This past weekend we sailed the CAD Championship, one of many qualification regattas around North America for entry into the North American Championship to be held in Newport, RI in August.
Since my Lightning was in Montreal for the Lightning Junior World Championship, I needed a boat, a crew and sails so I was lucky enough to get Brian Hayes from NS One Design to bring a boat and agree to crew with me for the weekend. Our other crew was my 12 year old son, Jonathan who was racing in his first “real” regatta with something on the line (qualification for the NA’s!). Jonathan’s an active Optimist Class racer so he knows his way around a race course and was quite valuable calling puffs and covering for Brian whenever he made a mistake (which was not often thank goodness)! Plus Jonathan hikes harder than Brian!
Conditions could not have been better and I can’t remember two nicer days of sailing Lightnings. Standard Jersey Shore sea breeze, 12-15 knots out of the south with Barnegat Bay chop, little oscillations and a slight trend right as the days went on. This was a boat speed regatta if there ever was one and the top boats were all fast.
We set the boat up with medium prebend, tight lowers and never touched the blocks or shroud tension the whole weekend. As a matter of fact, I was able to cement the blocks into the partners with “Quickrete Cement” just to make sure nothing moved (just kidding, Ched)!
Once we were set up, we concentrated on calling the puffs for some early hike to keep the boat as flat as possible. If I felt the boat getting a little over powered as the puff came on, I eased the main a few inches but trimmed back hard as we hiked through the puff. I would also drop the traveler a few inched if the puff was sustained with my last depowering tool being the backstay (I had Brian in the middle!).
Downwind we paid special attention to staying in clear lanes especially after the windward mark set. Less gibing was better with our bad race coming because I got gybe happy going down the middle of the course as the world closed in on both sides.
The only thing that would have made this weekend better was to have had Taylor Lutz sailing against us so we could have kicked his butt too! He got the best of us in Skaneateles 70th Regatta, so I have yet to live that one down but I’m looking for revenge.
Lighntning Class 70th Anniversary Regatta
Report by Brian Hayes
Skaneateles, NY - July 4-6, 2008
You may think that a weekend with no wind would not be conducive to having a successful sailboat regatta. However, in the case of the International Lightning Class Associations 70th Anniversary Regatta, your conclusion would be wrong. Over 130 teams, with family and friends in tow, descended upon the birthplace of the Lightning, Skaneateles, NY, and celebrated 7 decades of Lightning sailing with music, conversation, parties, seminars, clinics, swimming, dancing, raffles, Frisbee, basketball, camping, laughing and, lastly, racing.
The weekend kicked off on Friday with the ILCA sponsored Super Lightning Labs. The lab format, designed by North Sails Brian Hayes, started at 11am and new topics were presented every hour at 4 different sites throughout the complex. Clinics on sail trim, fiberglass and gelcoat repair, wooden Lightning upkeep, crewing and numerous ILCA programs were held throughout the day in 50 minute long modules. North Sails Greg Fisher and Larry MacDonald were two of the many industry professionals to lend their expertise and knowledge to the 100’s of clinic participants.
The “racing” was set up so that there were 3 divisions from which participants to choose to sail in. Grand Prix (national level racing), Club (local and fleet sailors) and Wood Boat (self explanatory). With the fleets set competitors drifted (and I mean drifted) to the start area on Saturday morning under sunny skies and perfect temperatures in the high 70’s. After 3 general recalls the first race started and the 63 boats in the grand prix division began their “race” to the first mark to be followed 10 minutes later by the Club fleet and 10 later by the “Woodies”. After 2 hours the first boats reached the weather mark which was set a little less than 1 mile “upwind” (whichever way upwind is when there is no wind). The RC shortened the race at the 1st leeward mark after nearly 2 ½ hours for most teams. To say things were jumbled would be the understatement of the year. In fact Bruce Richards crossed the line 4th overall in race #1. Quite a trick considering he was in the Club Fleet!!
