Obsession Wins St. Pete NOOD
Photo by ©Paul Todd/Outsideimages.com
Team photo on Obsession. © Sandy Thayer
St. Petersburg, FL (April 4, 2021) – Long-time Melges 24 sailor Gary Schwarting believes he had some help from above this weekend to win the Helly Hansen NOOD Regatta overall title today in St. Petersburg.
Schwarting’s Obsession won the Melges 24 fleet and was selected among the regatta’s other class winners to represent St. Petersburg at the Helly Hansen NOOD Caribbean Championship in the British Virgin Islands in October.
“I’d like to dedicate this win to my friend George Haynie (longtime Melges 24 owner) who passed away Monday (Mar. 29),” Schwarting says. “He should have been sailing with us this weekend and I think he was watching after us and got our name picked out of the hat.”
“I’m in shock but it sounds like a ball and I can’t wait. We had a great weekend racing here with all kinds of conditions; I sailed with a group of really good sailors and fun people, and it all just clicked.”