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2010 Lightning Spring Classic Regatta
Report by Nick Turney
This past weekend I attended the 26th annual Lightning spring classic regatta. The Members of Pymatuning yacht club host this great event year after year and everyone always leaves with a smile. Thirty nine boats attended the event this year. Friday evening the early arrivers where greeted to cold beverages, hot dogs, and stories of great times had at PYC. The great thing about Pymatuning yacht club is that everyone is hosted in trailers on site. You show up at the event and park your car till you leave on Sunday. Saturday morning was signs of a day of sailing and that is was. A great North westerly breeze greeted the 39 competitors for 2 races in the morning and 2 races after lunch. The racing was very tight all day leaving the top 6 boats within 2 points of each other going into Sundays racing. The rule of thumb at Pymatuning Yacht Club is to be leading at the cocktail party Saturday night, for the past 4 year consecutive years they have not raced on Sunday. This year was different, we got 2 races in on Sunday in some pretty crazy conditions. There were a few moments in each race where we saw 70 degree wind shifts. The race committee did a fantastic job moving the marks around and chasing the wind shifts. In the end of the event Team Stark Naked convincingly won the event. North Sails Won every race and 35 out of 39 boats where armed with North Sails. A big thank you to PYC and all the great members that put this event together. If you didn’t make it this year make sure you add it to your schedule next year.
Top 5:
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 David Starck, Jody Starck, Ian Jones- North M5 Main, 5A+ jib, R2 Spin
- Larry McDonald, Robbie Robertson, Kevin Robertson- North M5 Main, 5A+ jib, R2 Spin
- Ryan Ruhlman, Nick Turney, Martha Fisher- North MF2 main, JF2 jib, R2 spin
- Dan Moriarty, Toby, Moriarty, Stu Fisher- North MF2 main, JF2 jib, R2 spin
- Jamie Allen, Jay Deakin, Chantel Leger- North M5 main, 5A+ jib, R2 spin
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2010 Lightning Long John Regatta
Report by Allan Terhune
This past weekend, the 2010 Lightning Season opened in the Northeast with the Traditional Lightning Long John Regatta at Monmouth Boat Club in Red Bank NJ. 27 boats attended, which is a great turn out for this event. 3 races were sailed on Saturday (including 11 general recalls) in some nice sailing conditions ranging from 5-15knots. Sunday the weather turned bad, with little wind, 48-50 degree temps and pooring rain, so there were no races on Sunday.
My team of Katie (in her first regatta back since Cameron was born) and Jin Millar had a good day Saturday to win the Event. Bill Fastiggi from Vermont was 2nd, with Gianni Cuccio Third, Justin Copland 4th and Jamie Allen From Montreal 5th.
It was a great event and next year is the 50th Anniversary Long John, and they are hoping to get 50 boats again like the old days!
Top 5:
- Allan Terhune (North MF2 main, JF2 jib , R2 spinnaker)
- Bill Fastiggi
- Gianni Cuccion (North M5 main, 5A+ jib , R2 spinnaker)
- Justin Copeland (North M5 main, 5A+ jib , R2 spinnaker)
- Jamie Allen (North M5 main, 5A+ jib , R2 spinnaker)
Event photos: http://web.mac.com/monmouthboatclub/MBC/Photo_Galleries.html
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2009 Lightning Atlantic Coast Champs
Report by Allan Terhune
This past weekend 59 boats went to Toms River Yacht Club for the Lightning ACC. This is the site of the 2010 North Americans and was a tune up regatta for many of the teams going to the the NA’s this year and Worlds as well.
Many teams arrived on Friday for some practice and tuning. Jeff Linton and I spent a good part of the day tuning and doing some sail checking with Greg for the Fisher sail program. Ched and Dave Starck were out all day as well, and Ched was checking out his new mains and jibs. It was a very productive day and I am sure Greg will send out a note with some pictures as well. I am sure Ched also has comments about what he learned.
Saturday was a good day of racing. We got 3 races in with a good seabreeze starting off around 8-10 and building for 15-20. One thing was for sure, the motor boat navy was out and there was a LOT of motor boat chop. The fleet got in 3 long but challenging and fun races on Saturday. After day one, Dave Starck was leading by two points over Bill Fastiggi and my team who were tied for second, followed by Bill Healy and Marcus Eagan.
Sunday brought a weird system breeze that took a while to die so the races did not start until 1pm. Once the breeze filled, we were again greeted with a 15-18 knot sea breeze…My team won the day with a 1-3 but Dave Starck and team sailed a 4-1 to win the regatta by one point. Third place was Bill Healy, 4th was Geoff Becker and 5th place was Jody Lutz.
