Holiday Greetings fellow Star Sailors. Welcome to another year of racing the world’s greatest boat. The year 2001 is a turning point for the Star. Here in the 2^nd District, we’ve turned the District over to new hands. Both John Jenkins and I want to thank Elliot Oldak for his selfless devotion to our sport over the last 10 or so years, as Assistant District Secretary and as District Secretary. During his stewardship we have seen the District grow, host a North American Championship and a World’s Championship and attract high quality sailors to the class.

This is what the class is about after all, our people. We attract the finest sailors in the World. These people help us grow and develop as the premier one-design class. They help us with their expertise, their skill and their unselfish dedication to the growth of our class. Our history is full of their names, Lippincott, Buchan, Conner, Blackaller, Cayard, Elvstrom, de Cardenas, Etchells, North, the giants of sailing of which these are but a few. Whenever anyone sees one of our boats, they always say–I sailed one of those in , or they say they want to try one. Can you think of another class where a woman awards the World’s Championship trophy named in her honor to another sailor 50 years after she won the event, looks him in the eye and tells him "We might be a little light now." The competitive fire burns in our people for their whole lives.

We attract people of honor, integrity and principle to the class and to sailing. How many other classes can have a World’s Championship with 113 boats and end up with no protests or hard feelings. Where can you go to an event, have a chat with the current World and Olympic champion and have him come over and help you with a problem on your boat. One of the things that has always amazed me has been the open communication between members of the Star Class. We tell the truth, help each other become better sailors and demand high standards of our peers and fellow competitors.

The other amazing thing about this class is that we’ve never produced a "statesman." All of our champions did their talking on the water, they just went out and raced the boats with respect for the rules but recognizing that the organization functioned for the sailors, not the other way around. This attitude in the Star Class probably comes from our heritage as a boat designed for the common man to construct and afford. If you own an older Star Log where the complete list of boats is included, see how many of the early boats were constructed by their Owner. With wood/epoxy composite techniques available today, it would still be possible to build a wooden Star, in fact, the Specifications still include the wood construction constraints.

Elliot was charged with expanding the District when he took over as the District Secretary. John and I will continue this work with your help. We need your help and, more importantly, we need your support. Make sure we do our job correctly, and help us make the 2^nd District better in the future. Help us continue to bring World Class Star events to the Chesapeake Bay. Support all the Fleets in the District by sailing in their events. Support the adjacent Districts when you can by sailing in their events. Most of all, go out and go sailing whenever you can.

I’d like to close this letter with some words from the sailor who brought me into the Class 20 years ago, Bob McVey. The NCB Fleet owes its existence to Bob as he nurtured and fought for the Class for more than 40 years. He never won a major event, he just went out and participated, kept ‘em honest. Bob always said racing without winning is what its all about. The motivating force that defines the sport of sailing is the satisfaction of finding out what your measure of ability is.

Good luck and see you on the race course.

Larry Parrotta

District Secretary

John Jenkins

Assistant District Secretary