Lightning Circuit: Second Stop

North Sails rep Greg Fisher and his team of JoAnn Fisher and Steve Davis will be keeping us updated on the this year's Lightning Southern Circuit, which begins in Savannah, GA (March 11-12), and continues on to Miami, FL (March 14-15) and St. Petersburg, FL (17-19).">

(Tuesday, March 14 - Miami, FL) As usual, it was a spectacular day when we pulled in to the Coral Reef YC parking lot Monday afternoon for the second regatta of the southern circuit. The breeze was a solid 15 knots, the air temperature was a sunny 80 degrees… makes the drive here easy with conditions like this. Much of the fleet had already set up, with about 10 boats having taken to the water for a little practice. One boat (another family boat of course) was skippered by Optimist Champion Taylor Lutz with his Uncle Jody and Dad Jay crewing. David Stark and his team went out for a little practice as well. Rumor has it that a cooler went riding with them. There's promise of another 50 boats here at the Midwinter Championship!

The parking lot was buzzing with tension gauges, tape measures, and electric drills. Olympian Carol Cronin was even having her hair trimmed by Bill Fastiggi's teammate Chantelle Leger. The remainder of the circuit will be a bit different on our boat and for me. The class allows (and encourages) co-skippering throughout the circuit as long as the same team sails together. Steve Davis and my wife JoAnn will trade steering for the next two events with yours truly as crew. My hunch is that we will be relying heavily on speed and smarts, as I sense our boat handling skills might be taking a hit with me in the middle. JoAnn is steering here in Miami and Steve will steer in St Pete.

Steve is traveling with his wife Jan, who is the new executive secretary of the International Lightning Class. After watching them at work, we definitely have a great appreciation for their commitment to the class. Jan is on 24/7 taking calls, helping set up registration, and answering emails! Thanks to them both.

Our first race is at 11:30 am today, with a perfect 10-12 knots expected. We'll keep you posted with more info tonight. - Greg Fisher

View all Circuit reports:
Savannah, Miami (One, Two, Three), St Pete (One, Two, Three, Four)