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Lightning 2005 News Sail Information || Lightning News || FAQs || Tuning Guide || Contact Lightning Experts || Order
Report by Brian Hayes
This is Tito's 2nd World Championship this year (he won the Etchells Worlds in August) using North Sails. Complete results, here. More info about the regatta at http://buffaloniagarasailing.blogspot.com/ North Facts: * Gonzales used North R2 spinnkaer in 6 out of 9 races. Photo by Rodrigo Aljaro
Report by Brian Hayes Peter Hall with his crew Philip Kerrigan and Jay Deakin won 4 of the 5 races to dominate the fleet at the Lightning Masters World Championship in VinDelMar, Chile. Class veteran Jim Carson sailing with Jay Lutz and Micheal Schon sailed a very steady, consistent series to be this years runner-ups. The championship featured all conditions from light air racing to a big breeze finale. Both teams used North Sails exclusively. North Fast facts.. For more information on our Lightning sails, don't hesitate to contact our Lightning experts!
Report by Greg Fisher 35 boats attended the Bluenose, the grand finale of the 2005 Lightning regatta circuit in Nashville, Tennessee this past weekend. It couldn't have been a more perfect weekend with temperatures in the 70's, 8- 15mph breeze and the typical beautiful fall colors. Todd Wake, with wife Kristine and North American Champ Matt Burridge, bested a star studded fleet which included World Champ runner up Bill Faude and 3 time former Bluenose winner Sean Fidler. Todd and his team finished strong with 5 of the 6 races sailed in the top 4, powered by North Sails! The Bluenose is certainly one of, if not the most enjoyable regatta on the circuit...not only is the sailing competitive and unusually challenging, the parties both Friday and Saturday nights are winners and the steak dinner is perfect. It is a true team effort for the gang at Harbor Island YC. Bill Hoffmeister does a great job as PRO while Bob Cotton, Cully Ward, Bill Killebrew (to name just a few) all work hard to provide the tremendous southern hospitality that the Bluenose has become know for! I was down for the first couple days this year. We did an on the water clinic in the near perfect 8-12 mph breeze where 12 boats joined us for some drills on starting and short course racing. I videotaped the racing which we reviewed that evening around the keg. Don't miss the Bluenose next year-it is by far one of the best regattas of the season! For more information on our Lightning sails, don't hesitate to contact our Lightning experts!
Report by Greg Fisher 44 boats sailed in the breezy Frigid Digit regatta this past weekend held in Annapolis and hosted by Severn Sailing Assoc. Mike Waters, PRO did a commendable job is holding 2 races in some great, but quickly building breeze on Saturday. In fact, the 2nd race was shortened when 6 boats went for a swim in the still summer warm ( well, sort of!) Chesapeake Bay! Sunday, the breeze started out at a nice 12mph but by 10 am it was solid 25 and a wise decision was made to cancel for the day. A short impromptu seminar was held Sunday morning with Regatta winner Al Terhune and runner up Neal Fowler. Yours truly moderated the discussion which centered around sailing, and staying upright, in big breeze. Al Terhune with teammates wife Katie and Jarrett Lynn won with a 1,2 while Neal Fowler with teammates Todd Johnson and April Richards was second . Jamie Allen from Montreal was third and Debbie Probst from Indiana was fifth. North Sails were 1,2,3,5,6,8,9,11,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21....... For more information on our Lightning sails, don't hesitate to contact our Lightning experts!
Report by Al Terhune, Jr. The 2005 Manahawkin Bay Cup was held at Surf City Yacht Club. This is one of the best, if not the best regatta of the year. SCYC puts on a great show, with good food and a fun time. This year would not disappoint. We arrived in the morning to find the wind blowing form the Northeast at 20-25 with puffs of 30. PRO Bill Clausen postponed on shore as the forecast was for the wind to die down slightly. The forecast was right as we headed out at 1pm to sail in 18-22 knots from the northeast. We sailed 5 perfect races in one afternoon. There were no recalls and no waiting between races. The race committee work was perfect. My team of my wife Katie, Jarret Lynn and myself were fortunate enough to win the regatta by two points over a VERY VERY fast Tim Robinson and team. Steve Warren finished third, and if it were not for a finishing error in the first race, could have been first or second. A fantastic dinner of steak and mussels was held at the club. It was a special evening where everyone enjoyed a Mount Gay and Coke (or two, or three) to give a toast to Jack Elfman and to tell our favorite Jack stories. All 12 boats used North Sails! For more information on our Lightning sails, don't hesitate to contact our Lightning experts!
