Hello NELD sailors!
To those of you not in attendance for our winter meeting at the beginning of the month, please get caught up with the minutes and schedule attached to this email. Below is the list of scheduled events that will count towards the NE District Circuit Championship for this season (including EIGHT total district events, INCLUDING ACC's). Please note that scoring rules have been adjusted to accommodate this, which will be outlined later in this email. Looks like a great season of sailing is ahead!
NELD Circuit regattas:
- February 16-18 - St. Pete. Helly Hansen Sailing World/St. Petersburg, FL
- March 17-19 - St. Pete. Southern Circuit/St. Petersburg, FL
- March 21-23 - Miami Southern Circuit/Miami, FL
- *June 1-2 - MBBC Spring Regatta, Malletts Bay Boat Club, Colchester, VT
- *June 8 - Centerboard Regatta/Centerboard Yacht Club, Portland, ME
- *June 15-16 - Joint CT/RI&NED District Championship, Hingham Yacht Club, Hingham, MA
- *June 22-23 - Duxbury Regatta/Duxbury Bay Maritime School, Duxbury, MA
- July 27-28 - ACC's/HHSW Regatta Series/Marblehead, MA
- August 3-6 - North American WJM Championships/Buffalo Canoe Club, Ridgeway Ontario, CANADA
- August 7-11 - North American Championships/Buffalo Canoe Club, Ridgeway Ontario, CANADA
- August 17 - Squam Lake One Day Regatta / District WJMs, Squam Lakes Association, Holderness, NH. See below for recently adopted qualification exceptions (in addition to normal ILCA qualifications) for NE WJM:
- Women: mixed format (2+ females on board) OR female skipper (preferred)
- Juniors: average age of 20 for a team of 3 OR Junior (U20) skipper (preferred)
- Masters: three-generation family team w/ skipper age 55+
- August 24-25 - U32 Regatta/Buffalo Canoe Club, Ridgeway Ontario, CANADA
- Regatta open to any sailor 32 years old or younger, the goal is to pull in more non-lightning sailors to the class, so please invite friends
- Sailors are welcome to leave their boats at BCC between WJMs/NAs and the U32 event, if they do not plan to sail between the events
- September 7 -Bow Lake Ed Hinds Memorial One Day Regatta, Bow Lake, Strafford, NH
- September 14-15 - Lake Massabesic Annual Regatta, Massabesic Yacht Club, Auburn, NH
- October 12-13 - MBBC Leaf Peeper, Malletts Bay Boat Club, Colchester, VT
With such a full schedule of racing, we have decided to change the scoring of the District Series to encourage more participation at local regattas. This season, there will be an increase in regatta bonuses from 6 points to 12 points, and ACCs will be excluded from the scoring; Districts will continue to be included in the scoring.
The thing I love most about sailing Lightnings in New England is getting to see everyone at their respective home venues, and I'm excited to be able to continue to add new locations to the mix each year. Let's all make the effort to get boats and people to the Centerboard regatta in addition to the regular circuit. I'm personally looking forward to racing in as many of these events as I am able, and I hope to see many of you at them all, too.
This year will be the inaugural year of the U32 regatta, the aim of this event is to provide a space for competitors between Juniors and "adulthood" to enter the class, hone their skills, and meet more people their age. It will be open to any sailor between the ages of 21 and 32. If you know any sailors who are not yet in the class, please reach out to them. We plan to have boats available to teams that may not otherwise have a boat. Additionally, if you plan on competing in WJMs and/or NAs and would like to lend your boat to sailors for this event, please reach out to me, and I can connect you with the boat coordinator for this event.
Last year, Nathan and I were two of the few New England boats to compete in NAs and/or ACCs. Traveling to these regattas was incredibly fun, especially with friends! I can't express enough how much there is to learn at major regattas in addition to our normal events, and the top sailors in the Class are always willing to share what they know. Let's continue to travel and show the strength of New England Lightning sailing!
See you on the water,
Emma Hawko
NELD Secretary
Squam Lake Lightning Fleet 332/Mallets Bay Fleet 301
