#7, THE PHANTOM FLEET ( test for fleet history/newspaper clipping))

In the first yearbook, 1940,  fleet #7 would be the largest fleet in the new Lightning Class. For thirty two years the Fleet would report in the yearbooks increasing number of boats, in 1971 they reported 34 boats in the fleet. Then the next year Fleet 7 does not report and disappears from our records... An entire fleet of 30+ boats gone in one year! What happened? A search of everything turns up nothing "Lightning" at Riverside YC...

From the 1941 Lightning Class Yearbook

The Riverside YC in Greenwich Conn on the north side of Long Island Sound was founded in 1888 and the first clubhouse was built. The Clubhouse of today was built in 1929 and looks pretty much like it did when the second Lightning Class Championship (NA's) was sailed in 1940. Eighteen boats are listed pretty much in consecutive order, a fleet purchase? Checking the Class boat Files of the 18 only 7 of the owners names match up as first entry... Suspecting Skaneateles I checked Dave Miller's SBCo.  Building Log and there they were, all in a row, names and boat numbers matching up. Sooooo... beware of the 1- 5000 ILCA Boat Files. And who is out there selling whole fleets of Lightnings in our first year?

From the 1941 Lightning Class Yearbook

Fleet #7 Would give us some of our early officers and our 1944 Champion, Theodore Maher. In 1945 the Nationals would return to Riverside and the Class would hire the famed marine photographer Morris Rosenfeld to shoot the races. Many of these were were used in the '46  yearbook. All now reside in the Rosenfeld Collection at Mystic Seaport.

From the 1941 Lighting Class Yearbook

But Fleet 7, were did they go? 1972?

Going to the newspaper search engine Newspapers. Com we try several searches and one hits in the Bridgeport Conn. March 16 1975 with a piece describing the precipitous decline in the old one design classes on Long Island Sound. My guess is the entire fleet moved to the Soling in one year.

In future posts we will explore what happened to racing small centerboard boats in the the Untied States.

How to do a boat history (test for attaching photos)

To illustrate how a search is done lets find out about the Lightning in the video clip below. Its Lightning #289. We see three people, a man and two younger women. Dad & daughters? The boat? Looking closely we find features found on the Skaneateles boats. The seats are dead ringers for SBCo. The motor mount looks like SBCo.. The boat is being sailed in a large body of water with much larger sailboats. The rig is 1940 style.

So with this info lets look in to the Class boat files. The entry for #289 lists two owners but no builder the first owner is listed 'no fleet' but sailing on Lake Quasapaug in Middlebury Conn. Googling that we find a 296 acre lake. Too small for the video clip. Something is not right here.

Being a Skaneateles we go to the SBCo Building Log transcribed from the hand written entries for us by Dave Miller at the Skaneateles Historical Society ( work supported by the ILCA Huntsman History Fund). We find SBCo. serial number 6259 was a Lightning with racing number 289 sold to "Scott Yard" with buyer listed a "Trenary".  Note the racing numbers are not always consecutive. Suspecting Scott Yard is a dealer we look around the log and find others listed as going to them so we have a dealer and buyer but no location.

Now to the Class yearbooks , this is the most time consuming part.  In the 1941 yearbook #289 shows up as belonging to James M. Trenary sailing with fleet #7 at Riverside YC on Long Island Sound. Thats water big enough to match the video clip. But in '41 no address are listed in the YB.  In the '44 (we do not have copies of '42,'43) we hit paydirt. "Tip" Trenary ( sailing #289 ' Tam') is now Class Sec/Tres. with a business address of 45 Wall St..  Googling that we find in 1944 the US Trust of NY. Googling that we find that he worked there until retiring as Ex. V P in 1960. In 1945 he becomes Lightning Class President. In 1946 he sells #289 and buys #1600. Again the Boat Files fails to list him as an owner ?????   Following Trenary he stays with fleet #7 eventually buying #5670 till '58 and then is listed as no boat, Life Member. In '62 YB he disappears??  Nothing Googles up on him except for some bank stuff. Now to the magazines circa '60 - '62. Going to Google Books searching Trenary- Rudder, Yachting ,etc. We get a hit with Motorboating Feb 1962 pp 106 and sadly find an obit for him dying of a heart attack a 58 years of age.. We find he has four daughters and most interestingly find that Trenary was Chairman of the US Olympic Yachting Committee. He raised the money to send our team to the Naples Olympic Games. Once again we see Lightning sailors leading the sport of sail racing.  

Here is a photo from the '45 YB.  Note the hairline, gotta be the fellow in the video clip

Courtesy, Skaneateles Historical Society

As to #289 she would pass through seven other owners. All were on Long Island Sound until going to the first mentioned lake in 1958 at that point she passes from our records until 1999 when she turns up in Maine (Boat Files). Googling up his name we find a musician still performing there. Bet the old girl is in his back yard.

Video Test #2 and a linky test.

In 2004 we sailed Lyra to Mystic Seaport for the Sparkman & Stephens 75th Anniversary. I had the opportunity to shake the hand that gave us our Lightning. A short documentary  film was made for the event. Here is a short clip of the Class at Mr. Stephen's party.

Here is the video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWxW-miza8w&t=2s 


The Mystic Seaport video 'Simply Brilliant' name derives from the S&S schooner Brilliant, their sailing ambassador. Brilliant was owned by Briggs Cunningham, (Lightning #1588), and his wife Lucy, (Lightning #3500), for years before they donated her to Mystic.  Craig Thayer and friends chartered her a few years  back (2006?).  He says she steers "like a 40 ton truck."

In this video of S&S designs sailing you will see a DUKW. This amphibious truck is one of our S&S sister ships. Its development earned Rod Stephens the Medal of Freedom.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

Video Test #1   Lightnings on Long Island Sound 1948

Newsreel clip of Larchmont YC regatta in 1947

When asked to do a blog for the Class I immediately turned to a blog I have enjoyed for the last few years. Rod Mincher's blog sets the standard for classic racing sailboats. The Classic Moth is much like our Classic Lightning group. Building, restoring and racing  classic wooden sailboats. Rod captures this in his blog. With period videos like the one above, photos and old magazine clippings he brings it alive.  In his work I found the roots of our Lightning design in 'Departure', the basis of the Star and Comet designs. Jeff and Amy Linton sail  with these folks. While  I  have yet to cross paths with the Lintons  we have several mutual friends in the Flying Scot Class and the Watertribe. So here is Rod's Blog.  I like the tunes he throws in. Mine will be covers of tunes of the times we are covering. So click on the link. Hit the Youtube, cut up the volume and listen to the old B-3 as you scroll down for the pics...

 http://earwigoagin.blogspot.com/2017/

Lifted from Rod's blog