Team Midlife Crisis
More than 100 teams competing in 12 classes returned to the water today for the final day of racing in San Diego for the Helly Hansen National Offshore One Design Regatta, the largest national sailboat racing circuit in the United States. Bruce Golison’s J/70 Midlife Crisis came out on top, winning its J/70 fleet and the regatta’s overall title. The win earns Golison a trip to the British Virgin Islands to compete in the Helly Hansen NOOD Championship Regatta, hosted by Sunsail.
Golison, a champion sailor from Rossmoor, California, is relatively new to the J/70, which is one of sailing’s most popular one-design classes. The San Diego NOOD Regatta was the start of a long campaign for Golison, with the ultimate goal being the J/70 World Championship in San Francisco in September. For the NOOD, he assembled a team that included his brother Jay, professional sailor Steve Hunt, and Dan Morris, an Olympic-class dinghy sailor. This was their first weekend in the boat together and after a slow start on Friday, says Golison, they steadily improved, wining the regatta by only two points over Jeff Janov’s team on Minor Threat.
“I had never sailed a sport boat before,” says Golison who is more familiar with the J/24 and Etchells keelboat classes, “so the adjustment from pole-back spinnaker sailing to reaching around was a huge adjustment.”
Over three days of racing in perfect conditions on San Diego’s South Bay racecourse, set between Coronado Island and mainland San Diego, Golison’s team had its work cut out for them with the presence of several top teams mixed among the 26-boat fleet. His toughest rivals proved to be Janov and Luis Barrios’ Zumbale, with local ace Willem Van Way calling tactics.
“It was actually a pretty tricky weekend,” says Golison. “It was a little shiftier than normal. It was amazing how the three of us took turns beating up each other. I think we each probably only had one race out of the top three. Then we all had at least two or three firsts. There were guys that would mix in that were always tough. It was great racing.”
Working with a new team took some getting used to, he confessed, the biggest challenge being communication during the starts. But once Golison and Hunt clicked, their starts were perfect, and in the end, it made the difference. “On the first day they were pretty average. And then yesterday we were better as we got our communication down. And then today, I think we both felt comfortable. We said we wanted the pin, so let’s get the pin, and we had pretty good luck at doing that.”
“We have a real quiet group,” he added. “We all have confidence in each other, which is pretty amazing after one regatta. There is never any questioning. Steve is the leader on the boat. My job is to just sail the boat as fast around the course as I can.”
It was Hunt’s tactical expertise that helped them manage the day’s final race, says Golison. They went into the race with only a 1-point lead. “If Janov won the race, we would have tied and he would have won the tie breaker, but if he beat us and didn’t win the race, then we would beat him because we would have the tie breaker,” said Golison. “So, by winning the pin, tacking and crossing the fleet we got the jump on him, and from there, there were times we would slow him up, and times we’d herd him. They are very fast and quite a test for us.”
Golison will join the St. Petersburg NOOD Regatta overall winner John Spierling and crew of the S 2 7.9 Rebel — along with victors of the remaining NOOD Regatta series — in the British Virgin Islands for the Helly Hansen NOOD Regatta Championship in October.
Sponsors for the NOOD Regatta include Helly Hansen, Mount Gay Rum, North Sails, Sunsail and West Marine.
