Richard Reid and team Zingara CAN 629 claimed the victory at the Helly Hansen St. Petersburg NOOD Regatta
Zingara’s team with Richard Reid in helm delivered a great performance winning 5 out of 10 races including the decisive last race. Ten races were completed during three racing days on Tampa Bay on February 13-15.
14 Melges 24 boats were competing at the Helly Hansen St. Petersburg NOOD Regatta on Sunday, February 15. Conditions were favourable with winds of 10-19 knots, the sun in clear blue sky and lots of planning. Canadian team Zingara CAN 629 with Richard Rein in helm took the lead since the first racing day.
Richard Reid and his team Zingara CAN 629
“Murderous shifty,” is how leading Melges 24 skipper Richard Reid described conditions on the Melges 24 race course on the second day of racing. “Our tactician had the right words, ‘You have to honor the shift.’ In other words, we just had to go with what we had, to be submissive and go for it.”
The final racing day was epic both for two leading boats and for those on third and fourth positions. Canadian Zingara and Rob Britts’ Hot Mess USA 118 had a really fun battle between each other. Starting the last racing day being one point behind from the leader Zingara Hot Mess won the first race of the day followed by USA 505 and Zingara. Hot Mess was OCS in Race 2 on Sunday but crawled back to with in one point of Zingara. It came down to a match race in the final and last race with Hot Mess with the early advantage but Zingara squeaked by to take the win in the decisive race and in overall.
Rob Britts on his Hot Mess USA 118
The battle for the third place won with a steady performance on the final day David King on USA 505 who jumped to the third position on the second racing day, leaving Steven Boho's The 300 USA 839 three points behind on the fourth position.
Steven Boho The 300 - Helly Hansen St. Petersburg NOOD Regatta 2015 - Photo: Paul Todd
Top 3 Melges 24 (14 Boats)
1. Zingara, Richard Reid, Port Credit, Ont, CAN - 1 -1 -4 -2 -2 -1 -1 -3 -2 -1 ; 18 pts
2. Hot Mess, Rob Britts, St. Petersburg, FL, USA - 3 -2 -2 -1 -1 -2 -2 -1 -4 -9 ; 27 pts
3. USA 505, David King, Bradenton, FL, USA - 4 -2 -3 -9 -6 -3 -8 -2 -3 -3 ; 43 pts