DanPerkinsTeam

Skipper - Dan Perkins Crew - Tripp Cashel & Ben Greenfield Fleet 85, ILCA Mentor Bill Healy Sailing # 14860
	Dan Perkins, age 19, born and raised in Niantic, Ct. Dan will be a sophomore at BU studying business finance and is on the BU sailing team. Dan started sailing at age 7 growing up through the NBYC sailing program. Dan went on to sail nationally in Optis and C420 including USSailing Youth Championships the past two years. When not campaigning his C420 you can find Dan getting a ride on a Lightning or Atlantic in NBYC weekend series. Dan has enjoyed his C420 sailing experience so far and is looking forward in starting his next stage of his sailing education in the competitive Lightening Fleet. e-mail Dan
Tripp Cashel, age 19, will be a sophomore studying engineering at Boston University and is on the BU sailing team. He attended high school at Tabor Academy; Tripp was the captain of the '07 Team Racing National Champs. Tripp grew up sailing IODs, Bulls eyes, Optis, and 420s, at Fishers Island, in Long Island Sound.

Ben Greenfield, from Rhode Island, is currently a freshman pre-med student at Boston
University and on the BU sailing team. Although new to Lightning’s, Ben grew up sailing on Narragansett Bay competing predominantly in 420s. Since leaving junior sailing, Ben is still an avid regular competitor in the 420 class and also in the 505 and looks to further improve himself through the Lightning Class.

2008 Racing Schedule

May
24th Niantic Bay Saturday Series

June
31^st- 2nd       Niantic Memorial Day Races
7th               Niantic Saturday Series
14th-15th      CT / RI District Champs, Cedar Point YC

July
5th-6th         70th Anniversary Regatta
12th           Niantic Saturday Series
19th           Niantic Saturday Series
26th-27th    Atlantic Coast Champs, Rock Hall YC, MD

August
2nd- 3rd        Brian Hughes Memorial Regatta, Newburyport Yacht Club, MA
8th-13th        North American Championships, New York YC, RI
17th             Niantic Saturday Series
23rd- 24th     Squam Lake Annual Regatta, NH

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Lightning Boat Grant Dan Perkins, Ben Greenfield, Tripp Cashel

As three BU students just completing our freshman year we were excited to get the news that we had been selected as recipients of the Lightning Boat Grant Program. We were granted the “Colin Park Memorial Boat” and were going to sail out of Niantic, CT. This would prove to be a new experience of all us as we had little previous Lighting experience but we were eager for the challenge.

Our journey began in mid May as Ben and I headed to Maryland to pick up the Lightning we were granted. We had expanded our friendships at school with sailors that lived all over the country. This would prove beneficial has we had a teammate that lived in the Maryland area that was able to house us overnight. Our trip was a success and we made it back to Niantic. After spending the following weekend acquainting ourselves with the boat and readying it we set off on Sat May 24^th for our first race with the Niantic Bay Yacht Club Lighting fleet. We took many 3^rd place finishes that weekend, out of 7, and were feeling good but we knew we had a lot to learn. The Niantic fleet is very competitive and was a great source of inspiration and knowledge for us.

We were able to sail the Lightning at many different levels. Local, district and national events were on our schedule. The transition from dinghy sailing to Lighting sailing was a constant work in progress. We attended the Districts at Cedar Point, the 70^th Anniversary Regatta in Skaneateles, Governors Cup in Niantic and the North Americans in Newport.

The Lighting is a great design that is suitable for all ages. We experienced a lot over the course of the summer; triumph, frustration, patience… It takes real teamwork to sail successfully and a true commitment from all sailors on the team for consistency. In hindsight there were things we would have done differently but overall the experience was rewarding and we are extremely grateful to the International Lightning Class for establishing this program. It still is young and in the growing stages but has the potential to be a success. On behalf of myself, Dan Perkins, and my crew Ben Greenfield and Tripp Cashel (with honorable mention to Janel Zarkowsky who filled in as crew when needed) we thank the International Lightning Class for this experience.