January 11, 2006

Scott Iklé '84

Bill Healy

GENEVA, N.Y.—The Hobart and William Smith Colleges sailing team was well represented at the 2005 Lightning World Championship in Valparaiso, Chile. Head Coach Scott Iklé ’84 with teammates David Starck and Ian Jones finished second overall, while another American entry, which included Hobart sophomore Bill Healy (Newark/Newark, N.Y.), finished 18th out of 45 teams from eight different countries.

During the summer, Iklé was asked to join skipper David Starck and crew Ian Jones in the three-man event Nov. 21-26. The trio had precious little time to prepare, participating in just a handful of events before the college season began in August.

While a busy fall schedule as the coach of his alma mater kept Iklé from training with Starck and Jones throughout the fall, he and his teammates nonetheless went into the championship with their sights set on winning. But a talented and deep field stood between the trio and a world championship. The lightning class is a popular three person dinghy dominated by sailors from the Americas. It combines elements of dinghy and keelboat sailing.

“Our goal was to win,” Iklé recalled. “Everyone knew their jobs. It was fun. They’re very talented guys to sail with.”

Nine races were sailed over five days with each team’s worst finish thrown out. Iklé, Jones, and Starck finished the regatta with a score of 41, 20 points behind the winning team from Chile. The victorious Chileans had the advantage of sailing in their home waters and training at the Higuerillas

Yacht Club for five weeks leading up to the event. Not that the boat’s skipper, Alberto Gonzalez, needed any help. He won his second world championship in as many months and overall captured his fifth Lightning World Championship.

HWS Head Sailing Coach Scott Iklé '84 (far left) and his teammates finished second in the 2005 Lightning World Championship.

Iklé’s Team USA got off to a bumpy start, finishing 33rd in the first race. However, they rebounded for six top four finishes, including a first.

“Even if we were perfect, I don’t think we’d beat them,” Iklé said. “If we corrected the three mistakes we made, we might be 10 points closer, but they were on. It was excellent competition.”

Healy, who also sailed in the 2001 World Championships, teamed up with his father, Mike, and skipper Bob Wardwell. Their best finish of the regatta was a 10th place showing the first race of the championship. Their final score was 138, just a single point ahead of the 19th place boat.

“The weather, the culture, and the people were all great,” Healy said. “The competition was very intense. Every boat was fast and you couldn’t let up for a minute.

“Overall, Chile was a great experience, and I’ll take away just that, more experience at a higher level. This international experience will help me in the spring, racing against all those great sailors helps keep the drive and determination going.”

Teams from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Ecuador, Finland, Switzerland and the United States competed in the Lightning World Championship.

Iklé’s impressive showing, coupled with the news that lightning class will be one of the sailing events contested at the 2007 Pan American Games, leads one to wonder about the coach’s competitive ambitions. A coach of the U.S. sailing team in two previous Pan Am Games, Iklé holds his cards close to the vest.

“There’s a lot of time between now and then.”

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