February 27, 2008 NEWS –– FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
2008 Nominees for the International Lightning
Boat Grant Program
Announced
Following up on the “wildly successful” first year of the Lightning
Boat Grant Program, the ILCA is proud to announce the nominees for
the 2008 Program. Ranging in age from early teens to late 20’s,
nineteen applications came in from North America, Greece, and
Finland. Five teams have been granted fully rigged, insured, and
race-ready Lightnings, while a sixth team was given a
“Developmental” grant boat.
“The
boat grant program has gained momentum,” said ILCA president Steve
Davis. “Not only did Allen Boat Company and Nickels Boat Works both
lend brand-new boats, we have new suits of sails from North Sails,
Quantum Sails, and Vermont Sailing Partners. It goes to show how
deeply committed the class –– and its suppliers –– are to fostering
young teams.”
Skipper Dan Perkins, 19, has been granted the “Colin Park
Memorial Boat” in honor of the late Lightning President and Champion
Colin Park. He will be sailing out of Lightning Fleet 85 in Niantic,
CT. His crew includes Tripp Cashell and Ben Greenfield., both 19.
All three are members of the BU Terriers Varsity sailing team, and
will have former ILCA North American Champion (2002) Bill Healy as
their class-appointed mentor. Team
Profile
e-mail Dan
20-year-old skipper Clinton Hayes, also based out of Niantic,
CT, will also be able to call on Bill Healy as mentor. Hayes, a
native of East Haddam, CT, will sail with Tyler Baeder, 20, and
Steve Widdis, 21. All three are students at the University of
Vermont. Team Profile e-mail Clinton
Sailing out of Colorado’s Fleet 488, Nick Farina, 26, is just
finishing up his PhD work at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
His team includes fellow Vermonter Elizabeth Henry-Hooker, 24, who
is a student at the University of Colorado, and 19-year-old Colorado
native Reeve Dunn, who is a sophomore at Tufts University. ILCA
president Steve Davis is the team’s mentor.
Team Profile
e-mail Nick
Justin Coplan,
20, will be sailing the “Bruce Goldsmith Memorial Boat” in honor of
the late Lightning legend. He’ll be based at Fleet 75 in Nyack, NY,
with Robert Sengstacken as mentor. A student at Rochester Institute
of Technology’s, Coplan was the captain of the sailing team last
fall. His teammates include high-school seniors, Ellen Turk and
Fiona Gordon of Nyack, NY, both 17.
Team Profile
e-mail Justin
Skipper Will Brown, 20, will be based out of Barnegat Light,
NJ, Fleet 335. His team includes Ben Siegal, 21, a fellow student at
Brown University, and Leigh Kempton, 21, from Boston College. ILCA
Executive Board member John Faus will be the team’s mentor.
Team Profile e-mail
Will
16-year-old Collin Kirby
of Purcellville, VA, was granted the “Developmental” position. He
will skipper a grant boat in the Fleet 50 of the Potomac River. He
and his teammates, Ian Turnipseed and Sam Athey, are all juniors at
Loudoun Valley High School.
Team Profile
e-mail Collin
About the Boat Grant Program
“These are new or nearly-new Lightnings, with all the bells and
whistles,” reports Bill Fastiggi, one of the originators of the
program. “Thanks to the generosity of the class and the vendors,
these teams can pretty much hook up the trailer and hit the road to
do as many regattas as they can.” In addition, Fastiggi explained,
each team has an official mentor in the class, who can provide
coaching, advice, guidance, and help manage the day-to-day upkeep of
the boats.
“Bill
Fastiggi and Allan Terhune tackled the problem of how to attract and
keep young people in the class by suggesting we fund a boat for a
young team for a season,” said ILCA president Steve Davis. “The
response from inside and outside the class has been amazing: people
donated boats, sails, covers, gear, lent boats and sent checks. As a
result, we will have six additional young teams racing this year.
And that’s a win-win for the sport, the class, and the sailors.”
Fastiggi and Terhune were awarded U.S. Sailing’s One-Design
Leadership Award in 2007 for their efforts.
According to Bobby Martin, one of the first young skippers to have a
grant boat in 2007, the program exceeded expectations, “My boat was
brand new. It was amazing. When I ran into issues, my mentor and
members of my local fleet were always there to help… I never could
have imagined that I would have enjoyed the class and the boat this
much.”
“We
hope that even more young sailors will apply to the program, knowing
what a positive experience it's been,” said John Faus of the ILCA
Executive Board, who helped organize this year's program. “This
really works out for the sailors and the class.”
The
selection criteria can be found on the ILCA website
http://www.lightningclass.org/Boat_Grant/SelectionCriteria.htm
The
International Lightning, a 19-foot sloop designed by Sparkman &
Stephens in 1938, can be found in North and South America, Europe,
Africa, and Australia. Class alumni include Carl Eichenlaub, this
year’s 470 Olympic team of Amanda Clark and Sarah Mergenthaler, Bill
Shore, Tito Gonzalez, U.S. Sailing Rolex Yachtswomen Jody (Swanson)
Starck, Betsy Alison, and Bonnie Shore, U.S. Sailing Rolex Yachtsmen
Ken Read, Dave Curtis, Dennis Conner, Jeff Linton, and ISAF Sailor
of the Year Ed Baird -- many of whom got their start in the boat
sailing with friends and family.
For
additional information, contact Jan Davis at 303-325-5886, email
office@lightningclass.org.