The RC decided to start a 2nd race on Saturday as a “little” wind developed. Many competitors were late for the start as many teams ventured back to the dock to change crews, visit family (or rest rooms) or hope for a cancellation of the remaining days racing. The 2nd race did feature a little breeze but being far ahead was never a good thing. Class President Steve Davis was one of those at the dock and was 6 minutes late starting. He managed to finish 7th!!
Saturday night featured a fabulous buffet dinner under the tent. Highlights included a presentation of a book signed by all the competitors to be sent to Olin Stephens (designer of the Lightning), presentations to the oldest and youngest competitors at the event as well as the ILCA raffle which included a new set (main and jib) of North Sails. Congratulations to the winner, John Faus.
For some, the party went well into the night and I met more than 1 competitor who was pleased to report that they did not have a hangover (yet!). Sunday morning featured a 10:30 start and similar conditions (or perhaps even less breeze?). All boats were in the water by 9:45 thanks in large part to the highly efficient land crew from the club. All the teams began the drift out towards the starting area but, as it became evident that racing may not be possible, teams began to head back for the dock and many began to hoist out to get a jump on their traveling. At 11:30 the RC blew off 3 guns and the 70th Regatta was in the books.
Highlights of the 70th from my perspective:
-
My son (8) sailed his 1st sailboat race ever with my brother and I in the 1st race of the event. He was a trooper to hang in there after drifting around the course for nearly 3 hours but 1 race was his max. After the race we sailed in and he jumped off and my daughter (10) jumped on for her 1st race ever. They can now say their 1st race was at the Lightning 70th.
-
Dick Hallagan celebrating 50 years of racing Lightnings. Dick has sailed in 5 of the Anniversary Regattas and I think he is just getting better with age. Dick and his team finished 2nd after tying for 1st on points and losing the tiebreaker.
-
Fisk Hayden and family sailing #2 with 3 generations of Haydens on the boat. Fisk, son Steve and grandson Geoffrey finished, you guessed it, 2nd in the wood boat fleet.
-
John Henry, Dave Penfield and the countless number of volunteers that pulled off the best organized event I have ever been to. No lines to launch your boat, no lines for beverages, easy access to rest rooms, easy and fast registration, great food, great music and a special drink named the Lightning featuring Mt. Gay rum. I can only hope that Skaneateles Country Club will continue the tradition of hosting these events every decade as they seem to have it down to a science! Thanks again to John and his team!!
- The low tension and fun “racing”. Everyone in attendance seemed to understand why we were there so when 70 boats all drifted up to the weather mark at the same time there were far more laughs and good natured ribbing than there was shouting. Folks swimming around there boats, splashing water and enjoying lunch.. and all this was DURING the racing!! Plain old fun..
North Sails facts:
Note: With apologies to those who did well the racing results were, at best, a side note to the success of the regatta. That said, congratulations to the trophy winners:
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2008 CPYC Early Bird Regatta
Report by Brian Hayes
May 16-18 - Westport CT
The 2008 Early Bird Regatta was opening weekend for many east coast sailors. While the weather forecast did not cooperate, keeping many sailors at home for the weekend, 30 teams did battle the rain and wind on Friday to get to Saturday and Sunday and experience a weekend of great racing with good wind.
Friday greeted the most adventurous of the teams with 50 degree temperatures, cold rain and BIG breeze. Al Terhune and I waded through the puddles and ducked a boat in the lee of the clubhouse and gave a 2 hour Flying Scot tuning and trimming talk. Afterwards, Al roamed the parking lot helping many teams with setup. We then retreated to the clubhouse where we spent 1.5 hours doing chalk talk and Q&A.
On Saturday and Sunday I spent the days videotaping the racing. We spent some time after each days’ racing reviewing tapes, critiquing performance and answering a myriad of questions.
On the racing front; In the Lightnings Dave Peck had a 1,1 1 on Saturday and a 5,2 on Sunday to dominate the fleet. In 2nd was Gianni Cuccio followed by Bob Sengstacken and Boat Grant recipient Justin Copeland in 4th (with a 1,1 on Sunday!!) In the Scots, Al Terhune had finishes of 2,1,1,2,1 to best Roger Sharpe by several points. 3rd was CPYC’s Rob Cohen followed by Jim Cummings and Chris Danilek in 5th..