Final race results, including the top three finishers in each class, are listed below:
Beneteau First 36.7 (One Design – 8 Boats) 1. Kea, Beneteau First 36.7, Chick Pyle , Jamestown, RI, USA, 1 -1 -1 -1 -2 -1 ; 7 2. Kodachrome, Beneteau First 36.7, Jerry Twomey , San Diego, CA, USA, 3 -3 -2 -5 -1 -2 ; 16 3. Adventure, Beneteau First 36.7, Ted Butterfield , Coronado, CA, USA, 4 -6 -7 -3 -4 -3 ; 27
Beneteau First 40.7 (One Design – 7 Boats) 1. Wiki Wiki, Beneteau First 40.7, Mike Honeysett / Will Stout , Ramona, CA, USA, 1 -1 -4 -1 -1 -2 ; 10 2. Victoire, Beneteau First 40.7, Robert Atkins , Long Beach, CA, USA, 5 -2 -5 -2 -3 -1 ; 18 3. Lugano, Beneteau First 40.7, Mark Stratton , Los Angeles, CA, USA, 3 -6 -1 -3 -2 -4 ; 19
J 120 (One Design – 6 Boats) 1. CC Rider, J 120, Charles Nichols , San Diego, CA, USA, 1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 ; 6 2. JIM, J 120, John Snook , Aliso Viejo, CA, USA, 4 -3 -3 -3 -2 -2 ; 17 3. caper, J 120, John Laun , San Diego, CA, USA, 3 -4 -2 -2 -6 -5 ; 22
Flying Tiger 10 (One Design – 6 Boats) 1. Relapse, FT 10M, Tom Hirsh , San Diego, CA, USA, 3 -2 -1 -2 -3 -1 ; 12 2. Justice, FT 10M, John Harrop , San Diego, CA, USA, 1 -3 -2 -4 -2 -2 ; 14 3. Mile High Klub, FT 10M, Phillip Infelise , Evergreen, CO, USA, 2 -1 -3 -3 -4 -4 ; 17
Near Ocean Course
Etchells (One Design – 14 Boats) 1. Blond Antelope, Etchells, Keith Whittemore , Seattle, WA, USA, 3 -2 -1 -1 -4 -1 -4 ; 16 2. Elizabeth , Etchells, Tom Carruthers , San Diego, CA, USA, 1 -1 -3 -2 -3 -4 -6 ; 20 3. Lola, Etchells, Tyler Sinks , San Diego, CA, USA, 2 -3 -15 -5 -5 -3 -2 ; 35
J 105 (One Design – 10 Boats) 1. Sanity, J 105, Rick Goebel , San Diego, CA, USA, 2 -3 -1 -1 -1 -1 -3 ; 12 2. Wings, J 105, Dennis Case , San Diego, CA, USA, 1 -1 -2 -6 -4 -3 -1 ; 18 3. Current Obsession 2, J 105, Gary Mozer , Beverly Hills, CA, USA, 3 -2 -4 -2 -5 -4 -5 ; 25
SD Bay Rally Course
North Race Rally (One Design – 8 Boats) 1. F Bomb, Corsair 31, Lawrence Adams , San Diego, CA, USA, 1 ; 1 2. Rush Hour, Corsair F28-R, Robert Lang , Coronado , Ca, USA, 2 ; 2 3. Allen Wench, BB 10, Dennis Allen , San Diego, CA, USA, 3 ; 3
Ultimate 20 (One Design – 7 Boats) 1. Junta, Ultimate 20, Mark Allen , Salt Lake City, UT, USA, 1 -2 -2 -1 -1 -1 -1 -2 -1 -1 ; 13 2. Ultimate Antics, Ultimate 20, Bob Comstock , Fresno, CA, USA, 3 -1 -3 -4 -7 -2 -2 -1 -3 -2 ; 28 3. Juiced!, Ultimate 20, Jim Ulatowski , Denver, CO, USA, 5 -4 -1 -2 -3 -3 -6 -4 -4 -3 ; 35
Bucaneer 18 (One Design – 4 Boats) 1. Wonder, Buccaneer 18, Matt Davis , Phoenix, AZ, USA, 1 -2 -1 -1 -1 -2 -1 -5 ; 14 2. Easy, Buccaneer 18, Chuck Williams , Yuma, AZ, USA, 2 -1 -2 -2 -2 -1 -2 -5 ; 17
J 70 (One Design – 24 Boats) 1. Midlife Crisis, J 70, Bruce Golison , Rossmoor, CA, USA, 1 -1 -8 -3 -1 -3 -2 -3 -2 -2 ; 26 2. Minor Threat, J 70, Jeff Janov , Malibu, CA, USA, 5 -3 -2 -2 -2 -1 -1 -5 -4 -3 ; 28 3. Zumbale, J 70, Luis Barrios , Mexico, CDMX, MEX, 2 -8 -1 -1 -4 -2 -3 -2 -3 -8 ; 34
Viper 640 (One Design – 10 Boats) 1. Last Call, Viper 640, Alex Steele , Costa Mesa, CA, USA, 1 -1 -2 -1 -1 -2 -2 -1 -2 -2 ; 15 2. Cobra, Viper 640, Tim Carter , Harbor City, CA, USA, 2 -4 -1 -2 -2 -1 -1 -2 -1 -1 ; 17 3. Clown School, Viper 640, Todd Downey , Port Hueneme, CA, USA, 3 -9 -6 -5 -4 -3 -4 -4 -3 -3 ; 44
I 14 (One Design – 5 Boats) 1. Mind Your Step, International 14, Cameron Puckey , Cardiff, CA, USA, 1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -6 ; 13 2. Cheeky-Bastard/ Science Project/ Got Wave *Ohs, International 14, Aidan Mobley , Playa del Rey, CA, USA, 2 -2 -2 -3 -3 -3 -3 -2 ; 20 3. Astragulus, International 14, Brad Ruetenik , Encinitas, Ca, USA, 6 -6 -6 -2 -2 -2 -2 -1 ; 27
Full race results for the Helly Hansen NOOD Regatta in San Diego are available Final results.
