BHYC Tied to Lightning Victory
This year's Lightning North American Championship was held at the Buffalo Canoe Club. Tucked in Abino Bay off Lake Erie in Ontario, it is home to some of the best sailing conditions with fresh water, plenty of breeze, and big waves. BHYC's very own Sailing Pro, Jason Lutz, grew up in the Lightning Class. As a teenager, he was a two-time Junior North American Champion and finished third at the Youth World Championship. Since then, he has continued to sail the Lightning, one of the largest one-design classes in the world, as much as possible.
Jason attended this year's North Americans and had quite an impressive showing. Please read on to hear all about it.
The following was written by BHYC Sailing Pro, Jason Lutz.
This year, I was fortunate to join together with a longtime winning sailor, David Starck, and his nephew, Adam Starck. I have sailed with David on and off for the past 12 years, but never in a major championship. When we talked about teaming up for this regatta, I was excited to take on the challenge and go "all in" on trying to win this championship - something I have wanted to accomplish since my time as a young sailor in the class.
The three of us only first sailed together about two months ago, but we each brought intangible skills that made us a great team. David is an expert helmsman, while Adam is a young, physical bowman - all perfect traits for Lake Erie's challenging conditions. Aside from flying the spinnaker downwind, my responsibility in the middle position was to act as tactician, making sure that we were getting around the race course fast and helping David set the boat up correctly for the varying conditions.
We won the first race of the series, which only furthered our confidence that we could win the whole thing. Because we knew we were really fast and had excellent crew work, we sailed semi-conservatively to always be in the mix. Our strategy worked because we never recorded a race out of the top 10.
Going into the last day, we were leading, and there was a gap between us and second. We knew we would likely only sail one race in the forecasted 18-25 knot breeze, so we ensured that we sailed super intelligently and under control. Luckily, our game plan was successful, and the regatta concluded after some wild downwind rides in the big breeze. The goal of winning a North American Championship became a reality.
It was one of those moments that truly doesn't hit you until your team is called up as the champion during the trophy presentation.
I sailed my first real Lightning regatta - a very windy Atlantic Coast Championship in Little Egg Harbor - when I was 13 years old. Since then, I have had two excellent mentors: my dad, Jody, who has won three North American Championships and a silver medal at the Pan American Games in the Lightning, and my uncle, Jay, who has won three World Championships and crewed for my dad in the Pan Am Games. Ironically, my dad and uncle teamed up to win the 2024 Lightning Masters' North American Championship, which was held the three days prior to the overall North Americans.
My younger brother, Jonathan, and I have followed in their footsteps, regularly sailing together in the Lightning, first as juniors and now as adults.
By winning this year's North American Championship, I am fortunate to join my dad, uncle, and brother on the perpetual trophy as a champion, creating for a special "footnote" for our family. Coincidentally, all four of us sailed in this year's North Americans, albeit on separate boats.
I have spent so much time coaching sailing over the past 10+ years, both at BHYC and Christian Brothers Academy, that I wanted to challenge myself with some high-level racing this summer. My mindset has always been that I should stay active in the sport in order to be a great coach. I was lucky to receive so many well-wishes from my BHYC family ahead of the regatta, and of course, I am excited to continue to share my knowledge of the sport at BHYC for years to come.
