With a light-air start and a light-air forecast, St. Pete’s Saturday races at the Helly Hansen NOOD Regatta were premium in the overall play for points.

Peter Duncan’s Melges 24 USA 829 took full advantage of a fantastic day on Tampa Bay to solidify his lead in the Melges 24 Class.

“We actually just got back into the boat last week, so our strategy this weekend is to keep it simple,” said Duncan, who returned to the Melges 24 class after a three-year break and is eyeing a top finish at the upcoming Melges 24 Worlds in May. “Overall, we are looking to keep ourselves out of trouble and get reacquainted with the boat.”

Duncan’s team was the only one of the regatta’s 193 competitors to finish the series with a perfect scoreline, winning all seven races. They used the regatta to train for the upcoming Melges 24 World Championship. Tactician, Victor Diaz de Leon said the regatta was beneficial for familiarizing themselves with their new boat.

“Our goal was to learn and to work together,” said Diaz de Leon. “Matteo [Ramian], who has won two Melges 24 World Championships, has been helping us learn quickly. Tactically, one thing I learned was that a little bit more wind makes a big difference in these boats, so it’s more important to jibe and stay in the breeze more than we might on a J/70.”

Local sailor Alex Shafer on Vixen came in second, collecting the overall Corinthian Championship title. He was followed by fellow-Corinthian David King on Team 505 in third.

Bob Kroetch on Rogue, and Canada’s Robert Wigny racing Notorious rounded out the top five overall, third and fourth in the final Corinthian results line-up. George Haynie’s Firewater claimed fifth Corinthian.

FULL RESULTS (FINAL)
1. Peter Duncan, USA-829; 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 = 7
2. (Corinthian) Alex Shafer, Vixen; 4-5-3-2-4-3-2 =23
3. (Corinthian) David King, Team 505; 8-2-2-4-5-7-3 = 31
4. (Corinthian) Bob Kroetsch, Rogue; 7-4-8-5-2-4-8 = 38
5. (Corinthian) Robert Wigny, Notorious 5-3-5-10-3-8-4 = 38
6. Tim Bowman, Rhumb Runner; 2-7-7-3-15/RET-2-6 = 42
7. (Corinthian) George Haynie, Firewater; 10-6-4-8-7-6-10 = 51
8. (Corinthian) Gary Schwarting, Obsession; 15/OCS-8-6-9-6-5-5 = 54
9. Chris Carnell 3-10-15/DSQ-6-10-11-7 = 62
10. (Corinthian) Kent Picknell, Apex; 6-11-10-7-9-9-11 = 63
11. (Corinthian) Tony Stanley, Hermes; 9-9-11-11-8-10-12 = 70
12. (Corinthian) Donald Holst, Guten Tag; 11-12-9-12-11-13-9 = 77
13. (Corinthian) Kevin Estes, Still Shakin’; 12-13-12-13-13-14-14 = 91
14. (Corinthian) Steve Young, US Patriot Sailing; 15/OCS-14-15/DNS-14-12-12-13 = 95
Full Results