The G.O.T. Flashes Challenge is sitting stable at 1,550 days logged. Given the weather in North America lately it's entirely possible the season is beginning to wind down. Here in Annapolis where I am, for example, the temperature has been below freezing for most of a week, and whenever I walk around the house humming "Oh, the weather outside is frightful, My Lightning's so delightful, I'd love to sail in the snow, let it blow, let it blow, let it blow", my wife reminds me it's blowing 30 and tells me to shut up and sit down. Possibly, she's the smart one in this household.
I ran the numbers, and out of 1,550 days logged, we had 1,259 different boats registered, which strongly hints that Lightnings left the dock over a thousand times this year. We know the G.O.T. Flashes Challenge underestimates actual days sailed (anyone believe David Starck only went out 6 times? Not me!), and we know the method we used to record data was clunkly and somewhat underwhelming to use, which acted to depress results.
The good news is that emerging Lightning Legend John Ring stepped up and built a new, dedicated app that will go live on Jan 2, 2026 for the 2026 G.O.T. Flashes Challenge. With the new app, you will be able to easily login to record your time, check your sailing days on a calendar, log multiple days at the same time, and look at Leaderboards for the whole Class, your District or Fleet any time you wish. It's fantastic and greatly improves the G.O.T. Flashes Challenge experience. John Ring is a Lightning giant! Look for information on how to log into the new app soon (hint - the Class website page for the G.O.T. Flashes Challenge will be one of the primary gateways).
If you are sitting on some unlogged days, you have until Dec 31 to get them in, as the old method will go dark with the new year. I will run the numbers one last time in early January, so you still have a chance, but the window is beginning to close.
Along with John Ring, the G.O.T. Flashes Challenge has come to us all through wonderful work by Carly Stark, who did the graphics, Pauli Kaiser who processed the awards, and the entire LOYALS Team who have supported its development all year, especially Bob Bush, Bob Shapiro, and Bertie Werley. To you, and everyone else that lent a hand, thank you very much.
What boat sailed the most? The data shows Lightning 15112, 'Barometer Soup', sailed by David & Jonette Werley, was mentioned 125 times in our data in 2025. Interestingly enough, hull #313, only 14,799 boats older, was knocking on the door of the Top 10. Clearly age means nothing when it comes to the joys of sailing a Lightning. Ken Brown from the Kansas City area was the first person to get to 50, sailing locally for the joy of it, followed almost immediately by people that had literally traveled the globe to find a great Lightning race.
It's been a great year, and 2026 is looking even better. I hope that everyone has a fantastic holiday season and a happy new year. See you on the water in 2026!
Bill Cabrall
Lightning LOYALS