The 2018 Helly Hansen NOOD Regatta in Chicago’s second day concluded with two teams tied atop the J/70 class. With one final day of racing on the schedule, the pressure is firmly on the leaders.
Andrew Criezis, skipper of the top-ranked boat, Rip Rullah, said he’s been relying on the skill of his crew to manage the fleet’s highly competitive racing and Lake Michigan’s challenging conditions.
“I have an amazing team,” Criezis said. “We’ve worked really hard to push ourselves and go for competitive starts. We’re pushing the line, being aggressive and really going for a good position. The crew is doing a good job with their weight management, which is so critical in the J/70 in light to medium breeze.”
“It’s really paid dividends for us — we had great speed upwind and downwind, smooth transitions and pretty good overall fleet engagement.”
Because winds were light and shifty on Saturday, Criezis said constant sail trim was required to take advantage of small wind shifts throughout the day. Good sail trim, said Criezis, was the key to Rip Rullah ’s two race wins. The crew plans to stay on top of the weather — and hold on to today’s winning formula — to maintain their place atop the fleet.
“It’s going to be about being consistent tomorrow, not making any big mistakes, keeping our eyes on the boat, being smart and really going for top-five finishes,” he said. “Have fun while we’re doing it, and we’ll be in a good position to close out the regatta.”
Local skipper Jim Murray and his crew aboard Callisto currently lead the J/109 fleet. Murray and team have been taking great care to calculate how the variable wind, chop and fog will impact their boatspeed before making a decision on how to tune the boat for each race.
“Conditions have been very challenging out there both days,” Murray said. “It hasn’t been physically challenging because we haven’t had big breeze, but it’s been mentally challenging having to adjust everything from rig tune to all of our sail controls every race.”
Despite their comfortable lead, team Callisto isn’t yet counting on victory. The evenly matched, eight-boat fleet offers plenty of competition to keep things interesting on Sunday.
“Anything could change, so consistency is really what it’s all been about for us,” he said. “We’ve been fortunate to have a few moves pay off, but we’re not taking anything for granted. We’re going to be prepared for a range of conditions tomorrow and try to stay conservative.”
In addition to the 11 classes competing this weekend for the regatta’s overall title, local boats of all sizes took part in the North Sails Rally Race, a one-day, long-distance circuit.
And unlike other race days, the action didn’t end when the boats came ashore. For the first time at a NOOD Regatta, this year’s Chicago event featured remote control sailboat DragonForce 65 racing on Saturday evening. These small craft are currently the largest growing fleet of raceboats at Chicago Yacht Club. More than 100 boat owners joined the fleet over the past two years.
“It’s like real sailing, just in a miniature form,” said Daniel Burns, founder of the local fleet at Chicago Yacht Club’s Belmont Station.
Brian Kamilar, of Miami, Florida, dominated the five-race DragonForce series. Kamilar said he regularly competes with a talented fleet in Miami, and his winning strategy in Chicago included good starts, sailing fast and avoiding collisions. Kamilar won three races and aced the fleet on a borrowed boat.
DAY TWO RESULTS
J 70 (One Design – 13 Boats)
Rip Rullah, J 70, Andrew Criezis, Chicago, IL, USA, 3 -3 -1 -1 ; 8
Empeiria, J 70, John Heaton, Wilmette, IL, USA, 1 -2 -3 -2 ; 8
