Regatta Wraps Ups

2008-2009 Volvo Ocean Race

A lot has happened since the last update. A shattered boat for one team, a shattered record for another.

At the close of the last update, the fleet was heading south along the South American coast, waiting for a low pressure system to materialize and take them across the pond to Cape Town, South Africa. That low came, and provided an exciting ride for all. Green Dragon led the fleet south, hoping to find increased pressure as they got closer to the center of the low. Ericcson 4 and Puma cut the corner a bit, and made gains by doing this emerging as the lead two boats. Then it got exciting.

The 2008 Lightning Pennsylvania Governors Cup Regatta was held the weekend of October 24 and 25th in Wrightsville, Pennsylvania. Susquehanna Yacht Club hosted the event, with sailing on the Susquehanna River. The river is dammed up a few miles down, creating a beautiful sailing venue that is more than a mile wide in the primary sailing area. 15 lightnings braved the grim forecast to compete in the event. After some very tight racing, Charlie Wardwell and team emerged as the champions. Charlie and crew may also be the champions of the Saturday night party, though those official results haven't come in yet.

Central New York Lightning District

10/05/2008 - 13 Boats competed in the 1998 Ithaca Frostbite Lightning Regatta, the final one day regatta of the season for the Central New York Lightning District. The event was held out of Ithaca Yacht Club, on the western shore of picturesque Cayuga Lake. Jack Jones and team continued his fast sailing to take the top spot at the end of the day. It was not an easy win, as Dan Pope and Dick Hallagan were both in contention to win. Dan and team were tied with Jones after the final race but lost a tie breaker to finish in second. Dick Hallagan and team were two points behind to claim third.

I was fortunate enough to race in Skandia Cowes Race Week with a close friend, Tim Pennington, at the close of my 2008 summer.  It was my first trip to England and I don’t think I could have had a better time. Cowes consisted of 8 days, 1 3-4 hour race a day.  It felt like a marathon regatta.

Central New York Lightning District

The 2008 edition of the Caz one day Lightning Regatta was sailed on September 20, 2008 out of Willowbank Yacht Club in picturesque Cazenovia, New York. Mark Sertl, Katja Sertl, and Lynne Thomson dominated the day winning the regatta with a string of all firsts (and a second, which was thrown out). Jack Jones, Anne Kearney, and Lori Foster were a solid second place with Landy Atkinson, Jillian Dart, and Gordon Wright finishing third. Once again I missed out on another Central New York Regatta, but from the pictures it looks like it was a gorgeous day on the water. If you were there, feel free to provide some stories of the racing and festivities!

The 2008 Lightning Manahawkin Bay Cup was held September 20 at the Surf City Yacht Club on Long Beach Island, New Jersey. Jim Carson with Jim Roe and Don Schon proved too quick for the competition and came away with the victory after a five race series. Bob Sengstacken from Nyack Boat Club with Daniel Zitin and Mino Tsutsui as crew was second, and one point back of them was Rich Warren with teammates Randy Swartley and Sue Warren.

Central New York Lightning District

Twenty-one boats braved the weather brought along by tropical storm Hanna to compete in the 2008 edition of the Skaneateles One Day Lightning Regatta. Two races were completed on the stormy Saturday... well, it looks like one race was completed by all of the boats, and the second completed by a few. Anyone who sailed care to comment on all those DNF's?

2008 Lightning North Americans

We just finished competing in the 2008 Lightning North Americans held in Newport, RI, arguably one of the prettiest sailing venues around. Alan Terhune bested the nearly 100 boats to claim the top prize. Alan was joined on his boat by his wife Katie and Rolex Yachtsman of the Year, Jeff Linton. That was one accomplished boat, and if before the regatta I was to bet on someone winning, it would have been that team hands down. They certainly didn't make it easy on themselves as they posted their throw-out in the first race of the championship series and had to sail flawlessly from there on out. Needless to say, they did just that, and won by a healthy margin over Matt Fisher with his own All-Star crew of Dan and Tobi Moriarty.

2008 Lightning North Americans

Sail Newport of Newport, RI is hosting the 2008 Lightning North Americans with racing beginning tomorrow.  Actually, the real festivities began earlier in the week with the North American Womens, Juniors, and Masters competition.  These sailors experienced a range of conditions from drifting to holding on for dear life, but we hear that most left with a smile on their face.  You can get all the details from this event from lightningclass.org.