The Helly Hansen National Offshore One Design (NOOD) Regatta wrapped its third stop of the season with two races completed Sunday, May 6 amid challenging wind conditions on the Chesapeake Bay. Local J/22 winner Zeke Horowitz and the Uncle Fluffy crew had to face their own challenges despite starting the day with a strong lead. A bad start during race one landed them in the back of the 32-boat fleet. “We had a really good comeback in the first race,” Horowitz said. “There was definitely luck involved in that one, no doubt about it. On the final beat, we were out right hard and a big shift with pressure filled in. We probably passed 20 boats or more the last two minutes into the finish. It was one of those moments where you cross the line and you’re like, ‘How did that just happen?’” The team then had to recover from another bad start in the second race, where they were able to claw their way to first place after rounding the first mark in 11th. Horowitz said he knew all they needed was to complete the race in the top 10 to maintain their overall position, which made the eventual win even more sweet. “It was really fun to be able to win the last race in a regatta like this,” he said. “These crews sailed great and really fast, and they’re extremely hard to beat. We’re really fortunate to be in the spot that we are.” For complete event details, visit https://yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=4473.
J/22 (32 Boats)
- Uncle Fluffy, USA1090, Zeke Horowitz – 8 -1 -17 -1 -3 -2 -6 -1 ; 39
- Hot Toddy, USA1464, Jeffrey Todd – 6 -14 -1 -5 -1 -8 -13 -4 ; 52
- Dusty, USA635, Pete Levesque – 3 -6 -3 -7 -7 -24 -1 -2 ; 53