss today's sailing. Regardless, it's great to be back in Marblehead, host city of our 2012 North Americans. Activities will be centered around the spectacular Corinthian Yacht Club and an enjoyable weekend is expected by all.  BP

[Ed "Buttons" Padin, Class Administrator]

The Viper New England Championship regatta got off today after a 90 minute shore postponement. As Peter Beardsley said, not even the AP flag had enough wind to fly. Finally at a bit after 1300 racing started. An even dozen boats hit the starting line today with Justin Scott joining the fray tomorrow.
The breeze was out of the southeast at about 8 – 10 knots with a pretty calm sea out in the ocean.  The RC, headed today by ace PRO Peter Reggio set a course C (windward/leeward twice around) and off we went. The original breeze was from the 180 degree range, shifted to 190 and then back to approximately the original course.
It was a bit of a crap shoot picking the sides of the windward leg to sail. There weren't many whitecaps to call pressure, but those that went left upwind ended-up on the top of the fleet. That was the story of the day as the wind moderated, increased, and moderated again. A total of three races were held and each was won by Tom Loutrel from host club Corinthian YC. Following Tom in all three heats were Dave Nickerson and Moise Solomon with six points reflecting his three seconds (Dave and Moise—counter to this report—punched the right corners of the first two races and came-out standing well—for others the right didn't payout). Peter Beardsley, who only rolled into Marblehead at crack of dawn this morning, stands in third. Jeff and Doug Slocum are in third, a point behind Beardsley and ahead in a tie-breaker with Canadians Mark and Matt Rowlinson.
Tomorrow's forecast is for winds to start light but build in the afternoon to 13-14 knots. Sunday, on the other hand, has forecasts of thunderstorms. Regardless, it's great to be sailing in Marblehead.

Full results: http://yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=941

[Ed "Buttons" Padin, Class Administrator]

The Viper 640 Class New England Championship was sailed over three days during the 2014 Sperry Top-Sider Marblehead NOOD Regatta sponsored by Sailing World. A total of nine races were sailed but the final results would not be determined until the very last race.

Friday's racing was delayed over an hour due to lack of wind. When it did fill-in from the south, the Vipers were able to get in three races for the day. In each race, Marblehead native and now Charleston, South Carolina resident Viper sailor Tom Loutrel, sailing with John Bowden and Karl Schutte aboard Viper 221 Choppy Seas, took the gun in light air races sailed over sometimes choppy seas. Following Loutrel in second for all three races were co-skippers Moise Solomon and Dave Nickerson sailing with sister Sarah Enright. This pair of boats would set the tone for the remainder of the regatta despite the diligent efforts of Peter Beardsley who was sailing with Colin Santangelo and Rachel Beardsley.  After racing, North Sails ran an organized debrief with Andreas Josenhans, Chuck Allen, Brian Hayes, Will Welles, and Doug Slocum, complete with photo and video analysis from the day's racing, which helped everyone up their game for the rest of the weekend, though the fleet did their best to forget what they learned at Maddie's Sail Loft later that evening.

Saturday's racing started on time with winds building and softening throughout the day. The highest winds registered were in the low teens  as the Corinthian Yacht Club race committee completed four races for the Vipers. Four different Vipers won the four races, and Beardsley and Nickerson/Solomon tied for first on the day, but after six races, it was still pretty much a two boat regatta with Loutrel enjoying a three point lead over Solomon/Nickerson going into the final day's racing.

Sunday started with sun and a light breeze but the forecast was for major thunderstorms to roll in during the early afternoon. The fleet went out to the course to be met by grey skies and rain as the RC started the eighth race. The occasional sound of thunder could be heard in the distance to the southwest, but the RC's close eye on the radar allowed them to get off the final two races.  The leaders banged right off the line in Race 8 in full hiking conditions and big waves in hopes of finding a forecasted righty and less chop in a rapidly building sea state.  Loutrel led Nickerson/Solomon out of the right corner, and built his lead around the course to take the bullet and a one-point lead going into the final race, along with a big tie-breaker advantage in favor of Loutrel. 

With the winds lightening and other fleets sent ashore after only a single race, the RC opted to send the Vipers and J70s on a ninth race despite the approaching  storm front.  Several boats tangled in close quarters on the heavily pin-favored line, with Loutrel being slowed the worst.  Class Governor Justin Scott took the lead from Beardsley halfway up the beat after forcing the Class President to the right just before the wind clocked left 25 degrees, allowing Scott to win the final race.  Nickerson/Solomon held on for second, and when the RC radioed that the race  would be shortened at the leeward gates, the question was whether Nickerson/Solomon would be able to keep two boats between himself and Loutrel.  A wild scramble at the gates saw Loutrel drop back to sixth, running out of racecourse and giving Nickerson and Solomon the 2014 Viper New England Championship by three points.  Beardsley defended his third place position with two thirds the final day.

As the rains came in and the wind died totally, the Vipers were the last boats on the course and appreciated the RC coming along to tow everyone to safety in the downpour.
Loutrel summed-up the weekend saying, "It was great regatta with challenging conditions: light and shifty winds with current and chop. There was a lot of close racing and tights starts. The weather was sunny and beautiful with exception of Sunday. That was a tough last race, after a great weekend of sailing, I'm not sure that was the best race to decide the regatta; but it was the same for everyone."

Nickerson noted that "Those guys are really good and have come up to speed in the Viper very quickly. They were really fun to sail against. What was also fun is that out of nine races six different boats won at least one heat indicating how close the racing really was for the overall fleet."

While the key action was at the front of the fleet, there was also a lot of competition in the middle of the pack, too. Jeff and Doug Slocum finished in fourth with line scores including a win in Race 7 followed by local sailor and Viper Governor Kay VanValkenburgh in fifth. VanValkenburgh sailed with Karen Kingsbury and Buttons Padin and took the gun in Race 4. The win in the final race went to the other Viper Governor, Justin Scott, sailing with Patrick Slattery and Nicole Stuart.

It was a fun regatta with lots of close racing in diverse and challenging conditions. Next on the calendar for the Viper Class in the northeast is the Great Lakes Championship and Canadian National Championship to be sailed during the CORK Olympic Classes Regatta in Kingston, Ontario from August 16-18.

Results: http://www.yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=941
Photos:  http://www.sailingworld.com/photos?dom=slw&loc=mainnav&lnk=photos
Videos: click on individual race day reports - http://www.sailingworld.com/nood-regattas/marblehead?dom=slw&loc=mainnav&lnk=marblehead