2:11 AM Thu 10 Sep 2009 GMT
2009 Lightning World Championship. The Malletts Bay Boat Club in Colchester, Vt. welcomes the best Lightning sailors in the world to the spectacular waterfront overlooking Lake Champlain and the Adirondack Mountains for the 2009 Lightning World Championship on Sept. 12-18, preceded by the International Masters Championship on Sept. 9-11.
This year's World Championship will feature 63 boats from 11 countries. They are held every two years and the event rotates between North America, South America and Europe. The last time the event was held in the U.S. was Miami, Fla. in 2003.
Defending champion, Jeff Linton, returns to lead this year's star-studded cast of Lightning sailors. The 2007 winner of US Sailing's Rolex Yachtsman of the Year, won the event in Marsala, Italy in 2007 with his team of Amy Smith Linton and Jahn Tihansky. Linton won US Sailing's 1998 U.S. Match Racing Championship in Lightnings. Other contenders include four-time Lightning World Champion, Tito Gonzales (Chile); 2009 North American Champion, Marcus Eagan (New Orleans, La.); 2009 Atlantic Coast Champion, David Starck (Buffalo, N.Y.); and 2008 North American Champion, 2009 Southern Circuit Champion, and 2003 Championship of Champions winner, Allan Terhune (Arnold, Md.); and 2007 North American Champion and 2009 North American Championship runner-up, Geoff Becker (Arnold, Md.).
The ILCA International Masters Championship has over 30 boats registered. There will be a record turnout for both events. 'This is a tribute to the strength of the Lightning Class and the popularity of the venue,' said event organizer and competing Lightning sailor, Bill Fastiggi (Winooski, Vt.).
Check the 2009 Lightning World Championship event website for live on the water updates during the event, the full roster of competing sailors, and more regatta information.
Watch highlights from the 2009 Lightning World Championships at Sailgroove.com.
by Jan Davis
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