La Porte (Texas) September 23, 2001– Racers at the Sailing World NOOD on Galveston Bay, hosted September 22- 23 by the Houston Yacht Club, had more than their fair share of unpredictability in their battle for trophies at this national event.
After two days of racing in light and shifty winds–with characteristic up-and-down performances in the changeable breeze–racers last chance to secure a trophy in a final deciding race never came. On Saturday afternoon, September 22, an oil tankship and a towing vessel with a barge collided in the ship channel. The resultant oil spill at Barbours Cut in La Porte caused the final day of racing to be cancelled.
The results of the regatta, which was presented by the Farmers Insurance Group and Mount Gay Rum, are based on two days of racing. A fleet of 109 boats in 11 classes competed.
As the last day of racing dawned, no boat needed a final race more than J/22 Wavemaker. Skippered by father-and-son team Dwight LeBlanc, Sr. and Dwight LeBlanc Jr. of New Orleans, La., the Wavemaker crew and Bonner Cordelles Slo-Poke (Austin, Texas) were in a heated battle for first place in the 21-boat J/22 class, the largest class in the regatta. After four races, Wavemaker and Slo-Poke were tied in points for first place. If the regatta was decided on a tie-breaker, Cordelle would win: the Wavemaker crew desperately needed a final race to hunt for a winning edge.
But that final race never came. Slo-Poke–helmed by John Greening–won the class on the tie-breaker. “The Slo-Poke crew sailed well, and we felt lucky to be up there and tied for first with them,” said a Wavemaker crewmember. Cordelles crew won the four-race regatta with a 1-1-8-1 record. Slo-Poke was also crowed the Lewmar Boat of the Day on Friday, a special award presented by support sponsor Lewmar to recognize the top-scoring boat on the opening day of racing.
Steve Hammerman (Houston) and the crew of Hammertime became the 2001 J/80 North American Champion after their win in the 19-boat J/80 class. As Hammerman reviewed his strategy at the regattas end, he vowed that goodboatspeed, conservative tactics, and avoiding big risks were the key to their win: that conservative approach makes most sense after reviewing Hammertimes first day of racing.
Hammerman won the first race of the series, but an early start in the second race foiled an auspicious beginning. The Hammertime crew did not realize they were over early at the start and sailed one-quarter of the way up the weather leg until a fellow competitor got close enough to tell them they started prematurely. The Hammertime crew hoisted their spinnaker and sailed back to recross the starting line. They ended up 11th in that race. After that finish, this crew knew that they could not afford another double-digit score.
Hammerman continued the regatta with strong finishes and a final tally of 10 points, 3 points in front of second-place David Balfour of Austin (Texas).
Two other classes sailed championship series at the NOOD. The Catalina 22 Spinnaker division competed for their 2001 Texas State Spinnaker Championships. The title was captured by Pete Harper of Round Rock (Texas) and the crew on Hummingbird. Bret Stewart (Colleyville, Texas) and his crew onboard One Stray Cat won the Hobie 33 class, which stood as the class Gulf Coast Championship.
Fred Lindsey of Canyon Lake, Texas, won the 27 Class on his J/27 TLT, and he also took home the Farmers Family Award–a special trophy presented by Farmers Insurance Group to the top-scoring family crew. Lindsey raced with his wife Sandra.
The Galveston Bay NOOD is the final event of the 2001 nine-event National Offshore One-Design (NOOD) racing circuit organized by Sailing World magazine. The 2002 circuit begins next February in St. Petersburg, Florida. The St. Petersburg NOOD will be hosted February 15-17 by the St. Petersburg Yacht Club.
Support sponsors who joined Sailing World for the 2001 season included: Hall Spars & Rigging, High Sierra Sport Company, Lewmar, North Sails, Samuel Adams, and Sunsail.
For more information on the NOOD regattas–and for complete fleet results of the Galveston Bay NOOD, photos, and daily race reports–visit the Sailing World website (www.sailingworld.com).
