Hello All,

I've made it back from Chicago and the 2009 NOOD Regatta.  What an experience.  Besides sailing with some very talented trimmers and tacticians, it was an awesome opportunity to learn from other boats with every form of professional sailors.  We had a slip right next to Nightmare, a GL 70 with a pro crew.  What a beautiful machine.  Watching the 70s sail at the starting line really blows you away, they look like freight trains the way they cut and haul through the water!

In three days we had every kind of Midwest weather.  Thursday and Friday we had rain and storms, hail and shelf clouds which made everyone duck and cover.  Luckily on Mosquito we were equiped with a laptop and satillite weather info which aloud me to try my best to keep us out of the worst of it.  Saturday was dead calm and deathly sunny.  We ended up with just two races through Saturday, with one after the storms on Friday and one in a burb of wind in the later afternoon on Saturday. Sunday was almost ideal with a light 3 to 8 knot NE breese.  After only one race Sunday we ended up with a very expensive per mile three race regatta weekend! 

Although the stress of the deliveries, weather, and an unfamiliar boat and crew wear on you, the good racing, and chance to learn a lot really made it all worth it. 

Thanks to the skippers and crew of Mosquito for having me along!

Joe