Wrightsville Beach, NC –
By Airwaves Writer Heather Kerns
Racing for the 2025 Lightning North Americans took place over three days, September 25-27, 2025. The Carolina Yacht Club organized a fantastic regatta, and Wrightsville Beach delivered a wide range of conditions.
Four races were completed over the course of the event. Three races were completed on Day 1 after the sea breeze filled. A light and unstable breeze met the fleet out on the water for the morning of Day 2, but PRO Todd Fedyszyn was able to get a race off when the velocity settled. During what would have been race 5, a storm cell formed to the south and led to some sporty conditions and race abandonment. Due to weather cells and light winds, no races were completed on Day 3.
Team Cut the Breaks (John Newell, Owen MacD
onald, and Sarah Costich) sailed the most consistent event, coming away with 21 points total. Second place finisher, Jody Starck, and her team of Kevin Robinson and Jonathan Lutz accumulated 33 points. Rounding out the podium was Team El Doctorado from Chile, sailed by Felipe Robles, Carmina Malsch, and Paula Herman. Congratulations to these teams.
Looking at the finishes of the top 10 boats, it’s clear that nearly every team encountered a challenging race in their scoreline. While the regatta leaders managed to stay ahead, they didn’t fully run away with the event, keeping the competition wide open. Across the rest of the fleet, the racing remained exceptionally tight, a testament to the Lightning Class’s reputation for deeply competitive one-design sailing. You can check out the results HERE.
For this event, Lightning Class rules were amended to require all boats to use the Vakaros RaceSense system with an Atlas 2 unit. RaceSense is a high-precision, real-time GPS system for sailing races that automates start line calls, live tracking, scoring, and race management. Though there were some technical difficulties during the practice race, it seems that the technology held up through the racing. It will be interesting to see if the Lightning Class will continue this partnership.
The event showcased both strong competition and evolving race technology, setting the stage for future innovation in the class.
Photos by Barbara Howard.
Leave a Reply