Conte wins Lightning Winter Champs

St. Petersburg, FL (March 26, 2018) – The third and final day of the 71st Lightning Winter Championship saw teams hit the water for a 10:00 start and found steady breeze at 10-12 knots from the East-northeast.

Class newcomer and US Coast Guard Academy sailing director Doug Clark with his veteran crew of Will Jeffers and Sam Parisi sailed a spectacular first beat to round the windward mark in first. After a right shift, though, David Starck, Todd Wake, and Tanner Probst gybed quickly around the offset and rode a line of pressure down the course, as the right side overtook the leaders who had carried out around the offset mark.

Starck led around the leeward mark and maintained this lead for the rest of the race. Wake finished second, followed by Tanner Probst and Ched Proctor. With regatta leader Javier Conte finishing seventh, the scoreboard just got interesting. Going into the final race with a throw-out coming into play after six races, Starck had closed the gap to match Conte’s net score.

The final race would determine who would win the regatta, and Starck and Conte found their ways to the top of the fleet. After splitting widely on the first beat, the two teams converged from opposite corners of the course to be 1,2 at the windward mark, with Conte holding a slight advantage.

Through the rest of the race, the breeze tapered to 1-2 knots. Reigning world champ Conte and team managed to hold off the 2013 world champions, and in doing so, claimed the title. Starck and team finished the regatta in second, only 1 point back of Conte and team. Steve Kirkpatrick was a model of consistency and finished in a close third. Ched Proctor finished seventh overall, but managed to claim the Winter Masters’ division championship.

The Winter Championship is the first of two events that form the Lightning Southern Circuit. The next even is the Midwinter Championship on March 28-30 in Miami, FL.

Final Results (Top 10 of 51; 6 races, 1 discard)
1. Javier Conte / Julio Alsogaray / Paula Salerno , ARG – 1 -5 -5 -2 -[7] -1 ; 14
2. David Starck / PJ Schaffer / Kelly Barnash , USA – 4 -6 -2 -[21] -1 -2 ; 15
3. Steve Kirkpatrick / Neal Fowler / Hillary Noble , USA – 2 -2 -3 -[27] -11 -3 ; 21
4. Marvin Beckmann / Jimmy Barnash / Becca Jordan , USA – 11 -[18] -1 -1 -9 -12 ; 34
5. Mark Allen / Skip Dieball / Emily Simon , USA – 5 -9 -[16] -3 -10 -8 ; 35
6. Tanner Probst / Jenna Probst / Debbie Probst , USA – 10 -[35] -8 -7 -3 -9 ; 37
7. Ched Proctor / Jeff Eiber / Abigail Preston , USA – 7 -16 -[21] -5 -4 -5 ; 37
8. Bill Mauk / Rafael Melendez / Lars Osell , USA – 8 -4 -10 -12 -[15] -7 ; 41
9. Todd Wake / Kristine Wake / Doug Wake , USA – 21 -1 -9 -[53] -2 -10 ; 43
10. Tito Gonzalez / Trini Gonzalez / Alberto Gonzalez Jr , CHI – 16 -11 -4 -9 -[53] -4 ; 44

Event details – Results – Facebook

2018 Lightning Southern Circuit
• March 24-26 – Winter Championship – St Petersburg, FL
• March 28-30 – Midwinter Regatta – Miami, FL

Source: Doug Wake