Toms River did a great job, and it was fun racing.
Top 5:
1. Dave Starck , Jody Swanson Starck, Ian Jones. M5, 5A+, R2
2. Allan Terhune, Katie Terhune, Sarah Mergenthaler MF2, JF2, R2
3. Bill Healy, Tim Healy, Nicole Breault
4. Geoff Becker, Dan Rabin, Bill Ward
5. Jody Lutz, Jason Lutz, Matty Schon – M5,5A+, R2
For full results go to: http://www.regattanetwork.com/clubmgmt/applet_regatta_results.php?regatta_id=2098
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2009 Lightning Dixie District Champs
Report by Allan Terhune
22 boats competed in the Lightning Dixie Districts at the Southern Maryland Sailing Association, in Solomons Island, MD. 2 Light Air Races were sailed on Saturday and 3 races in Light to Moderate conditions were sailed on Sunday. My team, with my wife Katie and Collin Kirby, won the event with 7 points. Jon Guth and Steve Constants tied for 2nd with Jon beating Steve on the tie breaker. Charlie Wardwell sailed well to finish fourth, followed by Nabeel Alsalam. SMSA did a great job running quality races in tough conditions, especially on Saturday. The entire group is working very hard and the level of competition is clearly getting better as every inch of the racecourse is hard fought. It was a fun event and is a great beginning to a fun summer of sailing in the Dixie District Area!
Top 5:
1. Allan Terhune MF2, JF2, R2
2. Jon Guth MF2, JF2, R2
3. Steve Constants, M5, 5A+, R2
4. Charlie Wardwell
5. Nabeel Alsalam M5,5A+, R2
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2009 Lightning Early Bird Regatta
Report by Brian Hayes
The 2009 Early Bird Regatta was held on May 16-17 at Cedar Point Yacht Club in very “spring-like” weather. And by “spring-like” I mean cool, cloudy and rainy on Saturday and breezy, cloudy and COLD on Sunday. The “less than Chamber of Commerce” conditions was certainly a factor in attendance at this years’ event but 11 hearty Flying Scot teams and 8 game Lightning crews splashed their boats and opened the Long Island Sound season.
Saturday featured a noon start time and all 19 teams headed out the Saugatuck River to rendezvous of Compo Beach. PRO Dick Thackaberry set up a 8/10 mile beat in a very nice 8-10mph easterly and 5 very fun races were run. In the Lightning Fleet Josh Goldman, the regatta chairperson, had a “career day” winning all 5 races against some very solid competition. In the Scot fleet I was able to coerce Chuck Swenson to sail and we also had a great day winning all 5 races.
The fleet landed at the dock by 5pm and we were all able to watch the Preakness Stakes on the giant projection TV at the club. My horse finished dead last! Dinner was exceptional and featured fine wine, cold beer and more food than should be served at a regatta. Lemon chicken, chicken marsala, 2 types of pasta, calamari and spinach salad. The only thing missing was dessert (Good thing Ched wasn’t there!).
At 6am Sunday a cold front pressed through and temperatures plummeted and the breeze kicked in registering 20-25+ and the wind chill registering 44 degrees at the CPYC weather station. After PRO Thackaberry announced that “as soon as one boat flips we are calling the races” the Flying Scot teams voted with their feet, decided 5 races was plenty, and packed it up to head home to tackle the ‘honey-dew” list. Meanwhile 7 Lightning teams headed out to do battle in a shift, puffy NNE breeze. Jay Mueller and Alex Ross, sharing helming duties, had the best day on Sunday with a 1,2,1 but Goldmans 2,1,4 kept him easily in 1st place. Jay and Alex were 2nd followed by Tim Milhiser, in his brand new boat, in 3rd.
In the Scot fleet Saturday’s results were the final results. We were followed in 2nd by Neil Farrow and Marcia Ryan. In 3rd was John Cooke with his regular crew Robin Hoffman as well as class newcomer, and brand new Scot owner Stu Weinstein. In 4th was the husband/wife team of Rob and Linda Cohen who had 2 very close 2nd place finishes in race 4 and 5 of the series.
In the Scot fleet we sailed with the new AP Main, Snug rig jib and the brand new BR-2 spinnaker, with the 2009 panel layout. Our speed throughout the weekend was very good. We often were matched in speed by team Farrow/Ryan as well as Cooke’s team and the Cohen’s (especially in the last two races) but were able to gain a bit near marks and worked very hard to keep our air clear and a lane to leeward so we could foot when we needed.
