Little wind, but lots of sailing in Race Week

MARBLEHEAD – In conjunction with the 125th running of Marblehead Race Week, the oldest continuous gathering of amateur sailing in North America, the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta continued on Massachusetts Bay Friday afternoon.Ten classes sailed in light winds to kick off a full weekend of racing.Overcoming a morning postponement, a weak sea breeze arrived on the Bay, paving the way for a challenging day of light air racing. Marblehead co-skippers Pete Kaznoski and Even Cooke aboard Sundance in the Rhodes 19 class handled the 5-knot winds well and secured Sundance first place overall heading into the weekend.In celebration of Marblehead Race Week’s milestone, Wilmington Trust is awarding a leader spinnaker to the winning boat in each day’s heat for the J/105 fleet. The overall winner for Friday was skipper Chris Lund and his crew aboard Whomper.The Rye, N.H. team posted an impressive score of just four points after two races to snag the class lead. The J/105 boat with the lowest cumulative score at the end of the weekend will be awarded the Wilmington Trust spinnaker to keep at Sunday night’s awards ceremony.”It’s an honor to have the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta series finish its season at the 125th Marblehead Race Week,” said George Brengle, Sailing World’s director of marketing. “We were able to make the most of the winds today and get in some good racing. We’re hopeful for even better conditions throughout the weekend and have a memorable finish for this landmark anniversary.”The overall winner in Marblehead will be invited to participate in the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Championships in the British Virgin Islands at the end of the season to compete against the other overall winners in the 2014 series, courtesy of Sunsail.In addition to Marblehead, the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta series was also held St. Petersburg, Fla., San Diego, Calif., Annapolis, Md., Seattle, Wash. and Chicago, Ill. this year.Created by Sailing World in 1988, the NOOD series attracts over 1,000 boats and more than 20,000 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. Competitive sailors rate the NOODs as the top national event in each region of the country.