Though the weather knocked down attendance a bit the fleet was enthusiastic and appreciative of the North Sails tuning/racing clinic. Lightning Fleet Captain David Fried wrote: “The North Sails clinics at Early Bird was VERY WELL received. Thank you so much for all the time and effort you spent on this regatta. We'd love to have another regatta like this in the future.” While Flying Scot runner-up Roger Sharpe wrote: “Thanks for making this regatta very worthwhile! I found the video that you shoot along with your comments very helpful. Thanks again.”
Lightnings
1. 
David Peck North Sails M5,5A+,R2
2. Gianni Cuccio North Sails M5,5A+,R2
3. Bob Sengstacken North Sails MF2,JF2,R2
4. Justin Copeland North Sails M5,5A+,R2
Flying Scots
1. Al Terhune North Sails AP Main, Snug jib, BR1
2. Roger Sharpe North Sails* LC1 Main, BR1
3. Rob Cohen North Sails LC1 Main, Snug jib, CC spin
4. Jim Cummings North Sails LC1 Main, Snug jib, BR1
5. Chris Danilek North Sails AP Main, Snug jib, BR1
*Sunday only
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2008 Lightning Indy Open and
Doc Gilbert Regatta
Winner teams swept both regattas with all bullets!
Report by Brian Hayes
Indy Open - 1st
Dan Moriarty showed last weeks’ win at the Midcontinent Regatta was just the beginning. In a wind-shortened (Too much on Saturday. Too little on Sunday) Dan, sailing with his family Tobi and Nick Beckmann, had two bullets in the 2 race series to best 22 other teams in the Indy Open held at the Indianapolis Sailing Club, in Indianapolis, IN.
Doc Gilbert 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10…
Meanwhile, in Washington, DC, Al Terhune with Katie and Todd Johnson showed that sailing the Southern Circuit is a great way to get a head start on the local competition. Al and his team also posted all 1st place finishes in the 5 race series to outdistance the other 24 teams on the Potomac River at Leesylvania State Park. A hard fought battle for 2nd was won by Jon Guth and his team over Dick Hallagan on a tiebreaker.
All results can be found at: www.lightningclass.org
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2008 Lightning Mid-Continent Regatta
Report by Brian Hayes
I traveled to beautiful Decatur, IL this weekend to crew for Todd Wake and his wife Kristine in the annual Mid-Continent Regatta. The event, normally held in St. Louis, was moved to Decatur due to flooding at the usual site. This led to a downturn in participation but not in quality. 6 races were held, 4 on a very breezy and shifty Saturday, and 2 on a still breezy but cooler Sunday.
Dan Moriarity, with his wife Tobi and Ric Bernstein had 4 bullets on Sat and a 4 on Sunday before heading for the hoist with the event locked up. 2nd came down to a last race show-down between our team and 2-time NA Champ Matt Burridge with Jeff Coppens and Jim Sears. Matt got the better of us early on in the shifty conditions and won the race and 2nd place overall.
Top 5
- Dan Moriarity MF2, JF2, R2
- Matt Burridge M5, 5A+, R2
- Todd Wake M5, 5A+, R2
- Bill Fuade
- Terry Burke M55, 5A+, R2
Complete results can be found at: http://www.lightningclass.org/Results/results08/MidContinent.htm
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2008 Lightning Long John Regatta
Report by Allan Terhune
This past weekend the Long John Regatta was held at Monmouth Boat Club, in Red Bank New Jersey. Saturday brought breezy, puffy conditions, resulting in a few capsizes, a few auto tacks and some close racing. Sunday, brought lighter breezes and some great sailing. Mitch Hnatt from Metedeconk sailed a great series to win the event, with Brian Taboada getting second.
Top 5
1.
Mitch Hnatt
2.
Brian Taboada
3.
Bill Fastiggi
4.