Report by Brian Hayes
North Lightning customer Matt Burridge with his team Dan and Tobi Moriarty dominated the 2005 Lightning NAs winning by an incredible 21 points. Matt and his team compiled a 1,1,2,2,7,DNS score over a myriad of difficult conditions which had many of the worlds best Lightning sailors scratching their heads. Burlington sailmaker Bill Fastiggi finished second. Jody Swanson's team won the last race to move up into 3rd place while David Starck and Todd Wake ended up 4th and 5th. Our team had a 31 in race 6 to back up to 6th. In the Presidents Cup Jason Werner won the event followed by Pierce Barden and Josh Goldman.
For more information on our Lightning sails, don't hesitate to contact our Lightning experts!
This past weekend two big-time Lightning events were held as NAs warmups. While 35 boats headed south to Wilmington,NC for the Atlantic Coast Championship another 29 headed north to Point Abino, QUE and the Buffalo Canoe Club for the Canadian Open Championships. Even though these two events were separated by nearly 800 miles they did have one thing in common. Sailors using North Sails dominated both events. In Wilmington, the ACC's were being held "down south" for the 1st time in years. This was good news for Lenny Krawcheck and his team from Charleston, SC. Team Krawcheck scored solid 2,1,2,3,2 finishes to win the event by 23 points!! In fact the top 5 positions were dominated by sailors from the south as Tuathaul MacColgan, sailing his 1st regatta in his new boat was 2nd breaking a tie with Southeast District stalwart Bob Harkrider. Bob was followed in 4th by Dave Helmick from FL and regatta chair Pierce Barden was 5th. John Faus from NJ broke the southern stronghold on the top positions with his 6th place finish. He was followed by Gary Hurban, NY in 7th, Bob Sengstacken, NY 8th, John Pelosi, NC in 9th and local hot shot Jim Harris in 10th. All these sailors used North Sails. In Canada David Starck prepared for the NAs by winning the light-air, 29 boat Canadian Open with a 2,1. David was followed by Jody Lutz of North Flags in 2nd, Al Terhune, a new Annapolis resident in 3rd, Jim Allen, from Michigan in 4th and Debbie Probst from Indiana in 5th. All these sailors used North Sails. Results for the ACC's can be found at: http://www.carolinayachtclub.org/lightningresults.html For more information on our Lightning sails, don't hesitate to contact our Lightning experts!
North Sails powered 1,2,3,5! " Very light wind, not my kind of weather, but it worked out. You know, since I received this set of sails from you I have only used them twice and won both regatta’s. Higgins Lake last year which was blowing like stink and Tawas this year where the wind never hit 6 kts." -- Matt Princing, Overall Winner For more information on our Lightning sails, don't hesitate to contact our Lightning experts!
The Dixie Lightning Districts were held at the Washington Sailing Marina on the Potomac River this weekend. 32 boats ( a near record actually) sailed in by the far the best conditions this river could offer! Breezes of 6-12 on Saturday and 10-18 on Sunday, straight down the river led the locals to say" Its never like this here!". Al Terhune with his wife Katie and sister Kristian had a tough battle with Neal Fowler throughout the weekend...and ended up winning by a mere 2 points. It was virtually a 2 boat regatta when it came right down to it...Neal threw out a 2nd place! Pro Jeff Stork did a great job banging off 6 races and Regatta chair David Thompson and the rest of the Fleet 50 team provided some fine meals and a nice party Saturday night. Thanks to all. Here was the breakdown: We sailed with Regatta Chair Dave Thompson in his borrowed boat. Thanks Dave! For more information on our Lightning sails, don't hesitate to contact our Lightning experts!
Lightning Regattas in the month of May dominated by sailors using North Sails. The 2005 sailing season is in full swing and a large number of events have already been held. It's very exciting for us to see so many new names winning Lightning events all over the country using North Sails. Below is a partial list of events held since May 1st, 2005. If you have some great results to share with us please email them in to us at info@od.northsails.com and send us your story so we can post it here on our website. Doc Gilbert Potomac Cup - Washington, DC Voodoo Regatta/SE District Championship - Charlotte, NC Early Bird Regatta - Westport, CT Lake Lansing 40th Annual Tune Up Regatta- Lansing, MI Sodus Bay Spring Regatta- Sodus Bay, NY Hernando de Soto Regatta - Arkabutla Reservoir, MS Florida District Championship California District Championship Potomac River Sailing Association PRSA Spring Regatta 2005 Wow! For more information on our winning Lightning designs, don't hesitate to contact our Lightning experts!
Overall it was a great weekend and the weather cooperated. The smaller fleet (24 boats) was packed with competition and the wind, when it finally filled in, provided some great conditions. Saturday’s racing started in a very light Southerly and eventually shut down completely. George Fisher was winning by a mile (literally), but didn’t make the time limit. After a brief lunch, the wind swung to the North and built into the teens! At day’s end, Jody Swanson (3,1) was tied with Dave Werley (2,2) for the lead with David Starck (4,1) one point back. Sunday’s sunshine and nice wind (10-12) out of the North gave the RC an easy day. The wind never really shifted more than 10 degrees and was a nice oscillation. The first race of Sunday was won by David Starck, with Jody Swanson 2nd….which put them into a tie going in the last race. With Dave Werley having a tough 1st beat in that race, the point cushion was pretty large and thus a good match race ensued. The last race provided some great tacking and gibing duels of the points’ leaders. David, with crew Ernie Dieball and Laurie Dieball finished right in front of Jody’s team (Tom Starck and Skip Dieball) to win the event.
