15 FEBRUARY 2009 • The 2009 Sperry Top-Sider St. Petersburg NOOD has concluded and revealed yet again, Dave Ullman as champion of the Melges 24. Ullman (Newport Beach, Calif.) on USA-515 with Doug Fisher, Andy Escourt, Dan WIttig and Scott Liebel topped the 45 boat fleet with a whopping 12 point lead over second place finisher David O'Reilly (Charleston, S.C.) on USA-700 Ardor. "We had a great time here in St. Pete's this weekend. It's great to see young people like David O'Reilly and his team out here doing this. They are really good. I am so impressed. They will be a force to reckon with in years to come." said Ullman. In third was Alan Field (Newport Beach, Calif.) on USA-587 WTF.
The Race Committee was quick to hoist the AP flag first thing but it was short lived. Teams ventured out to the course arriving around 11 with the sun out, a light 4-5 mph breeze with pockets of a little less, very calm seas, semi-warm temps and patchy cloud cover. It wasn't long before the fleet rolled into its first start with Paul Hulsey (Detroit, Mich.) on USA-740 Hoodlum Racing blasting off the pin end, Ullman a little further up the line, more in the middle with some pretty good speed as well.
At the top mark with the fleet chasing, Terry Hutchinson (Annapolis, Md.) on USA-751 Quantum Racing finally got a shot at the lead with Joe Blouin (Tampa, Fla.) on USA-719 Wicked Witch in second, followed by Seth Seigler (Charleson, S.C.) helming USA-626 4 Sale By Owner for Ned Goss in third. Ullman trailed in fourth, while the youthful and spirited team of O'Reilly was fifth. Hutchinson extended his lead downwind, Ullman moved into second, Siegler was third all taking to the right. O'Reilly moved up to fourth taking the left. Blouin, Mossman, Field and Hulsey selected the highly favored right. Back upwind for the finish Hutchinson took the win by a mile, Ullman clinched second and Seigler held on for third. Read more...
The Race Committee was quick to hoist the AP flag first thing but it was short lived. Teams ventured out to the course arriving around 11 with the sun out, a light 4-5 mph breeze with pockets of a little less, very calm seas, semi-warm temps and patchy cloud cover. It wasn't long before the fleet rolled into its first start with Paul Hulsey (Detroit, Mich.) on USA-740 Hoodlum Racing blasting off the pin end, Ullman a little further up the line, more in the middle with some pretty good speed as well.
At the top mark with the fleet chasing, Terry Hutchinson (Annapolis, Md.) on USA-751 Quantum Racing finally got a shot at the lead with Joe Blouin (Tampa, Fla.) on USA-719 Wicked Witch in second, followed by Seth Seigler (Charleson, S.C.) helming USA-626 4 Sale By Owner for Ned Goss in third. Ullman trailed in fourth, while the youthful and spirited team of O'Reilly was fifth. Hutchinson extended his lead downwind, Ullman moved into second, Siegler was third all taking to the right. O'Reilly moved up to fourth taking the left. Blouin, Mossman, Field and Hulsey selected the highly favored right. Back upwind for the finish Hutchinson took the win by a mile, Ullman clinched second and Seigler held on for third. Read more...
