The 2026 G.O.T. Flashes Challenge is off and running. At this writing the total days logged is up to 284, with Bob Shapiro, Elizabeth Starck and Emma Hawko holding the podium spots on our Leaderboard with 11 days each. By the last day of the Southern Circuit in Savannah, nine sailors had logged 10 sails and were awarded new 2026 stickers.
Katherine Starck, Elizabeth Starck, Jenna Probst, Tom Starck, Bob Shapiro, Terry Hart, Kate Homet, Emma Hawko, Jeremy Wenig
We are also proud to announce an improvement to the non-sailing portion of the G.O.T.-Flashes Challenge. This year, on/off water Lighting-specific coaching sessions will count towards your G.O.T.-Flashes awards. So, time at a Lightning lab, or a dry land session with new crew working on spinnaker techniques, or other Lightning-specific training activities will all count. The new rule reads as follows:
Non-sailing time. 5 days of Lightning specific non-sailing time per year, which can include Lightning boat/trailer maintenance, on-the-water Race Committee work on days where Lightnings are racing, and on/off water Lightning specific coaching or training. Off the water sessions are assumed to last 2 hours or more. Only 5 non-sailing days are allowed per year.
Here’s a perfect example of what the new rule promotes, a beautiful day at Eugene Yacht Club in Oregon with 13 people learning how to fly a Lightning spinnaker. Bob Bush notes that the class did very well, the boat is so perfectly balanced that no rudder was necessary!
Meanwhile near Kansas City, spring has arrived and Ken Brown, last year’s first 50-sail burgee recipient, has gotten to 5 sailing days. The race for 2026’s coveted first G.O.T.-Flashes 50-Sail Burgee is on!
Bill Cabrall
Lightning LOYAL and G.O.T.-Flashes Blogger
P.S. A note from your local Assistant Measurer. While class rules require a rudder that meets the specified shape and dimensions in our plans, the rules say nothing about actually racing with it attached to the transom. In the photo above, as long as the rudder is somewhere in the boat (unclear in this photo), 15559 would be considered legally under way.