North Sails were on every boat in the event!!!! Contact the North Sails Lightning experts if you have any questions on Lightning sailing.
The "unofficial" start of the sailing season in the Northeast is traditionally known when the Long John Regatta is held in Red Bank, NJ. On April 23-24, 2005 22 teams braved a marginal forecast and descended upon the town of Red Bank for the 44th running of the Long John. Although greeted by wet weather on Saturday the sailors were also treated to 4 very good races in light to medium conditions. Sunday brought a clearing trend and very fresh breezes in which the competitors were able to sail the one final race to complete the 5 race series. Gianni Cuccio, with his teammates Ellen Starck and George Wiedermann sailed a very strong consistent series to win the event by 8 points over Larry Colontuano and his crew Joe Starck and PJ Schaffer. The top 2 teams used North Sails. Here is a report from Gianni Cuccio from this weekend. Also check out Gianni's website at www.jcdcustomraceparts.com
The 2005 Lightning Class Southern Circuit was, once again, a huge success and a great time for all who participated. Three regattas and 13 races were held at 3 different venues over a 7day period from March 13-19, 2005. Racing conditions at each event ranged from perfect to better than perfect. Tito Gonzalez with his son Diego and good friend Fernando Gallyas sailed consistently throughout all three events to win this years overall title. Savannah Deep South The circuit kicked off in Savannah with 32 teams and lots of wind. In fact too much wind!!!! Saturdays scheduled races were cancelled early as cold water (mid-50's) and big puffs (mid-30's) had every pleased with the RC decision to blow-off the races. Many sailors explored downtown Savannah while many others caught up on lost sleep or watched the NCAA tournaments at the club. Sunday brought more docile conditions with temperatures in the low 70's and a 8-15 mph west wind. Bill Fastiggi's early arrival and practice session on Friday paid off as he and his team expertly dodged the weeds and tricky currents of the Wilmington and Skidaway Rivers to best the fleet with 3 solid top 5 finshes. Bill was followed by North customers Al Terhune in 2nd and David Starck in 3rd. In 4th was Greg Fisher followed by eventual circuit champ Tito Gonzalez. Savannah notes:
Miami Midwinter Championships 26 teams drove the 8 hours south from Savannah to Miami and were joined by 15 more boats for the Miami Midwinters. While Savannah's weather was perfect this year Miami's weather was predictable. Basically warm (low-80's), sunny and predictable breeze. Tuesday's races were held in a moderate (6-10mph) breeze that stayed all day. Three 4-leg W/L courses were run and it was great day for sailboat racing. Race 2 the RC got 13 "over-earlies" and only 2 went back for their Z-flag penalty. Among those caught with OCS's were circuit contenders Al Terhune, Tom Allen Jr. and Greg Fisher. Wednesday brought predictions of big breeze but the fleet was greeted with 12-18 mph of southerly breeze for the 2 races. David Starck and his team on his brand-new blue(?) boat had finishes of 7,3,1,2,1 to best Tito Gonzalez and his team by 7 points. In 3rd was Frank Atkinson followed by Jeff Linton and North customer and defending Lightning NA Champ Jody Swanson. Miami notes:
St. Petersburg Winter Championships & Masters Winter Championships Entering the final portion of the Southern Circuit several teams still had hopes of winning the overall championship. At St. Petersburg Tito Gonzalez and his team dashed all those hopes by the end of day 1. The SPYC Race Committee, keeping a keen eye towards the forecast of light (non-existent) winds on the weekend ran 3 races on Friday to get ahead of schedule. Tito and his team chased Jeff Linton around the race course and finished Friday with a 3,4,1 to Jeffs 1,1,4. These finishes put Tito well ahead of the contenders for the overall circuit and Saturday morning Tito, Diego and Fernando put the finishing touches on a masterful circuit with a 1,2 in Saturdays races to win the St. Petersburg Winter Championships by 24 points and capture the overall circuit crown for the 2nd year in a row!!! 2nd in St. Pete was Al Terhune followed by Jody Swanson, Jeff Linton and David Starck. In the Masters Division Dick Hallagan bested George Fisher by 6 points to win this championship once again. St.Pete notes:
Overall Circuit notes:
Contact the North Sails Lightning experts if you have any questions on Lightning sailing.
