From Gold Country to NOOD Country
2010 San Diego NOOD Regatta
March 20, 2010

For lake sailors Jerry Lewis (right) and Jeremy Gicker, the Capri 22 racing in San Diego is presenting an ocean of new challenges.   Photo by Michael Lovett

The best aspect of the NOOD regatta concept, I think, is the way the events bring together all different types of sailors. Here in San Diego, with 17 one-design classes competing, you get to meet racers from all across the board. I spent two days sailing on Bo Kopaniasz' Beneteau 36.7 Sorcerer with a fun-loving group of locals who jump at every chance to get out on the water, whether for a run from Newport to Ensenada, a weeknight beer-can race, or just to blast around the bay on a Laser when the wind is really honking.

At the tent on Saturday night, I met another group of sailors who are similarly stricken with the racing affliction. Jerry Lewis, Jeremy Gicker, and Rick Paulson race the Capri 22 Kudzu out of Gold Country Yacht Club in the historic mining town of Grass Valley, Calif. "People always remark how sailing's such a slow sport," says Lewis. "But I tell them, 'You don't understand. It's a fast slow.' That's why I call my boat 'Kudzu'—the kudzu vine is the fastest growing plant. It's a fast slow."

Lewis acquired his boat when the Alameda Naval Base on San Francisco Bay closed and donated its fleet of Capri 22s to Gold Country YC. "My boat was the one we stripped all the parts off of to fix up the other boats," explains Lewis. "I was supposed to take a chainsaw to the boat and put it in the trash, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it."

For years, Lewis and Gicker raced against each other in their salvaged Capri 22s on the mountain lakes of Northern California, frequently taking first and second place. When Gicker's crew jumped ship, the rivals teamed up to form a supergroup of sorts—a supergroup that's finding new challenges in the open-ocean conditions off San Diego. "We're lake sailors," says Gicker. "We're used to sailing triangular courses where every leg is a beat. We're used to the wind shifting all over the place. Out here, it's taking a while for us to get comfortable with the fact that you can tack onto the layline and set the pole and not have to worry about the wind shifting on you 15 feet from the mark!"

As they take to the ocean, these lake sailors haven't left behind all their familiar habits. They're used to roughing it, accommodations wise, at most regattas, anchoring the boat near shore on a quiet mountain lake and sleeping aboard, or camping on the grounds of the host club. In San Diego, they passed on the pricey hotel rooms and opted to pitch a tent in a nearby campground. "You should see the place," says Gicker. "There's a hookup for cable TV, wireless internet, the works. I don't even have cable at home. This is the lap of luxury. I should have brought my TV."

Have they sailed in the NOOD before? "No, we usually wear clothes," says Lewis. (Having worked at Sailing World for four years now, I've heard my fair share of nudity puns in reference to the NOOD series, and I should have seen that one coming. But I didn't, and for some reason, Lewis's quip struck me as the best one yet.)

"This is our first NOOD regatta, and we really like it," Lewis continues. "I'm a CRO myself, so I know what's involved with running good races. It's been great listening to the race committee chatter over the radio; it keeps us well informed. As first timers, it just gives us one less thing to worry about."

The Grass Valley gang's only complaint is one shared by many under the tent. "I just wish there were a few more boats in our fleet," says Lewis, whose sits in fifth-place in his 7-boat division. "And I wish we were beating a few more of them!"

Something tells me that if this were the Grass Valley NOOD, Lewis would get his wish. And he wouldn't have to deal with the biker gangs revving their engines outside his tent.

—Michael Lovett

Reprinted without permission from www.sailingworld.com Click on NOOD Regattas San Diego, March 20th report.