An interview with Bob Martin about the 2018 Lightning North American Championship regatta
by David Schmidt 18 Jul 2018 08:00 PDT
July 23, 2018
2014 Champions - BRA Team Rondina - 2014 International Lightning Class Association Youth World Championship © International Lightning Class Association
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Boat designs, much like red wine, novels or music albums, don’t all age gracefully or evenly. For example, some boat builders and designers trip over themselves to incorporate as many now criteria as possible, sometimes at the expense of the vessel’s sailing performance, while others become obsolete due to changing handicap rules or loss of interest amongst One Design class members. Some however, stand the test of time. This latter category includes the venerable Lightning (and its highly active International Lightning Class Association), which continues to test top-level crews with its planing-friendly hull, symmetric spinnaker and high-level competition, including this week’s Lightning North American Championship regatta (July 23-28), which is being held at the Mission Bay Yacht Club in San Diego, California.
Some backstory. Internationally renowned yacht designer Olin J. Stephens II (1908-2008) drew the lines for the boat that would eventually become the Lightning in late 1935. The first boat was built by the Skaneateles Boat and Canoe Company and launched at the Skaneateles Country Club in October of 1938, and word of the tidy 19-footer with a planing-friendly flat bottom and a powerful rig soon spread around the East Coast before quickly migrating both domestically and internationally.
The vessel’s original builders, the brothers John and George Barnes, founded what would evolve into today’s International Lightning Class Association in 1939, with an eye towards promoting fair, One Design racing. (Not only did this help the class grow and become deeply rooted in many towns and areas, but this wise and forward-leaning move couldn’t have been bad for the Barnes’ bottom line, either.)
Fiberglass Lightnings began to appear in the late 1950s/early 1960s, which also helped spark a resurgence of class numbers, and by 1968 the class had 11,000 boats sailing on both domestic and international waters. [N.B., To date, more than 16,000 Lightnings have now been built.]
Now, many years since the Lightning’s nascent tacks unfurled on the humble waters of upstate New York’s Skaneateles Lake, the class still draws top One Design racers for its national and international-level events (not to mention plenty of regional ones, too), while also taking active steps to nurture the next generation.
For example, in 2007, Bill Fastiggi and Allan Terhune created the Lightning Boat Grant Program, which helps provide teams (typically two) with a boat charter, mentoring, and funds to race the boat competitively for a year, and the results have already been yielding handsome dividends.
This year’s North American Championship is unfurling on California’s southern coast, far from Skaneateles Lake, but there’s no question that the late, great Mr. Stephens would be pleased to know that his flat-bottom speedster is still generating grins and highly competitive racing almost 83 years after he first envisioned this now-iconic One Design.
I interviewed Bob Martin, regatta chairman of the Lightning North American Championship, as well as a competing skipper, via email, to learn more about this high-level regatta.
Can you give us an update on the state of the class in North America?
The Lightning class continues to thrive and remains one of the largest and most competitive One Design classes, not only in North America, but also worldwide with over 100 fleets.
Having a boat that is fun to sail, comfortable, and easy to trailer and setup combined with a friendly, helpful class culture has attracted some of the best sailors in the world for 80 years. I see no reason that this won’t continue for a long time.
How much of an impact have initiatives such as the class’ forward-leaning grant program having on the competition levels that you are seeing at national-level events such as the North American Championship? Also, what about in terms of entry numbers and overall competition levels at big events?
The annual Boat Grant Program provides a competitive boat and regatta expenses to two young teams for one season. This program has brought young sailors into the class and certainly helped maintain strong participation at national events.
The number of boats at North American Championships have ranged between 71 and 107 the past few years. Not many classes can say that.
How big of a factor do you think local knowledge will play at this year’s North Americans?
I don’t think local knowledge will be a big factor. At Mission Bay, the sea breeze is fairly consistent with 10 to 15-degree oscillating shifts and little current. It’s not difficult to figure out.
Of course, lake sailors will need to learn how to dodge kelp!
As one of the organizers, what are you most looking forward to about this event? What about as one of the skippers?
As one of the organizers, I look forward to putting on a first-class event that sailors and their families really enjoy. Many boats will be traveling a long distance to attend, and we want to put on an event that is worthy of the investment these teams are making to be here. As a competitor, I look forward to racing against many big names in sailing, people that I’ve read about for years but have not had the opportunity to compete against.
If you were a gambling man, what teams would you be eyeing for podium finishes?
That’s a difficult question because so many teams are good enough to win.
That said, I’d have to list Tito Gonzalez, Jody Starck, Todd Wake, Debbie Probst, Ched Proctor, Greg Fisher, Marvin Beckmann and David Starck as favorites. Matt Burridge, who won the North American Championship the last time it was sailed at Mission Bay, shouldn’t be overlooked either.
I’m probably leaving out some top teams, which tells you something about the class.
Can you tell us about any recent steps that the event has taken to “green up” or reduce its environmental impact compared to previous NAs?
Mission Bay Yacht Club has been focusing on green initiatives for a long time. Even the water used to rinse boats after sailing is not allowed to drain into the ocean.
To minimize this regatta’s environmental impact, we are taking steps to eliminate single-use plastic items. For example, racers will be encouraged to refill reusable water containers with ice-cold, great-tasting water, which we are providing for free.
Anything else that you’d like to add, for the record?
This is an especially important regatta because, in addition to being the 2018 North American Championship, it is also the country qualifier for the Pan-American Games LIMA 2019 and the U.S. qualifier for the 2019 World Championship in Finland.
You can find more information about the 2018 North American Championship and Lightnings at www.lightningclass.org.