2010 Lightning North American Championship - Toms River, NJ

The journey to the 2010 Lightning North Americans started just after the Southern Circuit in March.  Tom Starck, Kristin Medwid and I discussed a number of events for the 2010 season and the NAs were a must!  As the summer progressed, Kristin found a schedule conflict with her commitment to the Susan G. Komen event in Detroit.  It is a 3-day fund raiser for cancer.  She did a great job of raising money and we didn't want the NAs to interfere with that commitment, so we picked up my friend Sarah Paisley from Thistle and J22 fame.  She filled in perfectly!

Tom and I were excited coming off the St. Pete event.  The boat (14880) was in top

form and provided the necessary platform for us to make a run, but Tom and I got to talking with our longtime teammate Jody Starck about the use of her beautiful 15399, which would already be in New Jersey for the Women's Championship and already measured!  We sealed the deal and enjoyed the ease in logistics!  There are a few things that are at the top of our list and Jody took care of not one, but two.  The 2nd is LUNCH!  She makes the best lunch, as Tom and I have enjoyed over the last 12+ years!  Her offer was quickly accepted.  This was above and beyond and we can't thank Jody enough.  Though we didn't sail together for the NAs, she was (and always will be) our teammate!

Onto the racing!  I've sailed on Bannegat Bay a few times.  I have heard of the epic sea breeze, but oddly have never really sailed in it.  A few years ago I took my Thistle to Lavellette, just to the North of Toms River and had a predominately light wind event.  Another event where we didn't fully get the famous sea breeze was the Jet 14 Nationals at Island Heights.  There was one day, but it didn't seem like the right direction, so we were eager to experience it!  We did...for one day, unfortunately.  The good news, however, was that a post-frontal breeze from the Northeast brought great winds and challenging shifts.  I was quite happy with how the weather played out.  See, I was the chairman of the Thistle Nationals a few weeks before and the weather didn't exactly cooperate the way we had hoped.  We can only take care of the things within our power...

Our team had a marginal qualifier (the 4 initial races that are scored to divide the fleet,

but don't count toward the final points).  We were sweating on whether we qualified and knew that our performance wasn't only due to bad decisions on the race course, but also in our set up.  We took the rig down, backed everything off, marked all our settings and started from scratch.  We found that our mast was not centered and the forestay was off significantly.  Both would greatly impact upwind speed.  It was a bittersweet situation because we were happy that we found some symptoms, but we were also upset with ourselves for not checking everything over prior to the event...like we do ALL THE TIME!  Lesson learned...

The very next race (1st of the Championship) we won from wire to wire.  Tom and I looked at each other on the 1st beat as we knew we found the magic gear again!  Good timing!  Winning the opening race wasn't easy as the wind was shifting and the velocity was up and down.  It did give us tremendous confidence which would carry over through the entire regatta!

The subsequent racing was tight throughout the rest of the week, but no race more than the last.  There were 5 teams that were within 2 points going into the last race.  I often try to reflect on the feelings going into such situations.  In many instances, I thrive on this situation, this race was no exception, but I wondered afterward why I wasn't more nervous or anxious because this was only my 2nd NAs as a driver.  It had to be 100% because I knew my team and my boat were perfect and could win any given race.  We dove right in and started between David Starck's team and Tito Gonzalez's team.  A huge lefty had us tacking right away, but we found ourselves stepping out after about 200 yards in that lane.  That, in hindsight, was the race, but we never gave up and actually pulled into the leaders a few times that would make things even more exciting!  I have to hand it to my teammates for giving 110% even when we knew our options were limited.  They are champions and I can't thank them enough for their effort all week.  It was a rollercoaster for sure.

In reflecting, I have to take my hat off to David Starck, Ian Jones and Jody Starck for sailing a great event.  We've been matching up with them all summer and they are on fire.  They were my pick at the start of the event because they are in that zone.  We are delighted with how we matched up with them all week.  Once we got the rig right, I never had a doubt in our speed in set up...primarily because we were right there with David's team.

Thanks to the great team of volunteers at Toms River Yacht Club!  You worked hard so we could enjoy Lightning Sailing.  We are very grateful!

Dieball Sailing's Lightning sails are PERFECT!  I can't say enough of the effort that Rick Rothenbuher and Ernie Dieball have put into our product.  I continually challenge them and they answer the call with shape tweaks and material changes.  This level of commitment is exactly what we want the world to know about our entire approach to sailmaking.  Our 2010 sails are the standard from which we'll be developing our 2011 shapes.  You should climb on board and experience what Ernie and Rick have worked so hard on...I am glad to have them on my team...you will be too!

RESULTS