In the Lightning fleet Team Goldman used the M5/5A+/R2 combo as did Team Mueller/Ross. Team Milhiser used the MF2/JF2/Bruin combo.
Results for the Flying Scot can be found at: http://www.cedarpointyc.org/FlyingScot/FlyingScotLibraryRaceResults/tabid/123/Default.aspx
Results for the Lightning can be found at: http://www.cedarpointyc.org/Lightning/LightningLibraryRaceResults/tabid/130/Default.aspx
North Facts:
- All 8 teams in the Lightning fleet used all North Sails.
- 10 of 11 teams in the Flying Scot Fleet used all North Sails.
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2009 Lightning Southern Circuit
Congratulations 1st Al Terhune, 2nd Jody Lutz and 3rd Juan Santos!
Overall winners: Allan Terhune, Sarah Mergenthaler & Katie Terhune
Overall Circuit Winners:
26 boats qualified for the entire series!!!
1. Allan Terhune - North designs: MF2, JF2, R2
2. Jody Lutz - North designs: M5, 5A+, R2
3. Juan Santos - North designs: M5, 5A+, R2
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2008 Lightning Borderline Regatta
North Sails 1,2,3,4,5,6...!
Report by Brian Hayes
The 2008 Borderline was held on Oct 25-26 at Kerr Lake, just north of Raleigh, NC. In past years the Borderline has been a “not to be missed” event on the calendar of many in the Lightning Class. The past few years however the event has had a run of bad luck with the droughts in the south and some bad luck with weather causing the event to be cancelled at the last minute the past several years. Regatta chairman John Pelosi, in an effort to revive the event, spent many hours luring teams to Kerr Lake for this years’ event and, although the turnout was small (due to scheduling conflicts with some other regional events), the lake provided great racing on Saturday and a beautiful day on Sunday (although lacking any wind). Tom Allen Jr. along with his dad, Tom Allen Sr., made the drive down from Buffalo to support the event and sailors came from 5 states to enjoy the weekend.
Saturday brought us a cool south-easterly breeze of about 10mph that worked right and died throughout the day. The 1st race saw Bob Harkrider, our team, Tom Allen Jr. and Pierce Barden work the east side of the lake to find more wind pressure and round in that order. We managed to sneak ahead of Bob on the 2nd beat and held on to win. Bob was 2nd followed by Tommy and Pierce.
The 2nd race saw some more pressure lines starting to work out of the right side of the course. We had a very good midline start and worked the right middle while much of the fleet worked left. The right paid off and we had a HUGE lead at the weather mark which we held for the 1st 4 legs. As we went down the final run in a dying breeze I mentioned to my team that, just perhaps, we may have gotten too far ahead too early. Sure enough the last beat had the fleet splitting with our team keeping right of the fleet as much as we could while still “covering”. Pierce snuck around the leeward mark and worked the right side hard. There they found a 25 degree lift and pressure. Thanks goodness we had the lead we had as we used all of it up to get back to the right where we were (just) able to get in front of Pierce to win the race by about 12”. Pierce was 2nd followed by the very speedy Bob Cowan and Tom Allen Sr. (the all-time Lightning champ) in 4th.
The last race Saturday we knew we had to be right and had a great start about 1/3 of the way from the boat. Tommy also had a great start however and for us to get right we would have to duck him. We (read: I) decided we’d just keep working and get up under Tommy, force him to tack and then go right. Unfortunately Tommy was moving fairly well and, as we went out on starboard we were getting lifted so even as we “gained” we could never gain enough to cross. After about 4 minutes we both tacked only to see all the boats that had ducked us earlier out to the right and WAY ahead. Bob Harkrider turned his less than stellar boat end start into a huge lead that he would extend to the finish. We worked towards the right and worked shifts as best we could to round in about 7th behind Bob, John Pelosi, Bob Cowan, Alan Krauss, Richard Walderkirch, John Sawyer and Pierce. The run was uneventful and we gained a bit. On the 2nd beat we worked the bottom of the course very well, as did Pierce to pass a few and get to 4th. On the next run positions held but 2-7th was very tight. We began to make up some ground on John in 2nd and Pierce in 3rd but they did a great job of closing the door on us as soon as we got close. In our haste to catch them we failed to notice what a great job Richard and Bob Cowan were doing and we had to do some fancy footwork at the finish to squeak out a 4th with Richard and Bob both within a few feet of us.
