Lightning circus coming to Florida

The annual Lightning Class Southern Circuit finds caravans of road weary sailors from across the continent coming to Florida in March for two events of world-class competition. The schedule begins in St. Petersburg where 50 teams are registered for the Winter Championship, with 30 teams making the trip down to Miami for the Midwinter Championship.

This year’s Circuit features an array of Olympic medalists, college sailing All-Americans, and numerous Lightning North American and World champions. The favorites to claim the title are led by Argentine Javier Conte who is the current Lightning North American, South American, and World champion.

But Conte will face strong competition, however, by the likes of Todd Wake, Ched Proctor, and David Starck from the USA, Julio Velez from Ecuador, and Tito Gonzalez of Chile.

Proctor is the defending champion and has won a record seven Southern Circuits. Gonzalez has won 5, including the 2015 and 2016 editions. Newcomers Steve Kirkpatrick and Doug Clark are entering as wild-cards, but with strong teams, should also find their ways to the top of the leaderboard.

• March 24-26 – Winter Championship – St Petersburg, FL
• March 28-30 – Midwinter Regatta – Miami, FL