As the G.O.T.-Flashes Coordinator I occasionally get inquiries about our rules. Recently I received an email that read in part "... Sunday I did not put my boat in the water. But in the act of helping rescue a boat that came back to the dock due to the high winds, I found myself onboard a Lightning with its sails up and not tied to the dock. It was kind of a mess and I got onboard to help get things under control, sails lowered and boat secured... Does that count?"

Damn straight it does! Anyone brave enough to somehow leap from a dock to an out-of-control Lightning (how do you actually do that? Inquiring minds want to know...), get it under control and save both the boat and crew from harm or damage certainly deserves to have the day count for a G.O.T.-Flashes sticker. Heroism aside, our rules state that ANY amount of time spent in a Lightning in the water untied from a dock counts as a day on the water. This is a perfect example of why the rule is well-written. Our hero gets his day, as you all will when you do the same.

So, the next time you encounter a tall, lanky, unassuming, good looking, mild-mannered guy name Bob that sails out of Fleet 50 and spends his spare time rescuing people, stand up tall, look him straight in the eye, shake his hand, and thank him for making the Lightning Class such a wonderful place to be.

Want to tell the world just how much Lightning sailing you've been doing? You can with a G.O.T.-Flashes Polo shirt, designed by yours truly and made by Heather Dowd at Capital Logo. It's perfect for a pleasant sail or hanging around the boat park.

In other news, we currently have 375 days logged in the G.O.T.-Flashes App and the season is just starting, which is wonderful. The Podium is currently shared by Bob Shapiro and Ken Brown with 15 days each, and Bob Astrove (the mild-mannered guy from Fleet 50) at 14. The race to 50 is on! Now that the sailing season has started in Kansas City, we are going to have to go to a lot of regattas to hang on to Ken Brown as this year's race to 50 is off to a strong start.

Get out there!

Bill Cabrall

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