Lightning Borderline 2004 In an effort to counter the previous weekends 30mph breezes in Annapolis the folks from Fleet 481 at Kerr Lake in North Carolina served up much milder breezes for the 26 teams who showed for the annual Borderline Regatta. Temperatures in the low 60's and winds that peaked at 10mph dominated the weekend and, while there was a bit of rain Sunday morning, by and large the weather and camaraderie made for great time for everyone. In general the racing was dominated by North Carolinas own Pete Marriott. Pete and his team, using all North Sails, won Saturdays only race and followed on Sunday with a 1,2,5 to easily win the event. While this isn't Pete first regatta win it was significant due to the competition and I'm certain we will be hearing from and seeing Pete's name on the leaderboard at a lot of future Lightning events. In 2nd was my team (Brian Hayes) sailing with Class President Carter Utzig and his 13 year old daughter Meghan. This was Meghan's first "major" Lightning regatta and she can't wait to do her next one!! In 3rd was "Big Daddy" Bob Harkrider followed by Tommy Allen in 4th and Dick Hallagan in 5th. Many people have said that one of the major highlights of the weekend was an impromptu "chalk-talk" that was run during the cocktail hour on Saturday night. Tommy Allen, Al Terhune and myself "dug up" (literally) a chalk board and folks grabbed some chairs and a 1 hour session with questions on everything from "How do you decide which way to go on the 1st beat?" to "Which leeward gate did you choose and why?" were fielded by the three of us. The group was so enthusiastic that we continued for another hour after dinner addressing tuning sail trim questions from an equally enthusiastic but tiring group of sailors. I highly recommend this casual "Chalk-talk with the experts" format for your next regatta. The enthusiasm from the folks who are just starting out or are looking for information on how to get better is very evident in this format and it allows people easy access to folks who can share their knowledge (planning tip: If the liquid refreshments are close to the "chalk talk" area attendance increases!!). Check out the results of this years Borderline here. North Sails were on the top 16 and on 25 of the 26 boats. For information about North Lightning sails please contact our Lightning experts. To order our fast Lightning sails, click here.
Last weekend, in Annapolis the Lightning Frigid Digit regatta hosted 42 boats. To say it was windy would be an understatement...at times in the Sunday race the puffs were over 30mph. In the last race on Saturday less than 20 boats finished the race! Still it was a victory for North with David Stark winning, Neal Fowler second, Bill Fastiggi third, new sales rep Al Terhune fourth and Mitch Hantt in fifth. It was a great time despite the conditions and we should be proud that other than a few spinnaker issues our sails held together just great. In this event there were maybe 4 boats that did not have full North inventories! For information about North Lightning sails please contact our Lightning experts. To order our fast Lightning sails, click here.
FANBERG WINS SECOND CONSECUTIVE U.S. MEN’S SAILING CHAMPIONSHIP
Portsmouth, RI (September 27, 2004) – For a second consecutive year, Zak Fanberg (New Orleans, La.) has led his team representing Bay-Waveland Yacht Club (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) to the U.S. Men’s Sailing Championship title. Competing with crew Dave Blouin (Baton Rouge, La.) and Kippy Chamberlain (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.), Fanberg took the lead on the first day of the U.S. Men’s Sailing Championship and never gave it up throughout the four-day event hosted by the Long Beach Island Yacht Racing Association in New Jersey and sailed on Lightnings. Rolex Watch U.S.A. sponsored this regatta, as it does with all U.S. Adult Championships. Other sponsors include Chubb and Dry Creek Vineyard. Fanberg's crew, Blouin and Chamberlain, are both skippers during the regular season and when asked how this team worked in harmony, they replied that they have been in competition with each other, and sailing together, all their lives. All sailed together at the same college and credit the intense college sailing competition to their edge. For Fanberg’s team, the primary class at home is the Flying Scot, but thanks to a clinic sponsored by Rolex Watch U.S.A. and the openness of fellow competitors who frequently sail Lightnings, they quickly learned many little tricks and tips to get the Lightning going. The race for second place turned out to be very exciting with three teams changing positions throughout the regatta. In the end, it was the team from the Buffalo Canoe Club with skipper Jim Allen (Walled Lake, Mich.) and crew Tom Allen and Jody Swanson taking second place overall. The Niantic Bay Yacht Club team finished two points behind and ended up in third place. Allen also took home the Royal Victoria YC Seamanship Trophy and Kenny Manzoni from Southwestern Yacht Club was awarded the Staton J. Peele Jr. Sportsmanship Trophy. For complete results, daily reports, and photos from the U.S. Men’s Sailing Championship, please visit www.ussailing.org/mallory or the Little Egg Harbor Yacht Club website at www.lehyc.org. The U.S. Men’s Sailing Championship is part of US SAILING’s National Championships. For more information about US SAILING’s National Championships, visit www.ussailing.org/championships or contact US SAILING’s championships manager Liz Walker at championships@ussailing.org. For information about North Lightning sails please contact our Lightning experts.
