2017 North American Championship

September 5 - 10, 2017

DISTRICT: ISCYRA

HOST

Eastern Yacht Club     ----------

CONTACT

Regatta co-chair : Tomas Hornos
Regatta co-chair : Jud Smith
Eastern YC : Greg Wilkinson
Author: Photo courtesy of Double Shot Studios - September 08, 2017

Marblehead, MA (September 7, 2017) – In a class with such tradition, with competition at a spectacular venue, day one of the 2017 Star North American Championship began just as it should have.

Two races began on time and were completed with course legs between 1.2 and 1.4 nautical miles in length from a south west direction. Wind speed varied from 6-14 knots throughout the day, just enough for a Star crew to drop into the hiking position! The race committee started a third race, but by the time sailors reached the windward mark, a major right hand shift forced them into AP over A and competitors returned home.

When sailing a non-spinnaker keel boat, with minimal variation from boat to boat, competitors place the utmost importance on boat speed. This was priority for today’s second place boat Eric Doyle and Payson Infelise. “Having just recut our main, we made sure to focus on setting the boat up appropriately to make sure we were fast,” commented Infelise.

In addition to boat speed, the team loves the all-around competitive nature of the class. “Star sailing is by far my favorite sailing,” Infelise added. “It’s competitive, physical, and very tactical.”

Luke Lawrence and Ian Coleman won the day with a 1,3, attributing their success to pre-regatta preparation. “The biggest thing we focused on before the event was time into the boat,” said Lawrence. “We want to be confident in our systems and tuning so when the regatta begins we can prioritize the basics (starts, fleet management, mark roundings)”. Today was the first of a four-day event in a class where endurance is key.”

Eight races are planned for the 46-boat fleet on September 7 to 10.

Author: Laurie Fullerton - September 18, 2017

The 2016 Star World Champion team of Augie Diaz (USA) and Bruno Prada (BRA) added another notch on their collective belt by winning the 2017 Star North American Championship in Marblehead on Sept. 10 after building up a 14-point lead in the seven race series.  

The team bested Luke Lawrence (USA) and Ian Coleman (USA) by 14 points, and George Szabo (USA) and Ed Morey (USA), who placed third with 34 points.

“This was a spectacular event for many reasons as sailing in Marblehead is a great challenge with a beautiful setting,” said Diaz who is originally from Cuba. “Further, it is the level of competition in the Star Sailors League that has brought the best Star sailors in the world here this week. This represents an opportunity for the best sailors to meet.”

The Star Sailors League is an international regatta circuit, and was formed in 2013 to both protect the interests of professional sailors and promote the athletes and the sport in an innovative and simple format. 

The Star boat had traditionally been an Olympic-class boat until 2016 when keelboats were eliminated from the Olympics, but many Olympians old and young are drawn to the Stars, as both are physically challenging, nimble and fast, and it is hoped one day they will return to the Olympics.

2017 Star North American Championship Top 10 of 46 results:
7 races, 1 discard
Augie Diaz / Bruno Prada, 20
Luke Lawrence / Ian Coleman, 34
George Szabo / Ed Morey, 34
Jack Jennings / Frithjof Kleen, 34
Peter Vessella / Phil Trinter, 38
Andy Macdonald / Brad Nichol, 50
John MacCausland / Roger Cheer, 50
Doug Smith / Brian O’Mahony, 55
Tomas Hornos / Josh Revkin, 55
Jim Buckingham / Craig Moss, 55

“It was great to have this level of sailors here, and it’s so good to compete against friends from around the world,” said Tomas Hornos of Marblehead, who was one of the regatta co-chairs, along with Jud Smith. 

Hornos, who came in ninth, works with Jud Smith in the one-design department of Doyle Sailmakers in Salem. Having both the Eastern and Boston Yacht Clubs involved in this event was also a highlight.

The regatta wrapped up after four difficult days of racing in a light, oscillating breeze that frustrated the race committee that were left hunting for wind during much of the regatta.

“It was incredibly shifty and unpredictably light for all four days, and although we got in seven races out of eight the sailors had to make decisions to go in or out of the tide/current,” said the head of the Eastern Yacht Club race committee Susie Schneider.

“It was not typical conditions, and the sailors really had to have their heads out of the boat, looking at the current and tides to have an edge.”

June 12, 2017

Come sail Sept 2-3 

Author: Stephen Braverman - September 05, 2017

Star Class First District Marshall Brown Secretary's Cup

Boston Harbor Star Fleet

Sep 2 & 3, Cottage Park Yacht Club, Winthrop MA.

Report by Stephen Braverman, BH Fleet Captain & Regatta Chair

With Stars headed to the Northeast to Marblehead for the 2017 Star North Americans next week, the Boston Harbor Star Fleet decided to hold the Secretary's Cup as a tune-up regatta for the event, for people to have fun, shake the cobwebs out and figure out what they need to fix before the championship.

The 16 registered competitors hailed from Argentina, California, Illinois, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, and New England.

On Saturday, the forecast was for a good Northwesterly breeze in the morning, and soften and switch around to the East. 

14 star boats left the dock, sailed around Deer Island Light, into Broad Sound, off Revere Beach between Nahant and Deer Island.  We were met at Deer Island by an Easterly Breeze which was a good sign as the wind direction had already switched to the East.

We sailed three Star Class Course 4 races with first leg distance of 1 mile.  Breeze oscillated from 125-140.  A steady breeze started about 5-8 and built to 10+ by the third race with a couple of bigger puffs.  And as usual, the breeze freshened a little more for a nice ride back to Cottage Park Yacht Club.  Temps were a little cool in the 60s but some bright sunshine warmed it up to the low 70s in the afternoon. 

