News

Beckmann gains control at Lightning North Americans

Published on July 27th, 2018

San Diego, CA (July 27, 2018) – Marvin Beckmann and his team of Jimmy Barnash and Meredith Ryan continued their consistent racing despite variable conditions with scores today of 4, 2, and 5 (28 points) to took a five point lead at the Lightning North Americans. Ched Proctor and team (33 points) lead a fleet of competitors solidly within striking distance, and the stage is set for an exciting final race day tomorrow.

Just after the first start of the day, the traditionally light San Diego winds built to an unforecasted 14 knots from farther right than competitors had previously seen. Richard Walsh with team Alex Cox and Nikka Stoger won the breezy race after winning the left followed closely by Douglas Hickman and David Starck.

The wind built a few more knots for the day’s second race and seemed to settle into a more stable direction. Rafael Quintero and team along with regatta leader Beckmann won the right side early after starting at the boat before converging with pin starter David Starck. In this drag race, Quintero fended off second place finisher Beckmann and third place Starck before winning comfortably on the final run.

A series of postponements and abandoned starts followed the second race as an ominous fog layer blocked out the sun while settling over the racing area. The breeze died to 5 knots but chop remained for most of the race. In difficult and patchy sailing conditions, Julio Velez (race winner) worked the left side of the course early before claiming a sizable lead on the second upwind leg. David Starck rounded the first windward mark outside of the top 15 before grinding through the fleet to take second in the race and win the day. As the wind died near the end of the final race, boats were stretched out across the course and limped in to shore.