Honoring the Past, Leading the Future
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President's Message
Dear Star sailors,
I hope you are all healthy and in good spirits.
Across our entire world the COVID-19 virus has been influencing our lives, with the pandemic and dramatic consequences to our health, work and social life -- with worldwide shutdowns, closed borders and a halt of international travel. These are very hard times and a special situation for all of mankind!
As a logical consequence, all major sporting events including the Olympic Games and all our sailing regattas have had to be postponed or cancelled.
From ISCYRA, our main concern is the health and well being of all sailors and the volunteers who help organize them. We are happy now to see the reopening of sailing activities in various parts of the world. A great gratitude goes to our Class officers, who are working to reorganize our championships in the autumn time of this sailing season while monitoring constantly the „COVID-situation“. Read more updates and information in this e-starlight.
So we are looking positive in the future and hope to meet our sailing friends at a regatta in the coming months. We will keep you updated about the actual situation on our website and social media.
I wish you fair winds and stay healthy!
Hubert Merkelbach
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NOTICE OF MEETING
ISCYRA Annual Meeting is set for 1 September, 2020 at 2000 European time
The ISCYRA Executive have made the decision of the AGM to be held via the ZOOM platform. All Star Class officers, District and Fleet officers will receive information in the coming month on registering to attend and/or a proxy. Instructions on the ballot once registered.
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Resolutions 2020 for 2021
Fleet and District officers were sent links for Resolution forms. Please follow STCR 18 if you are interested in submitting a Resolution for consideration. Deadline for submission is 7 July, 2020. Forms and Resolutions received can be found here.
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Vice President
Eastern Hemisphere
Dear all,
I hope that all of you have stayed safe during this difficult time. As the COVID-19 pandemic goes on, most international regattas are cancelled or postponed. Eastern Hemisphere Championship in Cannes is now going to be during the Regatte Royale, racing September 21-24 if COVID-19 restrictions will allow.
The Europeans in Stockholm are cancelled but the Royal Swedish Yacht Club hope to be able to arrange the Europeans in 2022 instead. Diego Negri is talking to Fraglia Vela Riva to hold the European Championship 2020 in Riva, Lake Garda with measurement October 28 and racing October 29 to November 1-- but without any social events.
As we all hope and are keen to start racing again, we sincerely hope all these new, good initiatives will fall out positive and that COVID-19 will not come back and stop everything again.
Good Luck! Hope to see you all on the water very soon.
Tom Lofsted
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Vice President
Western Hemisphere
Obviously these are challenging times and family health and safety are our priorities. As representatives of the International Star Class, we are keeping our eyes and ears open for signs of improvement and potential Star Sailing. Specifically, the North American Championship, scheduled for August 18-22 in Newport Beach, California is still on schedule. It will be a different regatta ashore for sure. But we are hopeful that we can provide an opportunity to get back to doing what we love, out in the fresh air and on the sea. Stay tuned for announcements as soon as mid June.
We are proud of the efforts made by our European counterparts with the EHC in Cannes, in September. We salute their creativity and thoughtfulness to get us all back on the water as soon and as safely as possible.”
Paul Cayard
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2020 Regatta Status
Star Worlds 2020
. The 2020 Star Worlds Planning Committee is meeting weekly with the purpose of the meeting to assess the global situation and determine how regatta planning could and should continue. Travel restrictions, stay-at-home orders, and social distancing rules change daily and make any future planning difficult. The committee will continue to meet monthly to reassess the global situation and make planning decisions accordingly. It was decided, that in fairness to everyone involved, a final decision to cancel should be made 90 days prior to the regatta, or August 13.
If developments allow us to host the regatta as planned, we must expect it will be held under new procedures and requirements that will change the regatta formats and social functions at the very least.
Star Eastern Hemisphere Championship 2020
Cannes, France
Rescheduled to September 19-24, 2020
Notice of Race Entry
Star Western Hemisphere Championship 2020
Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire, USA
Rescheduled to June 12-19, 2021
European Championship 2020
Fraglia Vela Riva, Lake Garda, ITA
Rescheduled to October 28-November 1, 2020
North American Championship 2020
Newport Beach, California, USA
August 18-23, 2020 - to be confirmed
a decision will be made this month if the event will be held or rescheduled
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Meet: Terry Gibney - District 4 Secretary
As a sailor you have probably experienced, in your regatta career, the struggle of setting up a good racecourse; and once it’s set, a wind shift gets in the way and the downwind gate must be moved. Well, that struggle is more intense if instead of being among the fleet playing against your mates, you are the PRO or the top mark/bottom gate ribs.
As a sailor, practicing a very green sport, you have surely wondered, at least once in your life, if the number of gasoline propelled boats working on the racecourse could be less or work more efficiently, but they have to be that many if you want to get fair and safe racing.
Some sailors have come up with a possible solution to these issues, one that has been already been used in some international regattas like Sail GP. It’s a GPS self-propelled robotic mark which can be set by smart phone or computer from anywhere, as long as the mark itself is able to capture a cellular signal. The idea could be revolutionary, and the cost – very variable depending on the many options offered – affordable by yacht clubs or sailing series, if you think of the reduction of other costs like fuel and less people and boats on the racecourse.
It goes in the direction of a more sustainable sailing both ecologically and in terms of cost efficiency. Like said above, the mark needs to have good reception at all times and the person on the software being able to manage any unexpected technological setback, but the company says so far, it’s been all very good.
“I personally exposed Mark Set Bot to the Gull Lake Fleet a couple summers ago – says Terry Gibney, ISCYRA 4th District Secretary and VP Sales at VOXX Automotive – MSBs have been exposed globally: Italy, France, New Zealand and many US sailing venues; they have been tested and are currently in use in many global locations.”
This innovation fits right in with the present need for social distancing. The Race Committee are often hosted on large, but still crowded boats, and on the mark setting ribs there must be at least two people in order to do the job. Also, for this reason some of the upcoming Star Championships are thinking to try them out, like they’ve been doing at the Bacardi Cup for the past couple of editions.
Is this the future of racecourse setting? Hard to tell, but it looks promising and we are going to see them around the racecourses more and more – possibly hiding a photographer in them… watch out!!
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