The annual Helly Hansen National Offshore One Design (NOOD) Regatta got underway in San Diego on Friday morning as five classes of sailboats took to the racecourses on San Diego Bay. Eight additional classes are scheduled to join the regatta Saturday and Sunday.
After three races, team “Breakaway” leads the Viper 640 class with two first-place and one second-place finishes. Skipper Eric Chadwick, of Pasadena, Calif., attributed his team’s early success to good, strategic calls by crew members Steve Bloemeke and Kevin Thomas.
“The second race was our best,” said Chadwick. “We got out in clean air and worked the left side all race long. But the third race was the most interesting, because we were doing well upwind but then lost a lot of ground downwind. We rounded the bottom mark in fourth place, and then we saw more pressure on the right, punched it out and ended up in first at the second time around the top mark and held it the rest of the way.”
Leading the popular J/70 fleet is Jeff Janov’s “Minor Threat” hailing from Malibu, Calif. When Janov was unexpectedly called away on business Friday morning, it was up to his 14-year-old son Grant to drive the boat — his first time ever driving a J/70 — along with little brother Jordan, 11, and crew members Doug Mclean, Erik Shampain and Dave Ullman.
“I couldn’t really see anything, so I focused on where the boat was pointing and what we were doing speed-wise,” said Grant Janov. “Our tactician, Dave Ullman, did a great job of telling us where to go.”
The Janov brothers weren’t the only teens to hold their own in the J/70 class. The Helly Hansen Junior Crew, made up of five local teens who were specially selected to test their skills against the pros, ended day one ranked 12 of 18.
The Ultimate 20 and International 14 fleets also completed three races each on Friday, while the Formula 18 class held informal practice races in preparation for the weekend.
A total of 130 teams in 13 classes will compete during the Helly Hansen NOOD Regatta in San Diego, which continues Saturday and Sunday.
For comprehensive results, click here.
