News of the Star Class

watch the Star Class website for updates.

World Championship	GOLD	Sept 10-17	Marblehead, MA
Eastern Hemisphere	SILVER	April 28-May 1	Naples, ITA
Western Hemisphere	SILVER	Aug 21-27	Lake Sunapee, NH
Europeans	SILVER	July 7-10	Copenhagen, DEN
North American	SILVER	June 13-18	Annapolis, MD, USA
South American	SILVER	Nov/Dec	Buenos Aires, ARG

News from the U30 Committee

If you have not seen the initial news article on the website, there is a link to it at the end of this text and if you do not know us in person, at least here is a picture of all of us busy at work:
This is the first time Ben Sternberg (Western Hemisphere, District 1), Michael Mueller (Eastern Hemisphere, District 17), Mariano Cambon (Southern Hemisphere, District 18) and Arnd Glunde (Eastern Hemisphere, District 13, Chairman) report to all of you about our U30-Development Committee.
Nov.2021) formed U30 Development Committee of the ISCYRA.^stHello, Buenos Dias and Guten Tag from the newly (1

Picture 1 Mariano, Arnd, Michael and Ben (from left to right, top to Bottom) discussing

What happened since the formation of the U30-Development Committee?
We are grateful the class has reduced the entry fees for U30 teams to the 2022 Worlds and got major support in this by the Eastern Yacht Club, who is also offering free housing for U30 teams during the event. This brings the total cost to compete for a Europe based U30 team down by a third to a meager $10,000 – ish. This figure obviously contains a line item of 5000$ for the charter of a first class competitive boat…
Apparently, the same cost reduction in terms of housing applies for the Western Hemisphere in Lake Sunapee.
All above happened because the class and its member base are willing to support younger sailors in the class. The U30 Committee – as much as it would have liked to – was not involved in these generous offerings.

We are also happy, that there is a separate U30 news section on the star class website. A place where all information regarding U30 members will be collated. To embarrass us even more, this was created without the U30 Committee involvement as well. Good idea and obviously worth checking in from time to time. If you can’t find it, it is right beneath the hero image of the starclass.org homepage on the right-hand side of the news section, but please do not look for it now!
So as I still have your attention, what has been achieved by the Committee to date?
Well, we have found together for a start. We also managed to formulate our Mission and Vision Statements and agreed on some goals and objectives. Initial requests for short term deliverables have been produced and are within the decision process as we write this.

Nothing tangible, yet, but we promise to catch up shortly.

What are we working on?
We are preparing a questionnaire which is centered around your – as in all members – expectations towards the U30 Committee. We really hope this questionnaire would help us prioritize the work we are doing. Please watch out for a link to a surveymonkey poll soon. All Feedback is welcome and will be taken on board.

Lacking the results of this exercise, we continue to work on the information we were able to gather from an informal questionnaire created for attendees of the last Worlds in Kiel.
Some interesting ideas were shared in response to the question:
How can we inspire young sailors for our star class?
As this was an open question, it created a total of 92 suggestions from 47 received responses.
We took the liberty to categorize these answers and Top 3 ideas were:

Unique Categories	Count	Rank
Boats	15	1
Fleet-Promotion	11	2
Direct-Approach	10	3

As a little gimmick here is the Tag Cloud of all Categories:

We believe this gives us a clear indication, but we are going to follow this up and hope for a little more structured reply from the member base.

Allow us to address the Number 2 Topic directly; Fleet Promotion.
Both Michi and I have successfully rejuvenated the member base within our respective fleets following a very similar, yet simple, approach: give young sailors the opportunity to sail a star boat for free – on their own and even competitively. This approach takes a lot of commitment, and the U30 Committee is willing to assist any fleet with best practices, methods and advice.

Please feel free to reach out to the email address U30committee@starclass.org in case your fleet would like our support.

While we are at it, as part of our work we collected a few quotes from U30 sailors which really let us to believe we are on the right track. In Germany Max Kohlhoff and Ole Burzinski from District 13 gave us a hint on their motivation: “It is a great honor and a real pleasure to sail with and against accomplished sailors and legends like Paul Cayard, Mateusz Kusznierewicz and many others learning from them about starboat sailing.” as well as Vincent Schrader and Marcel Vockel “Our goal is to inspire young teams to find their way into our class by showing what possibilities & unforgettable opportunities exist in our class.”
The Austrian juniors Mathias Puxhandl and Xaver Haginger from District 17 even produced a Video showing their aspiration to attend the 2022 Worlds in Marblehead.

