2004 National Offshore One-Design Regatta

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, March 19-21, 2004

About as Much Fun as Two Guys Can Have in a Small Volume of Space

Conditions were stellar at the 2004 San Diego NOOD regatta for the third year in a row. All three days were sunny and hazy, with wind varying from 12 to 20 knots. The Race Committee ran a total of 8 races on our racecourse in South San Diego Bay. The parties at SDYC were bountiful in food, drinks, and music. The only thing missing was a large fleet of 505s.

Of this year's four teams, three were the veterans Dan and Bill, John and John, and Mike and Marc. Newbie Ben teamed up with ace driver and current golden trowel holder Geoff to make up Team Tortuga. One other team was anticipated, but did not appear.

Geoff Nelson again manned the SDYC front on Friday morning, picking up reg packets and tracking down lost paperwork. Great job Geoff! The rigging area buzzed with the activity of I14 sailors boasting their idle boasts as they rigged up. The 505ers were a small but proud group amidst their multitudes. Setting the pattern for the next few days, those of us with dollies assisted those without. Before you knew it we were out on the water getting ready to start the regatta.

The wind on Friday hovered around 12 kts all day. Lots of rollicking, fully trapped-out jaunts upwind punctuated by occasional blasts of wire-running down wind. The teams warmed up for the long weekend in their own ways. Kitty experimented with various knots to hold their spinnaker up. Team Kaos experimented with arriving in plenty of time for the second race. In following races they were additionally challenged by capsizes and a freak gel coat removal incident. Mostly it was a time for each to ease its way into somewhat more blustery conditions than we're used to on Mission Bay. The experience would come in handy on day 2.

The beginning of another beautiful day, Saturday morning was marked by the breakdown of two cars on the drive to Fiddler's Cove. John Jr's van died in the turn lane outside the marina. By the time a group of 505ers had arrived to push the van into the parking lot, a line of apparently clueless motorists was backed up behind it, honking to get the attention the non-existent driver. Mike, after working all night to repair the gelcoat on Kaos, had to abandon his jeep where it fizzled out just past the Coronado Bridge. Fortunately he was able to pull off on a side street with his last bit of momentum. Marc picked him and the boat up minutes later, and they continued on their way.

The first race on Saturday appeared to be more of the same at first. But on the approach to the finish line, with Team Agave leading Team Tortuga by a hundred yards in a sit-down run, the wind suddenly began building. The first thing Dan and I noticed was Tortuga on a full plane approaching really fast, heading just a little to weather of us. Our eyes got wide and we jumped into wire running mode. Before you knew it, Agave and Tortuga were streaking toward the finish line in a last minute planing duel. It was fabulous.

By the time we got our chutes down and turned back upwind, we realized that this was going to be more than a transient puff. In fact, as the last 505 finished, the wind had reached a steady 18-20 kts. Yowza! On board Agave, we reviewed the situation for a while, then started sailing upwind, methodically shifting every system to its lowest power position. Eventually we had the boat moving upwind fast and in control. What a great feeling. Spinning around toward the starting line, the boat jumped up onto a plane and streaked back.

At the starting gun, three boats leaped forward and began flying upwind. The fourth boat got going a few minutes later after dealing with a sudden verticality issue. Minimal chop, no swell… we moved along faster than I have done before going upwind. At the weather mark we turned for the anticipated wire-run, and it didn't disappoint. The missing waves would have been an added bonus then for the surfing opportunities.

We made it through the gybe at the layline without capsizing. And that's when we noticed the wind start to drop off. As we rounded the leeward mark, the wind was settling in at 15ish kts. It paused there briefly before slowly ramping down for the rest of the day. It hadn't lasted long, but it was incredible.

Sunday, the third and last day of the regatta, began a little gray. There were lots of puffs and shifts to deal with the entire day. But still the wind was gusting to 12 when the first gun went off. The first beat of race 1 was hotly contested between Agave, Tortuga, and Kitty. A couple of tactical foibles, or lucky breaks, separated the three out by the first mark.

The second race of the day, and the last race of the series, was to be three legs long - beat, run, beat. This time Agave, Tortuga, and Kitty rounded the first mark together. The next run would be the most tactically challenging of any leg of the regatta. Dan and I rounded and set in a big gust, then took off on a wire run. Suddenly the gust died out, but the other two boats were still charging up on us. A quick look around - the puff is still blowing down the center of the course! Gybe over and - bam - we're back in it again. But Tortuga and Kitty have followed us and are still right on our tail. Minutes later, the puff dies out again. And this time it's a lift. Another quick look and a gybe. Now we're headed straight toward the mark on a solid sit-down run. We're still ahead, but Tortuga and Kitty have again executed right behind us. We keep a close eye on them the rest of the way, wary of a gust big enough to send them surging forward. Great fun.

When the last race concluded, the day was barely past early afternoon. The four 505s regrouped at the finish line to discuss a practice round. The wind began to build, so we all set chutes and tore off down the bay. Suddenly it was shades of the day before with steady 12+, gusts to 14. We couldn't help ourselves. Another lap and a half around the racing area took barely more than half an hour. Lot's of practice tacking and gybing in the process made it a fun training session. What a way to end the weekend.

Even though the racing wasn't the tightest, this was one of the best few days on the water most of the participants have had. On the racecourse, all the teams made constant, noticeable improvements throughout the weekend. With conditions like these, this could be a really great 505-class regatta.

Photos viewable at www.boatpix.com. Use the search-by-sail-number feature!

Bill Jenkins

Results

1 8411 AGAVE Dan Merino/Bill Jenkins 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

2 6991 TORTUGA Ben Wood/Geoff Nelson 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3

3 7773 FEED THE KITTY John Billings/John Billings 6(dnf) 3 3 3 3 3 3 2

4 7152 KAOS Mike Jue/Marc Winger 6(dnc) 6(dnf) 6(dnc) 4 4 4 4 4

5 6931 FEVER PITCH Bill McKinney 6(dnc) 6(dnc) 6(dnc) 6(dnc) 6(dnc) 6(dnc) 6(dnc) 6(dnc)