Saturday was really one of the nicest star sailing days!

Tom Londrigan with Simon van Wonderer and the team of Doug Smith and Brian O'Mahoney both sailed consistently, stayed in the top 3 the first three races, and were a point apart after a day's racing.  Speed, smarts and consistency!

The sailors, volunteers, family and friends were treated by the Boston Harbor Star Fleet to a BBQ at Peter and Donna Costa's house, overlooking Winthrop and Boston harbors Saturday night.  Beautiful spot, and a fun time with plenty of food and beverages, and good conversation.  Lots of old friends catching up, and meeting new people.  Was a little chilly, and the firepit down by the water's edge was a popular place to hang out after the sun set over the city of Boston. 

Sunday we were met with the remains of Harvey which only gave us a lot of wind and some rain.  We waited for a few hours watching the wind and the seas on the harbor and in the marina.  However after deciding the safety of the competitors and the RC volunteers was at risk, and figuring the conditions would not significantly improve within the following few hours, Sharon Bourke and Craig Prandini, our Principal Race Officers abandoned all racing Sunday, and determined the regatta was over.

Friday afternoon, we had stepped our rigs in 15-20.  Saturday we had beautiful sailing with a nice steady breeze.  And Sunday, we unstepped our rigs in 15-25 and rain.  It was challenging, but without incident.  The effort was worth it for the sailing and the fun.

 

At the trophy presentation, former BH Fleet Captain and First District Secretary Peter Costa gave a heartfelt history of the Secretary's Cup:  The trophy was originally won by Marshall Brown's grandfather on Long Island Sound on Monsoon, October 29th, 1896 and repurposed for a Star trophy in honor of all of the work which District Secretaries do to keep the class and the fleets running.  Marshall was a former First District Secretary.

This trophy is an elegant Silver cup with elephant heads/trunks as handles.  On the backside is the engraving of the 1896 regatta.  On the front side is a crest with all of the Star First District fleets listed.

First District Secretaries Cup

 

The keepers were bronze, silver and gold medals made with authentic bronze, silver and gold colored paint.

Jim Buckingham and Craig Moss were awarded Bronze Medals and scored a bullet in the second race.

Doug Smith and Brian O'Mahoney were awarded Silver Medals (with a scoreline of 2-2-2), and was also awarded the Grand Master Gold medal.

Tom Londrigan and Simon Van Wonderen won the Secretary's Cup by one point with two bullets. Along with their Gold Medals, Tom also won the top Master Gold Medal.

 

Top 5.

1.  Tom Londrigan/Simon van Wonderen - 5

2.  Doug Smith/Brian O'Mahoney - 6

3.  Jim Buckingham/Craig Moss - 13

4.  Tomas Hornos/Dave Timberlake - 13

5.  Stephen Braverman/Angela Hickey - 17

Full Results are here:  https://www.regattatoolbox.com/results?eventID=HknteK5nFL

 

Thanks to Doyle Sails who provided special trophies.

A Doyle Sails hat and dry bag were awarded to the furthest drivers to the event, Aaron Smith & Tim Ostrander, who drove from Florida, beating a few midwest boats by a couple hundred miles.

Top Classic boat (Anyone older than my 8052), was won by Kevin Hetherington-Young and Ted Keenan who finished 7th in the event in 7101, a 1985 Folli. They were awarded warm Doyle Sails Sweatshirts -- which they might need later this week.

Top Novice was Nicolaus Pro and David Wilson who were awarded Doyle Sails belts.

Annapolis Performance Sailing also provided gift certificates for the top competitors in the regatta.

Big thanks to Joe Zambella for co-chairing the event with me and helping with all of the little details.

Thanks to Sharon Bourke and Craig Prandini for coming up from Miami to be the Principal Race Officers for the event.  Thanks to CPYC Race Committee Sue and Ernie Hardy for getting all of the RC equipment together and assisting Sharon and Craig on their signal boat.  And thanks to all of the volunteers who gave us a great Saturday on the water.

Thanks to CPYC Centennial Commodore Mike Gahan for providing hats to competitors, Annapolis Performance Sailing and Tomas Hornos and Doyle Sails for helping out with the trophies.

Thanks to the Cottage Park Yacht Club and the Boston Harbor Star Fleet Family for hosting the regatta and putting together the Saturday evening BBQ.

 

See you all in Marblehead!  Looking forward to more great sailing!

Good luck to everybody!

Report by Stephen Braverman, BH Fleet Captain & Regatta Chair

2nd & 3rd Photos by Sue Hardy

Author: Stephen Braverman - August 11, 2017

Fall Sailing in New England!

 

2017 Star North American Championship

Entry Deadline for the Star North Americans at Eastern Yacht Club in Marblehead is rapidly approaching.

Don't miss the opportunity to sail against some of the top sailors in the world!

The entry deadline is August 12th to avoid the late fee.

You can register for the event here:

https://starclass.org/calendar/details/2017-north-american-championship/2017-north-american-championship.

Facebook event:  https://www.facebook.com/events/701571276698823

 

2017 Marshall Brown

And whether or not you are sailing the North Americans, the Boston Harbor Star Fleet is hosting the First District Marshall Brown Secretary's Cup as a Tune-up regatta the weekend before, September 2 & 3.

Online registration is available here:  https://www.regattatoolbox.com/eventDetails?eventID=HknteK5nFL

facebook event:  https://www.facebook.com/events/1448286045230110

Hope to see you up in Massachusetts in September!

Cumulative Results