Jody Swanson completes doubleheader sweep during Lightning North Americans
Crystal Beach, Ont.- As a life long member of the Buffalo Canoe Club, Jody Swanson has watched many members of her historic Lightning fleet win many championships around the world. This past week all eyes were on her as Jody and her team of Lauren Jones and Maddie Waldron won the Womens Lightning North American Championships and, with just 1 rest day, went on to best a fleet of 103 boats in the North American Championships with her team of Skip Dieball and Tom Starck to complete an unprecedented sweep and become the International Lightning Class Associations (ILCA) first female champion. Jody spoke of how important her teams were during the 10 day run and how she could not have had near the success without them and, although she had spent most of the past 2 years attempting to qualify a team for the Olympics in the Yngling in Athens, she said during her acceptance speech, "While Athens would have been great I wouldn't trade places with any in the world right now. Being here and winning this event with all my Lightning family and friends is the best!". The event featured a full gamut of conditions from Wednesday's 25+mph with 8 foot waves blow out to Thursday and Fridays drifters. We also had rain and sun and hot and cold and everything in between. A true test of a teams ability to remain consistent and to stay mentally tough. While Team Swanson's 19 point victory over 39 boats in the weather abbreviated 5 race series may have looked like a landslide it certainly didn't seem like it on the water. Runner-up Micheal Gooch-Breault, with his sister Nichole Breault and Adam Walsh, sailed a consistent, solid series early in the event keeping all their scores in or around the top ten and even though their last race 17th place finish was their worst of the week their early consistency locked them 2nd place. Early series leader Tom Allen Jr., with Bill Pictor and John Humphrey, found the early heavy air to their liking to start the series with a 1,2,4. However the wind gods would take the breeze away for the remainder of the series and Tom and his team, like many others, struggled to find good scores in the events last 2 light air races. Tom and his team finished 3rd. While the action in the North Americans Championships series was as tough as usual it certainly was no tougher than the competition in the two consolation series. The Presidents Cup Fleet of 32 boats saw Dave Helmick with his son Davy and Ashley Silberman jump out in front early with 2 bullets and stay consistent with 2 more top tens to win the 4 race series. Dave Wereley with his wife Jonette and Greg Maras hung tough early with a 2,2 but even 2 more top tens couldn't get them the victory as they wound up the Presidents Cup runner-ups. James Taylor with Brian Riddi Ford and Bridget Ireland were 3rd followed in 4th by the Ward family (Cully, Jim and Beth) in their brand-new, "1st time it got wet" boat!! In the Governors Cup Steve Constants with his brother Mike and Jared Ackers came back from a devastating qualifying series that saw them bend their centerboard, break their mast and nearly break their spirit to convincingly best 33 boats to win the 3 race Governors Cup series. Venerable class veteran Jim Carson, with his team of Rich Morris and Wade Schon, found the groove with finishes of 5,3,6 to take 2nd followed closely by Marc Schillebeeckx with his son Ian and Nicolas Beckmann in 3rd and, in 4th place was Dick Moyer with his wife Helen and John Depenbroch. Once again the Buffalo Canoe Club, Lightning Fleet 12 and Regatta Chairman David Starck put together another world class event. All final results can be found at www.buffalo2004.org. Results Highlights Championship Division Presidents Cup Governor's Cup For more information about our Lightning sails please contact our Lightning experts.
The CT/RI Lightning Districts were held at the Madison Beach Club on July 16-18. On Friday afternoon we gave a short on land clinic and ran a 2 hour on the water training session for a few of the early arrivals. The regatta itself featured 26 boats sailing 6 races (2 Saturday and 4 on Sunday). Saturday's conditions were typical of Long Island Sound in July. A light Southwesterly breeze with a bit of chop while Sunday greeted us with an approaching low pressure system which generated perfect 8-12mph breezes from the east with clouds and a little bit of occasional rain. David Peck, sailing a brand new boat, had a 2,1,1,2 finish on Sunday to move from 6th on Saturday to win the crown. Mike Gooch-Breault sailed a very solid series (2,4,6,6,2,5) for 2nd followed by Brian Hayes (4,5,5,4,7,4) in 3rd. Every boat used all North Sails! (except 1 with an older-non-North spinnaker). Full results can be found at: www.lightningclass.org For more information about our Lightning sails please contact our Lightning experts.
Winner of the Ohio Lightning Districts for the 12th (unofficial) time!!! Interview by Skip Dieball
Way to go on winning the Ohio Districts. I’ve had many reports that said that Cowan lived up to its reputation!!
How did you get into sailing? George - I had my first sail when I was in the Navy in Sonar school in San Diego in 1945 in a little bay next to the school. When I came home after the war I bought my first Lightning-721, and have been hooked ever since.
