National Offshore One Design | Local sailors do well in first day of racing series

With near perfect racing conditions Friday on Puget Sound, the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta debuted in Seattle, and all 16 keelboat fleets hosted multiple races.

Friday's start marked the first of three days of competitive sailboat racing and the first time the National Offshore One Design Regatta has been held in Seattle.

Course A held three races, while the boats on course B finished the day with four races. As day one of the regatta concluded, 16 fleet leaders emerged, setting the tone for the rest of the regatta.

John Hoag of Seattle, Carl Freund of Oak Harbor, Tim Star of Santa Fe, N.M., Andy Schwenk of Anacortes, Chris Popich of Federal Way, and Jeff Whitney of Mukilteo highlighted the field, as all six skippers not only led their respective fleets Friday, but also finished with three first-place finishes.

Most of the competitors and top finishers were from the Puget Sound area.

Racing will continue today with eight additional fleets joining the regatta. Races are set to begin at 10 a.m.

The overall winner in Seattle 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 circuit.

The Seattle races are the fourth stop of the nine-event series.

Following Seattle, the series will set sail for Detroit, May 30-June 1.

The NOODs, created by Sailing World in 1988, attract nearly 2,000 boats and more than 30,000 competitors and spectators annually.

Compiled from a sports information report