ITEM FILE PHOTO
A group of sailboats races during the 2015 Helly Hansen NOOD Regatta in Marblehead.
MARBLEHEAD — The largest national sailboat racing circuit in the United States, the Helly Hansen National Offshore One Design (NOOD) Regatta series, returns to Marblehead for its fifth stop of the season July 28-31.
Hundreds of local and visiting sailors among a dozen classes of sailboats will compete for individual trophies and the top prize — an invitation to race in the Helly Hansen NOOD Regatta Championship, hosted by Sunsail in the British Virgin Islands in October.
Marblehead Race Week attracts a highly competitive group of talented sailors from New England and beyond, providing a unique opportunity for local sailors to compete against some of the world’s top teams on their home waters. The town’s three yacht clubs take turns hosting the event, and this year’s host is the Boston Yacht Club on Front Street.
Sailors in the regatta compete in one-design class racing, where boats of the same type race against each other. Points are accumulated based on finishing position in each race, and the boat with the fewest total points at the conclusion of the regatta wins its class. Regatta organizers then calculate an overall winner based on the strongest finish in the most competitive class.
Several races will be held each day, with start times dependent upon weather conditions. Racing is scheduled to begin each day at noon.
The overall winner, announced on July 31 at the conclusion of the event, will be invited to compete in the 2016 Helly Hansen NOOD Championship Regatta Oct. 23-28 in the British Virgin Islands. In addition to winners from each of the five NOOD events this year, interested sailors can charter and compete against the overall winners at the championship.
Helly Hansen is a world leader in technical sailing and adventure gear. It also supports the Helly Hansen Junior Crew program. For the first time at the Helly Hansen Marblehead NOOD, a select team of talented young local sailors will compete against the rest of the fleet in the Helly Hansen Junior Crew.
Wilmington Trust will again be awarding exemplary performance in the J/105 class during the Helly Hansen Marblehead NOOD. Their signature Leader Spinnaker award will be presented to the top boat in the class each day, as well as an overall award at the end of the event. Additionally, premier sponsor North Sails will present daily awards for the top three boats in each class, as well as a “local boat of the day” award on Saturday.
