The 2021 Helly Hansen NOOD Regatta Annapolis was hosted by Annapolis Yacht Club from April 30-May 2. Terry Hutchinson, skipper of the winning J/70, had a tough starting experience in the first race on Sunday, and he almost lost the regatta. They were buried in the start and immediately found an escape route. “We didn’t trust the Velocitek,” Hutchinson says. “We were poked, and I didn’t pull the trigger. The boat on our leebow was about a boatlength ahead of us at the start, unfortunately. It was a rookie mistake. When we set up at 40 seconds, we were in a good spot, but I felt exposed.” With the focus of his crew, Scott Nixon, Dan Morris, Gil Hackel and Jennifer Norwood-Wulff, they clawed their way back to an eight-place finish in the 40-boat fleet—no small feat—which Hutchinson says ultimately won the regatta for them. Although, they did win the next race and finished second in the last to secure the win by 7 points over John Heaton’s Emperia. “Saturday was a lot of fun because it was breezy,” Hutchinson says. “We weren’t fast in the first race, and then when it lightened up, our limited time in the boat didn’t bite us as hard, and we were more competitive. We were much better Sunday, and it’s amazing how hard this racecourse is in Annapolis. The course location was hard because the current was good on the right, but there was pressure and shift on the left so you had to balance the two. You did not want to be in the middle. In the first race, the leader came out of the right, and in the second, the leader came out of the left. Each leg was unique to itself, which kept us on our toes.” Complete results may be found at https://yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=13226.

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