How have you seen the sport change over the years? George -Yes, there are more classes now and to have decent finishes you have to make the effort and commitment. There are so many good sailors today and some of these classes are so deep in talent. There also are so many ways to improve your sailing with all the books, articles and seminars. Plus, I think sailors are just generally willing to share their knowledge if they are approached at the right time and way.
You have sailed in many classes, what’s your approach (performance) when you step into different boats? George - I try to talk to someone in the class for any input that is offered and what ever the class itself offers in articles as to what to do and not do, which most of them do. A sail boat is a sail boat but each class I think does have its own idiosyncrasy. I do think you learn allot when you race other classes.
What advice would you give Juniors and Beginning sailors on sailing in general? On gaining a performance edge? George - That its a great sport, something you can do all your life, (I can attest to that) with great people. But you gotta pay the price. It takes time, a lot of effort and a real commitment to be competitive. But that is why it is the best sport. Forget any ego and keep learning any way you can. Read, ask and go to seminars---but above all, practice.
What is your most memorable moment in sailing? George - When my two sons were 1st and 2nd in the Lightning NAs. I was sailing with one of them and going up the last weather leg in the last race we knew barring a break down they would be 1 and 2, but it could be either one. One point separated them at the end, and the one who crossed first was there waiting for the other to cross to congratulate him for winning. It doesn't get any better than that. Typical father I wanted them to tie but that wasn't possible.
You’ve sailed all over the world, where’s your favorite place to sail? George - Out of Buffalo Canoe Club - Lake Erie Being a non-professional, how have you been able to balance time for work, practice, fitness, travel, regattas?
What do you see as the “state of sailing in the United States”? One Design? Offshore? George - I think its doing ok. There are so many classes now that I think they do distract from each other but I don't think any thing can be done about it. Certain classes are down in number or in certain areas but I think that's a natural process. Regatta sailing takes away from club sailing but again there is no right answer on that. Overall there is a ton of activity in sailing, particularly in one design. I'm not knowledgeable on offshore except what I read. At one time I did some offshore racing but I have been out of it for some time.
What do you have on your upcoming sailing schedule? Next season? George - I'm active in three classes now, Lightning, Interlake and MC. I'll do the LIghtning Masters and Interlake Nationals with some regattas in between. Next year the Lightning Midwinters, masters and NAs, Interlake nationals and a couple mc regattas.
Thanks George and congratulations for your brilliant sailing career! We all look forward to get there with similar success!
Report by Skip Dieball The 2004 Ohio District Championship was hotly contested at Cowan Lake in Wilmington, Ohio. With the North Americans in Buffalo, many were working hard to earn their spot for qualifying. Cowan is known for being a tough place to sail, mainly due to the intense shifts in wind direction and velocity. Looking at this year’s scores shows that it was very easy to fall out of sync with the shifts. Congratulations to George Fisher for yet another Ohio District Championship, I’m 100%, but I’ll bet his name is on that trophy more than possibly all others combined!
For more information about our Lightning sails please contact our Lightning experts.
Report by Greg Fisher Last week ( June 12/13) three Lightning districts took place in different parts of the country...and North sails performed at all three! Scott Anderson dominated the Texas districts (all firsts!) sailed at Corinthian YC in Dallas. The racing was sailed in everything from 20 mph to a near drifter. North Sails were 1,2,3,4,6. Scott used the MF2/JF2/R2 combination. Al Terhune ( present NA Chamnpion) won the Central Atlantic Districts with 4 firsts in 5 races sailed at Lavallette YC on Barnegat Bay in New Jersey. North Sails were 1,2,3,4,5. Al used the MF2/JF2/R2 combination. The Dixie Districts were sailed at Harve de Grace, Maryland. 29 boats sailed in conditions that varied from 2 to 12mph. We were fortunate to win the regatta and it was especially fun for me as I sailed with my wife JoAnn and my 17 yr old daughter Martha. North Sails were 1,2,3,4,5 and we used the MF2/JF2/R2 combination. For more information about our Lightning sails please contact our Lightning experts.
Light and shifty winds dominated Saturday’s racing. Shifts, as large as 50 degrees, made life interesting for the very competitive Lightning Fleet. Four races were sailed on Saturday. Sunday’s two races were sailed in better winds, but equally shifty.
** Every sail on every boat was North! **
For more information about our Lightning sails please contact our Lightning experts.
This year’s Classic was once again a one-day event due to the
weather. Unlike last year where Sunday’s racing was blown out,
this year the fleet found light and extremely variable conditions that
forced the RC to abandon for the day. The good news was that there
were four great races sailed on Saturday. Thirty-five boats competed.
For more information about our Lightning sails please contact our Lightning experts.