Bill Bogardus - North Sails
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2008 Lightning California Circuit
Report by Mike Poltorak
Cesar Romero, Brenna Baringer and Mike Poltorak, winners of the 2008 California Circuit |
Day 1, Saturday, March 29th, and Day 2, Sunday, March 30th we participated in the South Bay Series, sailing out of Coronado Yacht Club. South San Diego Bay located just south of the Coronado Bridge is one of the best places in the country to sail. The Coronado strand separates the Pacific Ocean and San Diego Bay. It has very little elevation so you get ocean wind but with flat water. Typically there are very few persistent shifts, with little 5-degree oscillations providing for a great test of boat speed and tactics. You need to find and stay in the better pressure and position yourself so you can capitalize on the small shifts. The Race Committee at Coronado Yacht Club did a great job of getting off five good Windward/Leeward races. The beats were nearly dead upwind with the downwind Runs square enough that we never had a “stay-on-one-gybe” leg. There were no runaway races and the top three to four boats usually finished within a few seconds of each other with a couple “Too close to call” beep-beep finishes. Mike Poltorak managed to sail a consistent series with only 1st and 2nds. Followed by Scott Finkboner with Pete Bellin just behind in third. The yacht club provided green beer to keep us happy and a hearty soup to keep us satisfied. If you have never had an opportunity to sail in south bay, you owe it to yourself to put this one on the calendar for next year.
Day 3 was the Marathon/Sail-Around from the Coronado Bridge to Mission Bay. Normally we have a crazy reaching start. This year, we broke tradition by having a starting line square to the wind with a short weather leg. After rounding the first mark we had a very close reach to an offset mark about a half-mile up the main channel. Poltorak won the start and rounded the top mark in the lead. Tactically it was challenging because on the one hand you wanted to protect your wind by staying high, but not get too close to the weather shore to have your wind blocked by anchored boats, buildings and trees. Scott Finkboner was able to take the lead by sailing high, and Pete Bellin was able to capture the number two spot by sailing low. Don’t you hate it when people roll over and under you at the same time? Kirk and Edna Johnson had moments of greatness keeping their boat moving and held the number three spot solidly for a long while. While playing the Ebbing tide and keeping out of the way of large Navy ships the Lightning fleet continued to sail out around Point Loma.
Poltorak and Finkboner traded leads a couple of times on the way out to Harbor Buoy #3. After rounding Mark #3 it was Finkboner that was able to take the number one spot as he led the fleet up the coast and around the “great kelp beds” of San Diego on our way to Mission Bay. We were fortunate this year to have the wind gods smiling on us, as we were able to carry spinnakers for much of the trek up the California coast. We had 8 to 10 knots of breeze out of the West to South West the whole day. Though not official, I think we may have set a new lightning time record by finishing and getting into Mission Bay in under four hours. Finkboner was able to finish first with Poltorak about one minute behind. Bellin, and Brad Gruneberg (from Sheboygan) came in 3rd and 4th respectively. Brad and his crew couldn’t help but smile knowing that back home they were still getting fresh snow. Here they were racing in shorts and T-shirts worrying about getting too much sun. We’re glad you guys came, and hope you consider joining us again. Northrop, Johnson, Colantuono and Bull came in with smiles on their faces. It truly was a fantastic day and a marathon race to be remembered.
On Tuesday, Day 4,we were in the Pacific Ocean the same venue as the 2006 North Americans. We had 8-12 knots of breeze, small waves and a gentle swell. The race committee did a great job. At the first start it was John and Jolene Northrop that timed the start perfectly. They started at the pin and crossed the whole fleet on port tack. I think the race committee had a little April Fools mischief in them, because by the time we got to the weather mark a HUGE forest of seaweed managed to park itself under above and around the mark. It added a bit of a challenge to navigate around it but everyone had to deal with it equally, so it wasn’t too much of an issue. Pete Bellin was able to take a bullet in the first race showing excellent downwind boat speed. Poltorak with long time friend and crew Kory Smith finished second with Brad Gruneberg of the Sheboygan trio taking third. Finkboner took a couple of bullets in races two and three with Poltorak taking a second and a third. Bellin with a 1-4-2 was tied for the in the lead with Poltorak for the day. Finkboner was only one point back. On shore, it definitely was Finkboner that won the party. As is the tradition, Scott made his famous Mahi-Mahi dinner and “man, was it good.”