That evening we all went to a local restaurant where we had a buffet meal with “Chicken Pelosi” as the featured dish! After dinner John asked a few of us to share with the group our thoughts on the day and we held a “roundtable” type forum with questions from the participants as well as great input from Tom Allen Jr., Bob Harkrider, Tom Schroeder and my crew, Jay Mueller. All in all a very fun evening.
Sunday brought perfect weather but no breeze. The fleet drifted out onto the lake where we sat and chatted, traded stories and jokes until the fleet voted with their paddles and we all headed back to the ramps and wrap up another great Borderline.
Thanks to my team Jay Mueller and Suzanne Lea. It was Suzanne’s 1st time sailing with us and she did a great job. I think she had fun. Also thanks to John Pelosi, The Carolina Sailing Club, PRO John Norton, the Coast Guard Auxiliary (who were on hand all weekend to help with any emergencies) as well as the volunteers who helped with everything from coffee to trophies and more. I hope that more folks can get to the Borderline next year. It is a beautiful lake to sail on and the changing of the colors of the leaves makes for an amazing backdrop.
Results:
1-Brian Hayes
2-Bob Harkrider
3-Pierce Barden
4-Bob Cowan
5-John Pelosi
6-Tommy Allen
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2008 Lightning North Americans
North Sails D-O-M-I-N-A-T-E-S !!!
Report by Allan Terhune | Photos courtesy Dan Nerney
Congratulations winners Al Terhune, Katie Terhune and Jeff Linton.
This past week, the New York Yacht Club,in conjunction with Sail Newport, hosted the Lightning North American Championship. 98 boats made the trek to beautiful Newport, RI to participate and attempt to earn one of the highly coveted spots for 2009 US Worlds which will be held in Burlington VT in September 2009. Newport offered up a variety of conditions including shifty breezes, rain, squalls current as well as a perfect final day of racing. The racing took place on over the course of 5 days in which 3 days were sailed in sea breeze (2 in the ocean, 1 inside), and 2 days in lighter, atypical Northerly breezes.
Championship Division - North 1,2,3,5*,6,9
Jody Lutz and crew were third in the Championship Fleet. |
The regatta started off with two tough races north of the bridge where consistency was key. Matt Fisher, Jody Lutz and Bill Healy were the only teams to escape day one with two top 10 finishes. The second day brought 1 race before the weather caused the wind to drop off. Christobal Perez from Chile, won the race handily. The final day brought a great 12-18 knot sea breeze and the fleet was able to sail the remaining 3 races to complete the series. After suffering a 31 in the first race, my team of my wife Katie and Jeff Linton were able to rally over the next 5 races to win the regatta by 12 points. Matt Fisher and Jody Lutz sailed a great regatta to tie, but Matt won the tie breaker over Jody. Marcus Eagan had a great last day to finish 4th in his first Lightning NA's and Bill Faude was very consistent to round out the top 5.
On a personal note, I want to thank my team of my wife Katie and Jeff Linton. They did an amazing job all week. We have not sailed together before, but we meshed into an amazing team and it was a memorable week of sailing. Thank you Jeff and Katie, for all your hard work in Newport. Many thanks to Amy Linton for doing a super job in support of our team and keeping us going through a long week.
Top Ten
1. Allan Terhune, Katie Terhune, Jeff Linton 14pts MF2, JF2, R2 2. Matt Fisher, Dan Moriarty, Tobi Moriarty 26 pts MF2, JF2, R2 3. Jody Lutz, Jay Lutz, Taylor Lutz 26 pts M5, 5A+, R2 4. Marcus Eagan, Zak Fanburg, Sarah Fanburg 30pts
5. Bill Faude, Hannah Swett, Jared Drake 34pts M5, 5A+ 6. Juan Santos, Sebastian Herrera, Juan Santos 34pts M52, 5A+, R2 7. Bill Healy, Tim Healy, Nicole Breault 38pts
8. Jim Allen, Ernie Dieball, Brenda Crane 49pts
9. Dave Starck, Scott Ikle', Ellen Starck 54 pts M5, 5A+, R2 10. Darrell Peck, Kara Ganter, Allison Weber 57pts
Presidents Cup - North 1,2*,3,4
Rob Ruhlman with with Abbey and Dave Werley sailed an awesome series to win by a huge 19 point margin. Boat Grantee's Justin Coplan, Fiona Gordon and Ellen Turk continued thier great year, by finishing 2nd. They are rising stars in the class and we are all very proud that they are sailing one of the ILCA Boat Grant Boats. Newport local and defending Shields National Champ, Peter Denton finished third, and boat builder Tom Allen Jr, sailing with his son and daughter finished 4th.
