John Henry Ring is a treasured and valued member of the Lightning Class, the New England Lightning District, and the Buffalo Canoe Club Lightning fleet. After entering the sailing world from a non-sailing family, he quickly excelled in Optis and transitioned into sailing 420s and Lightnings with Connor Godfrey. The two made an excellent team and travelled around North America competing in both boats with John on the bow.

John ended up taking a short hiatus from sailing while he pursued his degrees and ultimately graduated from the University of Vermont with a PhD in Computer Science and a girlfriend who became his amazing wife, Amanda. The two set down roots in Vermont, and John was welcomed into the Lake Champlain Yacht Club’s singlehanded fleet and the Etchells fleet. He purchased himself an RS Aero and began to practice skippering, which led to an increased performance on the bow. Despite this, John never wavered in his support for the Lightning Class and has sailed at every regatta he gets the chance to - including the last two World Championships in Colombia and Greece.

John’s dedication to the class recently resulted in the creation of a new and streamlined app to use to track your GOT Flashes days (Have you logged yours yet? You should, John does. Be like John.). John does all this while balancing a full-time job and the responsibilities that come with being a dad to an adorable little girl. He goes out of his way at regattas to help others and has spent numerous hours working with Boat Grant teams, offering anything from a cold beer after a rough day on the water to helping step/de-step masts for the team.

The class is truly lucky to have such a devoted volunteer. And honor his work by logging your Lightning days on GOT-Flashes

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