Berteau Group, J 70, Sarah Renz, Chicago, IL, USA, 2 -7 -5 -7 ; 21
J 105 (One Design – 10 Boats)
Gryphon, J 105, Bruce Stone / Nicole Breault / Sam Powers, San Francisco, CA, USA, 1 -1 -1 -1 ; 4
The Asylum, J 105, Jon Weglarz, Chicago, IL, USA, 2 -6 -2 -5 ; 15
Vytis, J 105, Gyt Petkus, la grange, IL, USA, 6 -3 -3 -3 ; 15
J 88 (One Design – 8 Boats)
Exile, J 88, Andy Graff, Chicago, IL, USA, 1 -2 -2 -3 ; 8
Banter, J 88, Ben Marden, Chicago, IL, USA, 3 -4 -1 -1 ; 9
Windsong, J 88, Tim Wade, Bowling Green, OH, USA, 4 -1 -3 -2 ; 10
J 109 (One Design – 8 Boats)
Callisto, J 109, Jim Murray, Lake Bluff, IL, USA, 4 -1 -2 -3 ; 10
Blackfin, J 109, Keith Eickenberg, Naperville, IL, USA, 1 -4 -5 -4 ; 14
Slapshot II, J 109, Scott Sims, Wilmette, IL, USA, 5 -3 -1 -6 ; 15
J 111 (One Design – 12 Boats)
Kashmir, J 111, Karl Brummel / Steve Henderson / Mike Mayer, Chicago, IL, USA, 3 -2 -1 -3 ; 9
Shamrock, J 111, Jeffrey Davis, Cleveland, OH, USA, 4 -3 -3 -1 ; 11
No Quarter, J 111, Mark & Colin Caliban, Tinley Park, IL, USA, 1 -5 -6 -2 ; 14
Farr 40 (One Design – 8 Boats)
Norboy, Farr 40, Leif Sigmond / Marcus Thymian, Riverwoods, IL, USA, 2 -3 -1 -5 ; 11
Eagles Wings, Farr 40, John Gottwald, Glencoe, IL, USA, 6 -2 -3 -1 ; 12
Flash Gordon 6, Farr 40, Helmut and Evan Jahn, Chicago, IL, USA, 3 -1 -6 -2 ; 12
Beneteau First 40.7 (One Design – 9 Boats)
Mojo, Beneteau First 40.7, Gary Powell/ Scot Ruhlander, Chicago, IL, USA, 1 -2 -5 -1 ; 9
La Tempete, Beneteau First 40.7, Thomas Weber, St Charles, IL, USA, 2 -5 -1 -3 ; 11
Das Boot, Beneteau First 40.7, Jay Muller, Chicago, IL, USA, 5 -1 -4 -2 ; 12
PHRF 1 (3 days) (PHRF_ToT – 7 Boats)
Sin Duda!, Santa Cruz 52, Lindsey Duda, Chicago, IL, USA, 1 -1 -3 -5 ; 10
Eagle, Sydney 38, Shawn/Jerry O’Neill, Chicago, IL, USA, 3 -5 -1 -2 ; 11
Natalie J, TP 52, Philip O’Niel III, Bloomfield Hills, MI, USA, 2 -3 -6 -1 ; 12
Tartan 10 (One Design – 22 Boats)
Diamond Girl, LS 10, Amy & Rick Cermak, Racine, WI, USA, 1 -1 -2 ; 4
Winnebago, LS 10, Tim Rathbun, Joliet, IL, USA, 2 -8 -1 ; 11
Erica, T-10, Brian Kaczor, New Lenox, IL, USA, 3 -4 -4 ; 11
Beneteau First 36.7 (One Design – 10 Boats)
Soulshine, Beneteau First 36.7, Jarrett Altmin, Chicago, IL, USA, 7 -1 -2 ; 10
Veni Vidi Veatchi, Beneteau First 36.7, Jason Veatch, Clarendon Hills, IL, USA, 1 -5 -4 ; 10
Joie de Vie, Beneteau First 36.7, Donna Hastings, Mt. Prospect, IL, USA, 2 -2 -6 ; 10
PHRF 2 (3 Days) (PHRF_ToT – 8 Boats)
Cayuse, McPhearson 35, Team Cayuse, Chicago, IL, USA, 3 -1 -1 ; 5
Archimedes III, C&C 115, Joe Hummel, Wilmette, IL, USA, 2 -2 -2 ; 6
NoMaTa, J 35, Daniel Leslie, Winthrop Harbor, IL, USA, 1 -3 -3 ; 7
North Sails Rally – ORR (Sat Only) – Cruising (ORR – 5 Boats)
Perico, Sabre 402, Ryan Johnson, Chicago, IL, USA, 1 ; 1
Intangible, Tartan 3700, Tom Falck, Burr Ridge, IL, USA, 2 ; 2
Broderi, Beneteau 40.7, Robert Kolar, Chicago, IL, USA, 3 ; 3
North Sails Rally – ORR 1 (Sat Only) – Offshore Racing (ORR – 12 Boats)
SKYE, Nelson Marek 46, Jeff & Jane Hoswell, La Grange, IL, USA, 1 ; 1
Renegade, J 133, Thomas Papoutsis, Winnetka, IL, USA, 2 ; 2
Hiwassee, Farr 395, Ian Fisher, River Forest, IL, USA, 3 ; 3
North Sails Rally – ORR 2 (Sat Only) – Offshore Racing (ORR – 13 Boats)
Paradigm Shift, C&C 115, Dave Dickerson, Hinsdale, IL, USA, 1 ; 1
Maggie Mae, Beneteau First 36.7, Peter Wright, Hinsdale, IL, USA, 2 ; 2
Providence, Ericson, Jerry & Greg Miarecki, Chicago, IL, USA, 3 ; 3
DragonForce 65 (Sat Only) (One Design – 24 Boats)
Kamilar, Brian Kamilar, USA, 10 -1 -1 -1 -4 -1 ; 18
DragonKiller, Dragonforce, Martin Alice, Chicago, IL, USA, 6 -4 -4 -2 -1 -8 ; 25
BLUEHHO, DragonForce 65, Daniel Burns, Highland Park, IL, USA, 5 -5 -2 -3 -12 -7 ; 34