As you all came back from watching the video, allow me a last few words in request for support. The U30 Committee does not have any budget but is willing to channel all assistance – material or immaterial – towards a good use. Should you find any loose change, have any spare equipment (boats, masts, sails, even cleats, blocks or shackles) lying around; would have a trip from Miami up North planned, a free hitch and be willing to tow a boat; or anything really, please feel free to reach out – you know where to finds us.
Please remember: the time to act is now, we will not be any happier in case we take our beloved boats with us to the grave.

So far our initial report, a bit different to what you are used to read, but hopefully entertaining. Thanks for reading.

Oh, and as promised here the permalink to the announcement on forming this committee:

Arnd Glunde
Chairman U30 Development Committee

SCHOONMAKER CUP NOVEMBER 13-14 RESULTS
COMMODORE CUP DECEMBER 4-5 RESULTS
LEVIN MEMORIAL JANUARY 8-9 RESULTS
*ZAGARINO MASTERS FEBRUARY 5-6 RESULTS
WALKER CUP/MIDWINTERS FEBRUARY 10-13 RESULTS

*BISCAYNE BAY SPRING APRIL 29-MAY 1

*not part of the Winter Series, but in Miami

100 Years of Gold Stars

MAKE YOUR PLANS TO ATTEND
THE 2022 STAR WORLDS AND
100th ANNIVERSARY OF THE WORLDS GALA DINNER

Registration is open and plans are in the works by Eastern Yacht Club to host an epic World Championship! In conjunction with the sailing in Massachusetts Bay and Salem Sound, the committee is planning the Gala dinner to celebrate 100 years of the Star World Championships. All living World champions are invited and special events will be planned all week to make this memorable on and off the water. Don't miss it!

MATEUSZ KUSZNIEREWICZ/BRUNO PRADA CREATE BACARDI CUP HISTORY AS FIRST SAME TEAM PARTNERSHIP TO CLAIM THREE BACK-TO-BACK VICTORIES

The 95^th Bacardi Cup has been a week of great sailing and fierce competition on the water, most of the best Star sailors in the world were there eager to get back to what they love most after two years of semi-break.
Mateusz Kusznierewicz (POL) and Bruno Prada (BRA) were going to race on the last day with the title already in their pockets, but the weather front that was expected to sweep through Biscayne Bay after racing on Saturday, March 12, arrived early, with the strong wind forcing racing to be cancelled for all classes at 9am.
Each day the weather has unfolded as per the forecast, so with 30+ knots of breeze expected the different course PROs took their decision based on each class and were unanimous to keep safe racing conditions and cancel all racing. Superb winds for the preceding days delivered five neck and neck races, so PRO Carl Schellbach did not have doubts as to cancel the last day.

The stars of the week were unequivocally Mateusz Kusznierewicz (POL) and Bruno Prada (BRA), who showed themselves as most prepared for the physicality, intensity and tactics of racing in waves and a breeze which never dropped below 12 knots. Many sailors have won multiple Bacardi Cup titles - the legendary Ding Schoonmaker scooped eight victories, seven to Mark Reynolds, and some renowned partnerships have two wins - but Bacardi Cup history is written for Kusznierewicz/Prada who go down as the first same team partnership to win three back-to-back titles.

