Star Class Honoring the Past, Leading the Future
Author: Rachele Vitello - May 27, 2021Warm sun and sea breeze from south-west at 12-15 knots, Day Two of the 2021 Star European Championship was very similar to Day One, confirming Split, Croatia as one of the best, and most reliable, sailing spots in Europe.
Race Three and Four are now in the scoreboard and the top spots of the provisional overall ranking have slightly changed. Not the leaders though, Class President Hubert Merkelbach and Kilian Weise (GER) strongly defended their position with another bullet in today’s first race and a sixth in the second, a bit trickier race, due to some major wind shifts. They are the second best of the day, behind Laser Olympic Silver medalist Tonci Stipanovic(CRO), who was fifth and first. He won the second race, with crew Tudor Bilic (CRO), fighting against their fellow countrymen Marin Misura and Tonko Barac who finished second. The latter had a modest advantage upwind, but Stipanovic/Bilic had a big hedge downwind and extended hugely on the last leg. They are respectively fifth and sixth in the overall ranking.
“We had a pretty consistent day, that allows us back in the game after not being so brilliant yesterday. We will try to do the same tomorrow, and with the discard coming in after the fifth race we will be able to join the battle for the win”, commented Tudor Bilic.
“We didn’t expect these conditions but lighter wind and smaller waves than what we had. We are happy nonetheless of our day on the water, it’s nice when you are fighting for the win with an Olympic medalist from your own country”, said Tonko Barac.
Seven total points for the day also for Augie Diaz (USA) and Christian Nehammer (AUT), fourth overall with a second and fifth; two Italian teams in the top five, Enrico Chieffi / Ferdinando Colaninno second – three and nine their daily results – and Flavio Favini with Nicolas Seravalle, fourth.
Tomorrow’s forecast are for a lighter north wind, allowing the 34 team to test the equipment and their tactical skills with different conditions on a patchier race courses due to a big island in the way. The start is scheduled as usual for 1pm local time, and you can follow the racing thanks to Croatel live streaming on the Star Class website.
Author: Rachele Vitello - May 28, 2021On a very light wind day, so different from what we’ve seen so far in Split, Croatia, the Italian duo Enrico Chieffi and Nando Colaninno scored a bullet and second place that made them 2021 Star European Champions with a race to spare!!
They put their boat in the water this morning seven points behind Star Class President Hubert Merklebach and Kilian Weise (GER), who seemed unstoppable in the strong breeze. Today’s different conditions, shiftier wind from the North between 4 and 6 knots, didn’t sit well with the German team who discarded an 18 and scored a 12. Chieffi/Colaninno had a brilliant day with two amazing starts and an excellent at managing the race course of the difficult racecourse, it was the perfect day to win their first Star European title.
“What an amazing sailing, I mean this morning it was so difficult, light air going everywhere, this afternoon was more of a sea breeze, but we have a good boat and we raced very well, great starts, and it was a great day, nothing more than that!!”
“I am a very happy ‘old’ guy who is really enjoying this moment, because you know, at this stage of my life, every good thing is a present, and this is such a great gift!!” Commented Enrico Chieffi, Star World Champion in 1996 in Rio de Janeiro.
Augie Diaz (USA) and Christian Nehammer (AUT) had another good day together and are now tied for third on points with Merkelbach Merkelbach/Weise. The other bullet of the day went to Mate Arapov and Ante Sitic (CRO), fifth overall, while local hero Tonci Stipanovic with Tudor Bilic are third after throwing off the very first race.
Tomorrow is the last day of the Championship and only one race is scheduled with a 1pm start, local time. The forecast is for a sea breeze day from south west, between 10 and 12 knots. It’ll be interesting to see how the podium will shape up, but the 2021 European Championship title is already secured in Enrico Chieffi and Nando Colaninno’s hands.
Author: Rachele Vitello - May 03, 2021In three weeks’, the Sailing Club JK Mornar will open its doors to the 40+ teams signed up to attend the 2021 Star Europeans. JK Mornar is situated in the heart of beautiful Split in Croatia - where the successful 2016 Eastern Hemisphere was held (won by American Augie Diaz with Brazilian crew Henry Boening).
The 17th District Championship will serve as warm up to the Silver event, for those who will have time to invest in some yacht racing after a year short of regattas. The club has a strict safety protocol to guarantee everyone’s health, and hotels and restaurants in Croatia are opened, especially the dehors, so you won’t have to lock yourself up in a hotel room or apartment. The club will send confirmation letters for participants to allow travelling in Europe and in order to avoid quarantine when going back in their home countries, when required.
The competition will be high, with brilliant sailors like World Champion Enrico Chieffi, European Champion Diego Negri, Olympians - and reigning European Champion - Piet Eckert , America's Cup helmsman Flavio Favini and local hero and Laser Olympic Silver medalist Tonči Stipanović.
Click the link below and join the action from May 24th to 29th in Split, Croatia, organized by the Star Class and Sailing Club JK Mornar.
https://2021euro.starchampionships.org/entry/2021_european
Author: Rachele Vitello - May 26, 2021Day One of the 2021 Star European Championship in Split, Croatia, was just perfect for the 34 teams coming from 20 different nations. The sea breeze filled in from the prevalent South-West, and it stabilized at 12-15 knots for perfect champagne sailing conditions. After a 30-minute postponement, two races were completed on the beautifully set course by JK Mornar Yacht Club, the organizing authority with the International Star Class.
Two clear starts and impeccable behavior from the fleet on the four-leg upwind-downwind races. The sea breeze dropped slightly during the second race, but never under 10 knots. The first bullet went to Flavio Favini / Nicolas Seravalle (ITA), followed by Mate Arapov / Ante Sitic (CRO) and Enrico Chieffi / Ferdinando Colanino (ITA), while the second race was won by Star Class President Hubert Merkelbach with Kilian Weise (GER), followed by Juan Kouyoumdjian (ARG) / Enrico Voltolini (ITA) and, third once again, Enrico Chieffi / Ferdinando Colaninno. In the second race we saw a great comeback of local sailing hero Tonci Stipanovic, sailing with Tudor Bilic, he was aiming for the perfect pin-end start when he realized he was early and did not have enough room between him and the end of the line. He was forced to restart and crossed the line almost a minute later behind the rest of the fleet but was fifth at the downwind gate and finished the race in fourth. He is 12th overall due to a disastrous first race, in which he finished 24th.
“Very nice conditions on the first day of the European Championship, I had a great racing day with Kilian Weise, and I am looking forward to more sailing like this”, Hubert Merkelbach commented when he realized he was the best of the day.
“Incredible first day, beautiful sea breeze, everything was perfect, and Split is a wonderful place to sail -- I am very glad I had good results today, but it is a very tough fleet, a lot of fun, but tough fleet”, said Enrico Chieffi.
Tomorrow’s forecast is for a repeat of today, with the first start scheduled for 13.00 local time and the live streaming tomorrow will be supported by graphic enhancements.