Day 5 brought us into Mission Bay. For all you lake sailors out there, Mission Bay is a medium size pond with light and variable winds with flat water. After the first race, it was Pete Bellin taking the bullet and it was looking like he was going to win the Mission Bay Series. The whole day it was Poltorak, Finkboner and Bellin trading off the lead in tight races. Going into the last leeward mark rounding it was Pete Bellin in the lead in a finishing position that would have won him the series…. but due to a navigational error Pete went to the Start line thinking he was finishing. When Finkboner and Poltorak rounded the Leeward mark to head upwind to finish, I could imagine the expletives that surely were being shared on Pete’s boat. Pete ended up third in the race putting him second in the series. Poltorak was able to sneak by Finkboner by ducking him on the port tack lay line on the way to the finish. Poltorak won the race and the series, but certainly owed Pete a beverage or two for his misfortune.
The Mission Bay Lightning Fleet did a great job working together to put on this special event. If you haven’t done the California Lightning Circuit before, you owe it to yourself to consider coming out next year. We had great weather, great fun, and great racing.
2008 Lightning Circuit Scores
| Skipper |
CYC Series |
Marathon |
MBYC Series |
Total |
| Mike Poltorak |
2-1-1-2-1 |
2 |
2-2-(3)-2-1-1 |
17 |
| Scott Finkboner |
1-3-2-1-4 |
1 |
(6)-1-1-4-3-2 |
23 |
| Pete Bellin |
4-2-3-3-2 |
3 |
1-(4)-2-1-2-3 |
26 |
| Kirk Johnson |
3-5-4-4-3 |
6 |
5-3-6-3-4-(7) |
46 |
| Brad Gruneberg |
5-4-5-6-5 |
4 |
3-5-4-(7)-7-4 |
52 |
| John Northrop |
6-6-6-5-7 |
5 |
4-(7)-7-5-6-5 |
62 |
| Dale Bull |
7-7-7-7-6 |
8 |
(7)-6-5-6-5-6 |
70 |
| Peter Colantuono |
DNC |
7 |
DNC |
DNC |
| |
|
|
|
|
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The Lightning Southern Circuit is a numbers game. It is a 9 day, 3 event spectacle that requires a major in math and a minor in fortitude. Here are some of the numbers of interest about the 2008 Circuit:
2,998 - Number of miles you have to drive to sail the Lightning Southern Circuit if you leave from Milford CT.
171 - Total entries at all 3 events
16 - Number of trophies (out of 20) brought home by sailors using North Sails- 80%!!
12 - Total number of races sailed
12 - Total number of races won with North Sails
6 - Number of special ILCA awards won by North clients
3 - Number of Regattas held (Savannah, Miami, St. Pete)
3 - Number of Regattas won by sailors using North Sails
There are many more numbers but here is the story:
Savannah, Ga… Lightning Deep South.. March 8-9
Breeze on.. Bugs on.. Racing off (for day 1).. Racing on (for day 2)..
David Starck returned to Savannah, GA and, like he has done for the previous 2 years, dominated a deep, talented fleet of 49 boats to win the 52nd annual Deep South Regatta. David and his team posted scores of 1,4,1 to outpoint current Yachtsman of the Year Jeff Linton for the win. In 3rd was Dan Moriarity with his brand new, first time launched boat with brand new North Sails. In 4th was Neal Fowler followed by Jed Dodge in 5th.
The entire event was raced on Sunday as 30-40 mph winds made sailing on the Wilmington and Skidaway Rivers impractical on Saturday. However we were blessed with a pleasant 10 knots of leftover NW breeze on Sunday that allowed for fair race courses and a quick completion of 3 good races. A minor procedural error on the Race Committees part made the 3rd race quite interesting as a 2 or 3 boats were OCS but, due to a error in notification, these boats were granted redress and reinstated in their finishing positions. However even this minor bump in the road could not detract from what was viewed by many as one of the finest Deep South Regatta’s ever held.
