Detroit960
The Sperry Top-Sider NOOD series rolls into Detroit’s Bayview YC this weekend. The fifth stop on the tour promised to be a blast on and off the water. Here are a few classes to watch when racing begins Friday morning.
S2 7.9 Steeve Beeler and Tom Vigrass of Frequent Flyer aren’t the only travelers in this fleet of road warriors. Like the Port Huron-based Flyer program, Roger Gamache’s Matros and John Spierling’s REBEL teams have already competed at NOOD events in St. Petersburg, Fla., and Annapolis, Md., this year. So far, Beeler and Vigrass hold the series lead, having taken first-place in the Sunshine State and second-place in Naptown, but Gamache and company have been close on their heels every step of the way. Check out our video spotlight on the S2 7.9 class at the 2011 Sperry Top-Sider St. Petersburg NOOD.
Cal 25 The 17-boat Cal 25 class will be the regatta’s largest, and there’s sure to be a hard-fought battle to fill the void left by last year’s champions, Stuart Thompson and the crew of Obsured By Clouds, who won three of seven races. Look for Bayview YC’s John Shumaker (Pirogue) or Crescent Sail YC’s Paul Nuechterlein (Never Alone) to make a run for the money.
**T-10 **Of the 12 boats competing in the Tartan Ten class, several teams have the experience to take home the pickle dish. Mike and Beth Eckstein’s Demon Rum team is an obvious pick, coming off its victory at the 2010 T-10 North American Championship, which took place at Bayview YC. Doug Scheibner and the crew of Friendship are returning to defend their victory at last year’s event, but I’ve got a feeling Britsar‘s Ken Schram, who filled in for Scheibner at the 2010 NOOD Championship in the British Virgin Islands, will be doing his best to land another Caribbean vacation. And don’t count out the gang on Kim and Gary Disbrow’s Think Blue—this veteran team from Vermillion, Ohio, is no stranger to the peculiarities of Lake St. Clair.
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