Second overall to Eric Doyle/Payson Infelise (USA) who were the 2019 Bacardi Cup winners, and third to Italy’s Diego Negri/Sergio Lambertenghi who won in 2018, with a tiebreak for 4th and 5th.
Although victory was secure, Kusznierewicz/Prada had every intention of competing in the final race, before the excessive winds scuppered plans.
“Firstly, we love this sport,” said Kusznierewicz this morning. “Secondly, what could I do on the last day? Golf, shopping, staying on shore, going to the restaurant – no, not my style. I love sailing and I think maybe upwinds on Saturday were not going to be such great fun, because of the strong winds and physical work, but reaching was going to be awesome. We also have a lot of respect, and we want to show this respect to the regatta organizers and the other sailors.”
With racing cancelled Kusznierewicz/Prada embraced their victory, celebrated their remarkable achievement and prepared to sip Bacardi rum from the iconic Bacardi Cup and Tito Bacardi Cup trophies.
“I am not sure if we are the fastest, but we are the most consistent team,” said Prada. “I think the advantage is we have been sailing for a couple of years together and we have a good chemistry sailing together.”
Kusznierewicz added, “We did it again, we are very happy, very satisfied. This week was great from many perspectives. It wasn’t easy, it was hard actually, physically and we had to focus a lot on racing, but we liked it. After two years of pandemic, not everyone could show up in previous years, but this year it’s impressive,” he said, in reference to the twelve Star World Champions competing.
“So, it is an even bigger pleasure for us to win this regatta and for the third time in a row, it is kind of history in the books. For me, it is a great honor to be here. To win it, wow I am in the skies!”
Prada continued, “I feel super happy. Every Championship we win in the Star Class, especially Bacardi Cup, Europeans and the Worlds, are special events, so we need to be very proud of ourselves and enjoy the victory. We are in the top 5 fastest boats and, in the end, we proved that our sailing was better than the others.”
On what’s next, Prada continued, “We are planning to sail the Worlds in Marblehead and it will be our next regatta together. Meanwhile I am going to sail a couple of regattas with Augie Diaz, to keep in shape and arrive at the Worlds on a high level.”
“The week was great,” reflected 2nd placed Eric Doyle. “It was epic Miami conditions, so much fun, great fleet, great sailing, great battles with everyone. It is the best sailing you can do anywhere I think. We changed boats this year and it took a little bit getting adjusted to that, especially downwind. We really wanted to win, and we made a few mistakes that cost us some points, but clearly Mateusz and Bruno are the gold standard right now.”

The Bacardi Cup wrapped up in fine style with the awards presentation at Shake-A-Leg Miami, accompanied by Bacardi rum and hospitality.
The tradition of camaraderie and high-level competition are embedded in the Bacardi Cup and Bacardi Cup Invitational Regatta, guaranteeing the world’s sailors want to compete. 2022 featured more than 600 sailors, with the crew line-up from over 22 nations
Save the date for next year at the 96th Bacardi Cup and Bacardi Cup Invitational Regatta taking place March 5-11, 2023.

For nearly one century, the Bacardi Cup has continued to attract the world’s top sailors and fans with its popularity and intrigue. In 2022, the Bacardi Cup celebrated its 95th anniversary on Biscayne Bay, its home for the past 61 years. In the fifty-eight-boat line-up were eleven previous Bacardi Cup winners and twelve World Champions – competition doesn’t get tougher than that.

Prizes were presented to the top five boats, and also to winners in the age divisions:
Master (skippers aged 50 through 59) - Eric Doyle/Payson Infelise
Grand Master (skippers aged 60+) - Paul Cayard/Frithjof Kleen
Exalted Grand Master (skippers aged 70+) - Stefan Lehnert/Marc Pickel

In 6th overall, Jack Jennings (USA) and Pedro Trouche (BRA) were awarded The Tammy Rubin Rice Trophy, a well-deserved accolade for the pair’s standout performance, including two race wins.
The Star Class sailors will renew their on-water rivalry at the 100th anniversary of the Star Class World Championships in Marblehead, USA from September 8-17, 2022, which is undoubtedly going to draw a global line-up for this remarkable celebration.

Final Top 5 Results
1. Mateusz Kusznierewicz/Bruno Prada (POL 8548) - 6 pts
2. Eric Doyle/Payson Infelise (USA 8423) - 12 pts
3. Diego Negri/Sergio Lambertenghi (ITA 8567) - 14 pts
4. Peter O'Leary/Robert O'Leary (IRL 8465) - 21 pts
5. Eivind Melleby/Joshua Revkin (NOR 8543) - 21 pts

THE UNDER 30 STAR SAILORS AT THE
2021 STAR WORLDS IN KIEL

Much effort has been put by the Star Class and its most loyal members into helping younger sailors to join. In different countries different realities are in place, like the successful Future Stars in Austria, and the creation of the Under 30 Star Worlds and Continental Championships. During the actual Star Worlds, there have plenty of projects, for instance for the upcoming 2022 Star World Championship the U30 will pay a reduced entry fee, and last year in Kiel, Germany, the local group of passionate Star sailors helped the youngsters find boats for their use at the regatta.

