2014 NOOD Regatta

Day 1:

Friday we had a crew of Gytis, Steve, Andy, Mike, and Antanas. An early boat call of 7 AM had everyone a little groggy as we headed into day one of the 2014 Chicago NOOD. As we worked to knock off the rust we accumulated from many months of not sailing, we took a 5th, a 4th, and a 3rd; we ended the day in 5th place. Mild winds and a lake of glass made for very pleasant sailing. After a nice day of sailing we adjourned to hotel Petkus for pizza and cocktails.

Day 2:

Saturday we had a crew of Gytis, Steve, Keith, Mike, and Antanas. We encountered very similar lake conditions, but the wind grew more variable throughout the day. We began to lock in to a consistent rhythm and ended the day taking a 4th followed by two 3rd place finishes. The boats ahead of us had some mishaps, and our consistency propelled us into 3rd. The two boats ahead of us were in a tie for 1st and only only point separated us from the leaders. As we made our way to the party at Chicago Yacht Club we were looking forward to Sunday to attempt to overtake the leaders. 

Day 3:

Sunday we had a crew of Gytis, Steve, Andy, Mike, and Antanas. After sitting through 3 hour long postponements, the race was abandoned. We ended the race where we had left it on Saturday -- in 3rd place. We spent a couple hours at the Chicago Yacht Club, collected our brag flag, and made our way home, lamenting the fact that we didn't have the opportunity to try to better our lot in the standings due to the high winds (30+ knots) and choppy seas.