Miami, FL…. Midwinters… March 11-12
No more bugs.. Lots’ less wind..
If you told me that you were heading to Miami to race Lightning’s in March and you were sailing with a total crew weight of well under 400 lbs. I would tell you that I would think you were a bit daft,unless you are Jody Starck. Jody and her team of Brenda Crane and Debbie Probst took a favorable, light air weather report and a boatload of talent and dominated racing in Miamis Biscayne Bay to win the Midwinter Championships. Sailing Larry MacDonalds boat (while Larry and family enjoyed a few days with Mickey Mouse) they scored an amazing 22 point win over Miami local Bill Mauk with his team of Jeff Eiber and Michele Sumpton. Following the top 2 was US Olympic 470 representatives Amanda Clark and Sarah Merganthaler, with Dave Whelan as their third. In 4th was the team of Al Terhune, his wife Katie and Steve Constants followed by, the winner of this years’ George Fisher Sportmanship Award, Tom Allen with Bill Pictor and John Humphreys.
Conditions for all 5 races were light (8mph) down to drifting. The Clark/Merganthaler/Whelan team won 2 races on Saturday while Tom Allens Team won the other Sat. race. On Sunday Rob Ruhlman, with his wife Abby and Dave Werley, came out of the box smoking and won both races on Sunday. Rob had a secret formula for his success on Sunday which he “created” on Saturday evening. Unfortunately he can’t seem to remember what it was.
All in all another top notch event held by Coral Reef Yacht Club and Regatta Chair Carol Ewing.
St. Petersburg, FL… Winter Championships.. March 14-16
A little bit of everything..
We all got St. Pete and were greeted with a perfect Thursday. Sunshine, warm winds, great hospitality. Then came Friday… Scattered thunderstorms along with shifty fickle breezes sent the fleet of 69 back to the dock and PRO Tom Farqhar wisely abandoned racing for the day.. Saturday brought cooler weather but good breeze (12-18 with some bigger puffs, mostly on the way in). Our team, Brian Hayes, Jay Mueller and Laura Jeffers found the conditions more to our liking and posted a 3,2,1 and, with a 6th in Sundays lighter, dying NW breeze we secured our 3rd Winter Championship besting our own Al Terhune, again with his wife Katie but with Dave Perkowski this time, by 12 points. In 3rd was overall circuit winner Jeff Linton, with his wife Amy and Andy Hayward on Saturday and Meagan Ruhlman on Sunday followed in 4th by Bill Fastiggi, Suzy Coburn & Nick Farina and David Starck, Jody Starck & Debbie Probst in 5th. The SPYC once again showed great hospitality and solid race management for the ILCA. Many thanks to the team there.
Overall circuit recap
Congratulations to Jeff Linton and his team for winning the Southern Circuit with a combination of great crew work and brilliant tactics. Jeff, the current Yachtsman of the Year, is a tough one to beat but several of us tried our best to give him and his talented team a run for their money. Anytime the overall circuit comes down to the final race with 4 or 5 teams that can possibly win it is exciting and this year proved that to be true once again. Jeff and his team always seemed to know where to go and how to get there. I guess that’s why he is YMOTY!! Congratulations again Jeff, Amy, Will Jeffers (who sailed in Savannah and Miami but became too ill to sail St. Pete), Andy Hayward and Meagan Ruhlman.