RESULTS (top 3 in each class)*
(Skipper, Hometown, Boat Name [Boat Type], Finishes, Total Points)
27′ Class (9 boats)
1) Fred Lindsey, Canyon Lake, TX, TLT [J/27], 1-1-2-3, 7
2) Mark Yeager, Dallas, TX, KNOCKDOWN [Pride 270], 4-2-1-2, 9
3) Barry Parkoff, San Antonio, TX, FLUFFY FLANKS [J/27], 3-4-6-1, 14
Catalina 22/Non-Spinnaker (6 boats)
1) Veit Gentry II, Spring, TX, WINDCHARM, 5-1-1-2, 9
2) Barney Terrell, Golden, TX, ASPASIA, 1-2-2-5, 10
3) Kenny Dykes, Plano, TX, LIL BUDDY, 2-5-6-1, 14
Catalina 22/Spinnaker (7 boats)TEXAS STATE SPINNAKER CHAMPIONSHIPS
1) Pete Harper, Round Rock, TX, HUMMINGBIRD, 2-1-1-2, 6
2) Gene & Cathy, Ferguson, Arlington, TX, BULLETPROOF, 3-2-4-1, 10
3) Gary Bourgeois, New Braunfels, TX, Triple Nickle Surfboard Ranch,
1-4-3-5, 13
Ensign (7 boats)
1) Dick Baxter, Houston, TX, CRUSADER, 2-2, 4
2) David Curtin, Kingwood, TX, THUMBELINA/Do It, 5-1, 6
3) Dean Snider, La Porte, TX, LITTLE OIL, 1-5, 6
Etchells (9 boats)
1) Michael McCann, Houston, TX, LONE STAR, 1-7-1-1, 10
2) Steve Rhyne, Pasadena, TX, YADA YADA YADA, 3-5-4-2, 14
3) Marvin Beckmann, Houston, TX, THB, 2-1-8-6, 17
Hobie 33 (5 boats)GULF COAST CHAMPIONSHIPS
1) Bret Stewart, Colleyville, TX, ONE STRAY CAT, 2-1-1-2, 6
2) Scott Self, Rockwall, TX, SOAP OPERA, 1-3-3-1, 8
3) James Henson, Round Rock, TX, RED, 3-2-2-4, 11
J/105 (11 boats)
1) Barry Brown, Corpus Christi, TX, BLUE MAX, 2-4-1-1, 8
2) Hal Haltom, Houston, TX, CAYUSE, 1-3-3-2, 9
3) Doug Hass, Dickinson, TX, (no name), 3-2-2-5, 12
J/22 (21 boats)
1) Bonner Cordelle, Austin, TX, SLO-POKE, 1-1-8-1, 11
2) Dwight LeBlanc, Jr., New Orleans, LA, WAVEMAKER, 3-4-2-2, 11
3) Farley Fontenot, La Porte, TX, TEJAS, 8-2-3-3, 16
J/24 (9 boats)
1) Bill Worsham, Austin, TX, FLOOD TIP, 1-2-1-3, 7
2) David Broadway, Austin, TX, SUPERMAN, 4-4-3-1, 12
3) Doug Cummings, Seabrook, TX, Children at Play, 7-1-5-2, 15
J/80 (19 boats) NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
1) Steven Hammerman, Houston, TX, HAMMERTIME, 1-[11]-1-4-2-2, 10
2) David Balfour, Austin, TX, KICKS, 4-[6]-4-1-1-3, 13
3) Roland Arthur, Westlake, TX, Wild Thang, [5]-3-3-3-5-1, 15
Level 70 (6 boats)
1) Chas Smythe, Jr., Kemah, TX, LISTA [Schock 35], 2-2-2-1, 7
2) Fred Prelle, Houston, TX, PREDATOR [Tripp 36], 1-3-1-5, 10
3) Tom Sutton, Houston, TX, LEADING EDGE [J/35], 3-4-3-2, 12
*NOTE: With 6 races, the J/80 class was the only class that had enough
races for a discard race.
