Mike Pentecost of Ranchos Palos Verdes, CA, had another big regatta over the March 16-18 weekend ending up on top of the 16-boat Viper division and then being named the overall winner of the regatta. Mike shares his thoughts on the San Diego NOOD with his fellow Viperers:

San Diego is a super fun venue for racing, with lots of great restaurants and nightlife, and excellent yacht clubs. This was my first time doing the NOOD here. I was very pleased with the 16-boat turnout which made racing exciting.

Coronado Bay is a challenging place to sail, as it is known for big wind shifts.  We experienced that in the extreme, with shifts of 10° to 40° every day, in almost every race. We were blessed that the unseasonable rain predicted, didn’t hit us while we were racing.

With nine races over three days, with no throw outs, our number one strategy was just to be consistent. One  thing that helped was our decision to start in the middle of the line, to minimize damage from the wind shifts. We also felt it was important to stay as close to the leaders as possible at all times. Saturday was the hardest day, with four races, which was really taxing both physically and mentally. Once we were fortunate enough to gain the lead in the regatta, we worked hard just to protect it, and not necessarily focus on winning the races.

My team of Garrett Brown and Chuck Tripp did a great job. It was also super fun to work with everybody in the fleet who really helped each other out during set up, breakdown, etc. Our class also held its own with beers at the docks and cocktails in the bar. Great group! I will definitely be back next year. We feel very fortunate to have been selected as boat of the regatta, to represent the Viper class.

Final NOOD Recap and Mike Pentecost interview video HERE.

Results HERE.