Ian and Lindy Edwards have been associated with the Lightning Class for more than twenty years. Throughout that period, their activities have been motivated by a single driving question….”What can we do to grow and support the fleet?” Fortunately for the Class, those efforts have been a resounding success.

Ian grew up in Australia where he learned to sail with his father on a variety of small boats. He trained as an engineer and ultimately went to work for Exxon/Mobil which led to a number of overseas assignments.

In the early 2000’s, he was assigned to a project in Lagos, Nigeria. While there, he discovered a somewhat unique “Lightning” fleet. The fleet consisted of twenty-two “Lightnings,” that is, boats that were built to Lightning specifications. However, although the boats were built to published Lightning tolerances, many of them had never been formally measured in or officially registered with the Class. Furthermore, many, if not all, of the original boats were home-built “woodies” that, although they met official Class specifications, were grossly overweight, making competition against commercially manufactured boats difficult. These boats were locally designated as “Tarpons” but sailed against the newer boats.

Nevertheless, fleet members were enthusiastic and anxious to expand participation. Ian was instrumental in acquiring and transporting a series of new Nickels Lightnings to fill out the fleet. Ian followed that effort by working with the Class to have the entire fleet formally recognized as Lightning Fleet 510. By 2007, the ILCA Yearbook records that the Lagos fleet had grown to more than 40 boats, 28 of which were modern glass hulls.

Ian’s next career stop was in Houston where he joined Lightning Fleet 521. He found a fleet that was far less active and vibrant than it once had been and set about reviving it to the former level of activity. He worked with local sailors to introduce, or reintroduce, the Lightning and facilitated the acquisition of new and competitive used boats. The result was that the fleet enjoyed a revitalization of membership and activity sufficient to support a successful bid to host the 2012 North American Championships.

In addition to building his “home” fleets, Ian has been instrumental in supporting the growth and stability of the Class throughout the world. Although the Lightning Class does not have a significant presence in Australia, Ian always hoped that someday the Class would conduct a world championship in his home waters. In support of that vision, Ian gradually purchased and transported a number of Lightnings to Australia, many of which were essentially brand new Nickels boats. His vision was to conduct a world championship in 2025. Unfortunately, timing, logistics and other conflicts ultimately made that vision unrealistic.

However, the 2025 World Championship scheduled for Voula, Greece, was in need of additional support. Seizing the opportunity, Ian offered to donate his eight Lightnings to the Class for use in Europe solely on the condition that the Class pay the cost of shipping the boats to Europe. The net result was that eight boats, four of which were sold by the Class to sailors from Finland and four from Greece, were made available for use in the World Championship. Not only did Ian’s and Lindy’s generous gesture provide critical substantive support for the Championship regatta , but also provided significant financial support for the Class.

Ian is not the only member of the family to provide generous support to the Class. In addition to sailing with and supporting Ian’s contributions to the Class, Lindy is an accomplished artist working with glass. Lindy personally made the glass trophies tor the 2012 NAs and the 2015 Worlds.

Ian has recently retired and, along with Lindy, has moved back to his native Australia. That move hardly interferes with his sailing ventures as he can be found sailing his Dehler 46, Wings, in a number of offshore events. He has competed in multiple Sydney Hobart races and, as this piece is being written, is mid-ocean racing from Sydney to Auckland. At the completion of that race, he and Lindy will be cruising to Fiji.

Despite his relocation to Australia, the Lightning Class has not seen the last of him. He sailed in the last ten World Championships and expects to continue that string. Among other events, Ian is looking forward to returning for the major Lightning Class events in North America, including the NAs, and his favorite Lightning Class event, the Southern Circuit.

Looking back on their experience with the Lightning Class, (by his own estimate, over the last 20 years, Ian has owned more than 30 Lightnings) more than anything Ian and Lindy appreciate the camaraderie that characterizes so many of the Class events and savor the friendships they have formed. They describe their efforts on behalf of the Class as a “labor of love.”

In recognition of their many services, and especially their recent donation of eight boats to the Class, Ian and Lindy are the most recent recipients of Life Memberships in the Class. The awards are well deserved and, in many respects, long overdue.

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