NOOD Sailing Regatta Series Ready for Its Annual Visit to Marblehead

(Story originally published by itemlive.com)

MARBLEHEAD - The largest and most storied sailboat racing tour in the United States, the Sperry Top-Sider National Offshore One Design Regatta series, will cruise into Marblehead next week. The dates for the NOOD championships are on July 28-31, 2011. The event, known in Marblehead as "Race Week," is the final stop on Sperry's eight-city tour. Nearly 1,000 sailors will hit the waters of Marblehead Neck to contend for the event's top prize - a trip to the British Virgin Islands to compete in the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Championships.

Members Andrew Kennedy (Bat IV, J/105) and Alan Kelly (Playmaker, Etchells) will be participating in the race. Good luck to both teams!

During the four-day event in Marblehead, sailors within 10 different boat classes will compete in a series of up to 12 races, accumulating points based on placement in each individual race. The boat finishing with the fewest total points will be declared the winner of its respective class. Race officials from the Corinthian Yacht Club will determine the regatta's overall winner, based on the strongest finish in the most competitive class.

The overall winner in Marblehead will be the eighth and final crew invited to participate in the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Championships in the British Virgin Islands at the end of the season to compete aboard Sunsail 44i's against the other overall winners in the 2011 series.

Last year, skipper Russ Silvestri of San Francisco, Calif. finished in first place in the Sonar boat class to claim the overall win on Massachusetts Bay.

The regatta will feature four days of racing, beginning from noon to 5 p.m. during the first three days. On Sunday, July 31, the boats will race from noon to 2:30 p.m.

In addition to Marblehead, the NOOD Regatta series was also held St. Petersburg, Fla., San Diego, Calif., Annapolis, Md., Seattle, Wash., Detroit, Mich., San Francisco, Calif. and Chicago, Ill.

Created by Sailing World in 1988, the NOOD series attracts nearly 2,000 boats and more than 30,000 competitors and spectators annually.