One of the youngest in the fleet is Jolanda-Lene Engel, a 22 year-old living close to Kiel, sailing with her husband Christopher as crew.
“I'm from Flensburg and I am here sailing at the 2021 Star World Championship with my husband and I'm the skipper. It all started as I’ve just asked Arnd (Glunde) if I could sail at the Star Worlds and here I am. I come from the 420 and after that I ended up in the Star and I’ve fallen in love with it.”
Jolanda is not only young and a woman, she is also thin and gentle and if you look in the parking lot, most Star sailors are twice her size, so you’d wonder if it isn’t too much for her.
“I love sailing the Star, it is a little physical for me, of course, but my husband helps me so much, like I cannot pull the mainsheet, so he does it. What I do on the boat is mostly everything tactical and the steering, he does the physical part, so we are a perfect team!”

Arnd Glunde, also from Flensburg, is a Star Class Life Member, and he is on the U30 Development Committee. He was key to making the 2021 Star Worlds in Kiel a success also by helping the attendance of younger sailors new to the Class.
“The idea of attending the World Championship came up because we live very close to Kiel. And Arnd said we could use one of his boats, so I'm here, and it's a big event and I am super happy.”
Jolanda-Lene and her husband Christopher finished 26^th and hopefully we'll get to see her back in the in the fleet in the future.

The Star genes run in their families, Jan Borbet and Jesper Spher (GER) were the top U30 team at the Worlds in Kiel.
Jesper: “We have been sailing as a team in the Star Class for a year now, and we are glad with finishing 12^th. I have sailed the Star with my father for about eight years and now I am here with a U30 skipper. The first time we sailed together was at the end of 2019, then 2020 was different for everyone and we tuned up this year, we have been to the European Championship in Split.”

Jan: “I started like everyone in the optimist, then move straight to the Star Class. I think we feel really good, it's a really nice class, it's competitive sailing it's really important point also the Star Class is like a family and we are proud to be part of it."

Coming from the other side of the World is Australian skipper Jake Lilley, a Finn Olympian in his late twenties, who got hooked after attending the then-called Junior Worlds in Miami in February of 2019.
“I was really inspired by that event and ended up buying a couple of Stars to get into it. That event was actually won by Alexey, my crew here in Kiel, with another skipper. So that Championship actually made me decide to go campaign the Star. You always have this appreciation for the Class, and when you try it you realize how fun it is, and it was a very enjoyable regatta to take part in. At the end of that I just wanted more of it, that is why I am here in Kiel. The Star is very tactical, there are good friends, the level is really high quality and you can't find better racing in the World."

Lilley has been to two Olympic Games in the Finn Class. “I started sailing pretty late, like I didn't really do any junior sailing except some Laser Radial for a year, then I was pretty quick in the Europe Class, and I took part in one America’s Cup as well along the way.”

Making history with a 3rd Bacardi Cup win

Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Bruno Prada continue to dominate

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Dear Star Class Sailors,
We saw a very strong start to the 2022 season, sailing regattas in several countries and recently the Bacardi Cup in Miami. I want to thank all competitors and of course congratulate the winners.
Recently I said "all are winners" and I absolutely believe this to be true. We have a strong Star Class and committed members. The U30 sailors are now adding a new generation of Star sailors and insure our "leading the future."
The Star loan program is now in transition--if you would like to donate a boat or equipment, we will ask for a description of the boat, trailer and any other included gear: sails, mast, trailer, etc. A value of the items will be established and will be posted on our website for sale at reduced prices with the proceeds to the Star Class.
Soon we will be hosting many regattas in many locations. Please check the website for a complete list.
Please remember to renew your Star Class dues so you can enjoy al the benefits the Star Class has to offer.
Thank you for a strong start to 2022 and I look forward to seeing you at our regattas.
John Chiarella
Commodore - ISCYRA