2005 National Offshore One Design Regatta
CIA competed against five other Beneteau 40.7's in seven races in three days during the 2005 NOOD's. Tom Hirsh organized our campaign in this regatta, pulling in additional help including Ron Elsasser (skipper of the Beneteau 47.7 Coup d'etat), and his wife Jeri Brown, who handled the main and pit positions all weekend. Kyle Hirsh handled foredeck, with assistance from his friend Corey on mast, as well as Russ, who did a stint on the mast on Friday. Bob Carlson and Mitch Clogg handled headsail trim, with Andre Williams, Russ Chandler, and Peter Charczenko, all taking turns grinding. Lois Hirsh was our sewer person on Friday and Sunday.
Top row (l to R): Tom, Ron, Jeri, Kyle, Corey. Bottom row (l to r) Mitch, Bob, Lois, Andre, Peter, Russ
In each of the races, CIA got off to great starts, and we were competitive in almost all of the races throughout.
On Friday we had our first two races. The weather on the first day was a bit rainy and the winds were quite variable. We started with our light number 1 headsail, but opted for the heavier number 1 later as the winds picked up. We came in 6th (out of 6 boats) in the first race, but managed to beat First Light (and almost beat French Toast) in the second race.
On Saturday, there were three races. In the first race (race 3), we sailed with the number 3 that we were evaluating, but it proved to be too heavy a sail for the lightening conditions. In races 4 and 5, we switched to the heavy number 1. Our best was race 2, when we managed to grab 4th place, beating Wiki Wiki and Silhouette.
On Sunday, we finished 6th in the race 6, but had our best race of the regatta in the last race, staying close to the overall winner, Estela B, and holding on to beat Wiki Wiki and French Toast.
There is still work to do, but overall, it was a good weekend and great chance to be competitive with the other Beneteaus.
Special thanks for pictures to Dennis St. Onge - "DA Woody"