Report by Brian Hayes The 2004 Lightning Class Southern Circuit was held March 13-21 at three great venues throughout the South. 25 teams drove and sailed their way through Georgia and Florida over 9 days to sail 3 regattas and 11 races. This years overall winner was Tito Gonzalez and his team of Diego Gonzalez (Titos' 16 year old son) & Fernando Gallyas. The current World Champion won the first 2 legs of the circuit and was in contention for a clean sweep before an OCS in St. Pete took them out of the running. In 2nd for the circuit was Larry MacDonald. Larry's 2nd place overall is exciting for the simple fact that at each venue he sailed with either his son Adam (9) or daughter Joy (11). It looks like Tito and Larry are getting the next generation of great Lightning sailors out on the water and up on the winners podium. The 3rd-5th place skippers were David Starck, Allan Terhune Jr. and Ched Proctor. All these teams used North Sails. Savannah Deep South Regatta 33 teams made their way into Savannah for the Deep South Regatta and were greeted by great hospitality and near perfect spring sailing conditions. Temperatures in the 60's and low 70's and a puffy 10-15 mph NNE breeze was the perfect recipe to keep the "no-see-ums" at bay and work out the winter rust. Current World Champion Tito Gonzalez got out of the blocks quickly to score a 2,1,2 to win this 3 race series. In 2nd was Larry MacDonald with a 3,3,1 and in 3rd was Greg Fisher with a 1,4,5. David Starck was 4th and Jeff Linton rounded out the top 5. Savannah facts: Miami Midwinters While 8 teams were only able to do Savannah the remaining 25 teams drove the 8 hours down to Miami and were joined by 23 more boats on the line for the 2004 Midwinters. Warm temperatures and strong breezes were what was dealt to the fleet in Miami. 2 days of 12-20mph winds, steep chop and warm sunshine was the perfect formula for fast races and sore muscles. At the risk of sounding like a broken record the event was won by Tito Gonzalez. Closely behind Tito was Tom Allen Jr. followed by Steve Hayden, Sean Fidler and Ched Proctor. Miami facts: St. Petersburg Winter Championship A few more teams joined the fun for St. Pete bringing the total on the line to 61 boats. Friday and Sunday were perfect days...to go to the beach or golfing. Not so good for sailboat racing as a giant high pressure and pleasant temperatures kept the seabreeze from breaking through. Thankfully Saturday morning provided the fleet a solid 5-12 mph NE breeze which held for 3 races. Current NA Champ Al Terhune Jr. put an end to Titos' winning ways and with a 4,4,1 secured his first Winter Championship. Just 2 points behind was David Starck and his team. Larry MacDonald, Bill Faude and Sean Fidler rounded out the top 5. St. Pete facts: For a complete listing of results go to: www.lightningclass.org
Interview by Brian Hayes In just his second year of Lightning sailing Allan Terhune Jr., with his wife Katie and sister Kristen, won the 2003 Lightning North American Championships held at Cedar Point Yacht Club in Westport, CT. We asked Al to offer some insights on how he and his team were able to dominate this years event and earn their impressive victory.
Al - Thank you. I primarily sailed Flying Scots and E-Scows growing up, but after college my wife and I were living in Connecticut and we were looking for a boat that we could travel with and for a boat that offered world class competition with good performance. We felt the Lightning was the answer and we are so glad that we chose this boat. The best part of the Lightning class is the people and we have enjoyed sailing the last year and a half in the Lightning more than any other boat. Lots of folks have been sailing these boats for years. Your seemingly sudden success is quite remarkable. What do you think enabled you to go up the curve so quickly? Al -From our success in other classes, we felt that we would be fine tactically, but we knew that boat speed and boat handling would be our biggest hurdle. We have been able to use alot of our experiences in other boats to put towards the Lightning and we have made an effort through practice and talking to the Lightning guru's to improve our boat speed. Our E-Scow sailing experience was one of our biggest assets to have as those boats are so speed driven that you have to be able to get the most out of the boat to do well. A lot of what I learned sailing scows was a big help in sailing the Lightning. You and your team had a mid-fleet finish at last years NA's and this years Worlds? How did those events effect your sailing this summer? Al -We learned alot from both of those regattas. North Cape last year was our first "major" Lightning regatta. We had one of the oldest boats in the entire regatta and we felt as though we were constantly stuggling for speed. I am not sure if it was the boat or us, but we seem faster now with our newer Allen boat. The Worlds this year was a real eye opener. We were very dissapointed in our finish in Miami, and we left there with a determination to make a run at the North Americans in Westport. One of my biggest issues was starting in big fleets. On the drive home, we talked about what our goals were and what we needed to improve on for this upcoming season. From there, we laid out our sailing schedule and made lists of what we felt we could do to improve our self. Team Terhune won the CAD's, ACC's and NA's. That is quite a Triple Crown run. How did your boat setup and game plan change for each event? Al -Our boat set up was really the same for all of the events. The CAD's were on our home waters so we felt confident sailing there and we were fortunated to have Brian Taboada and Jody Lutz racing as they helped push us to get the most out of our boat. After the CAD's