A ‘pour’ start at 11th annual Marblehead NOOD Regatta

MARBLEHEAD – More than 1,000 sailors from throughout the US and Canada were set to hit the waters of Massachusetts Bay Thursday to begin the first of four days of competitive sailboat-racing at the 11th annual Sperry Top-Sider National Offshore One Design (NOOD) Regatta in Marblehead.But before the races could get underway, they were called off, due to dangerous weather conditions.”Unfortunately, we were not able to host any races today, due to nearby tornado warnings and the torrential downpour we had over the Bay,” said NOOD Regatta Professional Racing Officer Peter Reggio. “It was simply not safe to have people out on the water today with these types of weather conditions.”Weather permitting, the Marblehead NOOD regatta will start today (Friday) at noon, where over 175 boats are expected to begin competing for the Marblehead NOOD regatta overall title.The overall winner on Massachusetts Bay will be invited to participate in the 2008 NOOD Regatta Championships in the British Virgin Islands in November to compete aboard Sunsail 39’s against the overall winners from each stop on the nine-regatta Sperry Top-Sider NOOD circuit.The Marblehead NOOD regatta is the seventh stop of the nine-event series.Following Marblehead, the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD regatta series will set sail for Larchmont, NY, Sept. 6-7, 2008. Additional venues for 2008 include St. Petersburg, Fla.; San Diego, Calif.; Annapolis, Md.; Seattle, Wash.; Detroit, Mich.; Chicago, Ill.; and Houston, Texas.Created by Sailing World in 1988, the NOODs attract nearly 2,000 boats and more than 30,000 competitors and spectators annually. Each event in the series features multiple days of sailboat racing for one-design models from 20 to 70 feet in length. In addition to local sailors, sailing’s top stars – including America’s Cup and Olympic champions – are well-represented at the NOODs.For more information on the 2008 Sperry Top-Sider NOOD regattas, visit www.sailingworld.com.