Some other award winners from the circuit:
Top 5 each event:
| Southern Circuit Overall (33 boats) |
1. Jeff Linton 74
2. Allan Terhune 84 MF2, JF2, R2
3. Brian Hayes Sr, 98 M5, 5A+, R2
4. Tom Allen 101 M5, 5A+, R2
5. Bill Mauk101 M5, 5A+, R2 |
North Facts:
- 2,3,4,5,6,7,9,10 and 18 of the top 20 powered by North Sails
- All 12 races won by sailors using North Sails.
|
| Savannah (49 boats) |
1. David Starck 1,4,1 M5, 5A+, R2
2. Jeff Linton 8,2, (RDG)
3. Dan Moriarity3,6,3 MF2, JF2, R2
4. Neal Fowler 12,1,5 MF2, JF2, R2
5. Jed Dodge 10,5,6 M5, 5A+, R2 |
North Facts:
- 1,3,4,5,7,8,9,10 and 18 of the top 20 powered by North Sails!
- All 3 races won by sailors using North Sails.
|
| Miami (53 boats) |
1. Jody Starck 2,2,3,3,5 M5, 5A+, R2
2. Bill Mauk12,4,5,9,7 M5, 5A+, R2
3. Amanda Clark 15,1,1,4,21 MF2, JF2, R2
4. Allan Terhune4,8,19,7,6 MF2, JF2, R2
5. Tom Allen 1,3,10,20,13 M5, 5A+, R2 |
North Facts:
- 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,9,10 and 16 of the top 20 powered by North Sails!!!
- All 5 races won by sailors using North Sails
|
| St. Petersburg (69 boats) |
1. Brian Hayes 3,2,1,6 M5, 5A+, R2
2. Allan Terhune 6,3,4,11 MF2, JF2, R2
3. Jeff Linton 5,8,14,3
4. Bill Fastiggi 14,14,13,5
5. David Starck 2,4,5,37(ZFP) M5, 5A+, R2 |
North Facts:
- 1,2,5,7,8,9,10 and 14 of the top 20 powered by North Sails!!!
- All 4 races won by sailors using North Sails
|
|
For complete results go to www.lightningclass.org
For photos of the events go to www.photoboat.com
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2008 Lightning Southern Circuit
Savannah Deep South
North Sails 1,3,4,5,7,8,9,10!
Reports by Brian Hayes
David Starck returned to Savannah, GA and, like he has done for the previous 2 years, dominated a deep, talented fleet of 49 boats to win the 52nd annual Deep South Regatta. David and his team posted scores of 1,4,1 to outpoint current Yachtsman of the Year Jeff Linton for the win. In 3rd was Dan Moriarity with his brand new, first time launched boat with brand new North Sails. In 4th was Neal Fowler followed by Jed Dodge in 5th.
The entire event was raced on Sunday as 30-40 mph winds made sailing on the Wilmington and Skidaway Rivers impractical on Saturday. However we were blessed with a pleasant 10 knots of leftover NW breeze on Sunday that allowed for fair race courses and a quick completion of 3 good races. A minor procedural error on the Race Committees part made the 3rd race quite interesting as a 2 or 3 boats were OCS but, due to a error in notification, these boats were granted redress and reinstated in their finishing positions. However even this minor bump in the road could not detract from what was viewed by many as one of the finest Deep South Regatta’s ever held.
Top 10:
- David Starck - 1,4,1
- Jeff Linton - 8,2,1 (RDG)
- Dan Moriarity- 3,6,3
- Neal Fowler - 12,1,5
- Jed Dodge- 10,5,8
- Bill Fastiggi - 5,17, 2 (RDG)
- Brian Hayes Sr. -20,3,2
- Bill Mauk - 4,9,12
- Richard Hallagan - 19,8,7
- Allan Terhune - 6,19,10
Complete results at: www.lightningclass.org
Also, congratulations to Terry Tyner for the mid fleet award. Terry is usually knocking at the top ten at the Deep South but this year he and his son each sailed their own boats and I’m certain Terry is more excited about Will sailing his own boat then a top ten. That said, watch out for Terry next year as I’m certain he’ll be back knocking at the top 10 in 2009!!
Many thanks to all our loyal clients. Your success is our greatest achievement.
North facts:
Sailors using North Sails won all 3 races at the Deep South!
Sailors using North Sails finished 1,3,4,5,7,8,9,10 and 18 of the top 20!!!
North Sails were used on 42 of the 49 boats at the Deep South..
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