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International
Lightning Class Association
HomePipeline Program
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Creating a pipeline of race-ready affordable Lightnings, matching boats to potential owners, helping them purchase, upgrade, and maintain them. Mentoring them through the process and beyond. Sellers get help finding buyers, and as a 501(c)3 organization, tax benefits may be possible for donated boats to the program.

Facilitators/mentors have been assigned geographic areas. Financial opportunities further help younger sailors become boat owners, with stipend payments or loans, coupled with first-year participation guidelines.

Do you know of a Lightning that needs a good home?

Are you interested in owning your own boat?

Contact: pipeline@lightningclass.org

Pipeline Program Support:

  1. Identifying qualifying boats
  2. Technical assistance and mentorship
  3. Transporting boats
  4. Financial contribution from the Class, focused on younger and first-time owners
  5. Other in-kind assistance
    1. Potential supplier discounts, etc.
  6. One year Class dues for first-time boat owners

Four Financial Assistance Models:

Boat Purchase: The Class provides financial assistance in the form of cash stipends to assist a new Lightning sailor to purchase a “Race Worthy” boat

Upgrade: The Class provides financial assistance in the form of cash stipends to assist a Lightning owner to upgrade rigging on their otherwise “Race Worthy” boat.


Lease to Own: The Class owns a Race Worthy boat (may have been donated) and leases the boat to a new sailor. At the end of the lease, the sailor owns the boat having acquired it at a substantial discount to market value.


Lending: The Class provides a financial loan under discounted terms aiding a Lightning sailor to purchase a boat.

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We are pleased to have presented checks to our first two participants teams at the recent WJM's in Milwaukee - Emma Hawko and Sandra Nygren, and Lillian and Isabelle Molitor.  


Many of you are familiar with Emma – she has been the coordinator of three separate Boat Grant teams. She was a crew on the first two teams, and skipper for the third. She has crewed for many years with Don Brush, chartered a boat to skipper in Greece for the Worlds, and has borrowed other boats to sail in events since graduating from the Boat Grant program. She is a U32 woman skipper – a demographic we are excited to see growing! Emma and Sandra located a good used boat to buy - #15058- and will receive a total of $2,000 from the Pipeline Program to help further their program.


The second team – sisters Lillian and Isabelle Molitor, sailed their first Junior NA’s at Sheboygan. Isabelle just started sailing last year; Lillian has been regularly crewing at Saginaw Bay for some time, and has become an instructor certified by US Sailing. She has advanced from crewing, to crewing on the Local Boat Grant boat, to buying the Local Boat Grant boat, to sailing in the Junior NA’s. And the Local Boat Grant boat has been backfilled (thanks to Terry Hart), creating more opportunities to bring in more new skippers and crew. Lillian enlisted the help of our Pipeline Program Lead Terry Hart to help her assess boats and find a boat that suited their needs. Lillian and Isabelle will receive a total of $1,200 from the Pipeline Program.


Both these teams represent a confluence of several Class initiatives – Junior sailing, Boat Grant teams, Local Boat Grant programs, promoting Women’s sailing and U32’s and the Pipeline Program.