I tried loosening the uppers one half a turn off the tuning guide to try to flatten our jib and tighten the headstay some. We felt in races leading up to the ACC's that we were pointing even better and sailing just as fast. Going into the ACC's and NA's we had the goal of getting top 5 in each event. We wanted to get top 7 in each race and to get off the starting line. One of my biggest problems at the Worlds was starting and I made it more of a priority at both regattas and it paid off for us. Our starting was excellent at both regattas and it helped our results At the NAs your consistency set you apart from a very deep field (8 past NA's champs in the fleet!!). What was your strategy and how did you implement it throughout the week?? Al -Starting was a big part of our strategy. Early on we had decided that unless the pin end of the line was favored by large amounts, we wanted to start near the boat. We have noticed that boats bunch up near the pin and everyone pinches to find a lane while the boats to weather drive off in their holes and power over the boats to leeward. This seems to happen at a lot of Lightning regattas. We decided we wanted to be one of the guys driving over the top of the boats bunched up at the pin. We also realized that we we could bail out easier in the event of a bad start. We started at the boat end 5 of the 6 races. The one time we started near the pin we decided it was too favored and we wanted to get left. The other thing we worked on for the week was getting Katie and Kristen more involved in finding puffs and watching the compass as well as our competitors so I could really focus on speed. This really helped us as we seemed to always be controlling our lanes and were able to go where we wanted because we were fast enough to break out to the front. Once in the top group we tried to sail as conservative as possible and not to ever lose boats we were beating. What made North Sails your choice of sailmaker for your Lightning and what models did you use and why?? Al -We use the Fisher MF-2, JF-2 and the R2 spinnakers. We use the Fisher sails becuase we like knowing that our boat is always tuned properly for the wind conditions. When we were starting our program we felt we were better off getting speed through trim and sail adjustments then to try to get our speed through rig tuning. We feel this set up is very versatile and it gives us so much confidence that no matter how windy it is we will be set up right and fast. The R-2 (spinnaker) is just plain fast on all points of sail. We use North Sails because we know we will always get a good fast product and that the customer serivice is second to none. We dont have tons of money to throw around for sails so when we buy sails we want to know we are getting a fast product for our money. North also has a great team. It has been great to pick Greg, Brian and Ched's brains to get as much information from them as possible. What advise would you offer to other Lightning sailors who are hoping to improve? Al -The most important thing is just to keep at it. There are so many people out there in this class willing to help and that have so much knowledge. Don't be afraid to try new things with your boat and with your crew. Weight placement in the Lightning is key and sailing at proper heel and fore and aft placement will go along way to helping people get faster in a hurry. Also sail as many different boats as you can. You can learn so much from sailing other boats that you can apply to a Lightning. I have learned so much from racing Flying Scots and Scows. With this great streak still going what are your future sailing plans?? Al -Our plans are to keep sailing the Lightning and to start getting our program together for the NA's in Buffalo next year. We enjoy sailing the Lightning so we have a full regatta schedule for the fall and for the spring next year. We will probably also start to do some more local Flying Scot racing when there are no Lightning regattas to keep our skills up and to give ourselves some variety so we dont get stale. Oh and maybe some IC sailing this winter too. Thanks Al and again congratulations to you Katie and Kristen. Great sailing!!
For more information on Lightning sails, contact the North Lightning experts.
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Tito Gonzalez, sailing with his son Diego and Christian Herman won the 2005 Lightning Worlds Championships convincingly just this past week. Sailed in Con-Con, Chile the event featured 45 teams from 8 countries and provided a variety of challenging wind conditions and a constant 8-10 foot swell for the 9 race, 1 toss series.
Report by 
Once again the US Sailing Mallory Cup for the US National Championship, was sailed with all North Sails.
This year the regatta was sailed at Little Egg Harbor YC near Beach Haven, New Jersey and sailed in a matched fleet of Lightnings.
Congratulations to Zack Fanberg, Kippy Chamberlain and Dave Blouin for their domination of the 2004 event.
It's not always easy. I've been practicing law 51 years and will never retire but when I'm away at a regatta and I call the office and ask to speak to my partner and the receptionist tells him that whathisname is on the phone , I figure its time to get back. I try to plan early in the year where I'm going etc and stick to it. I really do have to work out regularly- its high on the list. I figure I have about a three day window before I start going backwards. I'm lucky I have my two boys to keep me current plus Marty, who sailed with me until we had the kids, has been very supportive. But I guess I have to say I don't have much free time. I love what I'm doing and don't need any new interests except with my grand kids.
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