1. Rob Ruhlman, Abbey Ruhlman, Dave Werley 16pts MF2, JF2, R2 2. Justin Coplan, Fiona Gordon, Ellen Turk 35pts M5, 5A+ 3. Peter Denton, John Townsend, Weston Barlow 39pts MF2, JF2, R2 4. Tom Allen, Shelby Allen, Karl Allen 42pts M5, 5A+, R2
Ched Proctor |
North Sails won 4 of 5 races!
Governors Cup North 1,2,4
Richard Walsh from Thunder Bay sailed a great regatta to finish first. The sad story is that Richard sailed a great qualifying series that would have had him in the championship fleet, only to find out later that he sailed in the wrong flights! Richard sailed great, and did a great job staying in good spirits.
Top 3
1. Richard Walsh, Alec Smith, Alex Cox 7 pts M5, 5A+, R2 2. Marcus Moehlman, Eli Putnam, Emily Paulos 21pts MF2, JF2, Bruin 3. Clinton Hayes, Mathew Clarke, Stephen Widdis 25pts
Special Awards
North Customers did extremely well in other awards as well.
McDermott Trophy - Awarded to the team that impoves most in the qualifying series from 2007 to 2008 - Winner Bill Bogardus
Tom Fallon Trophy - Awarded to the last team to qualify for the Champioship Fleet - Winner John Faus
Swanson Trophy - Awarded to the highest placing women's skipper - Winner Debbie Probst
Jack Elfman Trophy - Awarded to the highest Placing Master team in teh Championship - Winner Jim Crane
Colin Park Award - Awarded to the highest placing husband/wife team in each division Winners
- Championship Division - Katie and Allan Terhune
- Presidents Cup - Abbey and Rob Ruhlman
- Governors Cup - Sterling and Bob Bush
Many thanks go to Sail Newport and New York Yacht Club for running a great event. Special thanks go to Randy Shore and Wendy Lotz for putting in so much time to ensure it was a great event, and also to PRO Ron Hopkins. He and his team did a superb job running a first class event. I know that the ILCA and NYYC are proud of the great job that he and his team did.
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2008 Lighntning Atlantic Coast Champs
North Sails 1,2,5,6,7,8,9,10!!!
Report by Allan Terhune
This past weekend Rock Hall Yacht Club hosted the Lightning Atlantic Coast Championship. Many teams were using this regatta as their final warm-up for the upcoming North Americans in Newport. RHYC did a great job hosting their fist major Lightning event, and the great weather helped too! Saturday we sailed 3 races in 12-18 knot southerly and Sunday 2 races starting off around 5 building to 10 in the last race.
Dave Starck, from Buffalo, with crew Scott Ikle and Ellen Starck won the event byt 7 points. My team , with my wife Kate and Meg Muller was second, with Geoff Becker third, Bill Fastiggi fourth and Bill Bogardus from Metedeconk, NJ finishing 5th.
It was a great regatta for North with finishes of 1,2,5,6,7,8,9,10. All but 7 boats had North!
Top 5:
1. Dave Starck M5, 5A+, R2
2. Allan Terhune MF2, JF2, R2
3. Geoff Becker
4. Bill Fastiggi
5. Bill Bogardus MF2, JF2, R2\
Full results: http://www.rockhallyachtclub.org/results/2008LightningACC.mht
North Customers also won two of the special awards:
Top Skipper under 20 - 9th Will Brown - He is an ILCA Boat Grant boat, and he was using North MF2, JF2 and R2
Top Skipper over 65 - 24th Gary Hurban - North M5, 5A+, R2
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2008 Lighntning Central Atlantic Districts
North Sails 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10...
Report by Jody Lutz
Lightning Central Atlantic District Championship
Barnegat Light YC, Long Beach Island, NJ
July 12/13 2008
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.
Full Results: http://www.lightningclass.org/Results/results08/CentralAtlanticDistrictChamp.htm
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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:
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 For more information about our fast Lightning sails, contact our Lightning experts!
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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
|
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For complete results go to www.lightningclass.org
For photos of the events go to www.photoboat.com
For more information about our fast Lightning sails, contact our Lightning experts!
To order the fastest Lightning Sails online and have them delivered to you door, click here.
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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..
For more information about our fast Lightning sails, contact our Lightning experts!
To order the fastest Lightning Sails online and have them delivered to you door, click here.
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For more information on Lightning
sails, contact the North Lightning
experts.
See also: 2005 Regatta Reports | 2004 Regatta Reports | 2003 Regatta Reports | 2002 Regatta Reports
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