Star Class Honoring the Past, Leading the Future
Author: John Chiarella & Brad Nichol - January 24, 2022Dear Fellow Star Sailors,
The Lake Sunapee Yacht Club and the Lake Sunapee Star Fleet are proud to host the 2022 Star Western Hemisphere Championship. As event chairs we cordially invite you to join us for a spectacular event with world renowned hospitality, and a location that cannot be beat.
It is our intention to provide housing to as many competitors as possible with our club members. We will give priortiy to those who register first, so it is important to sign up on the WHC website and email Brad Nichol with your housing request.
We expect to host at least five major social events with beverages sponsored by Bacardi. The event calendar is on the website. We are keepign costs low with an entry fee of $500/boat that covers all racing, continental breakfast, after sailing snacks, beverages and dinners. This is all possible because of the generosity of the club members, local businesses and our presenting sponsor Bacardi.
The 2022 summer schedule will be busy culminating in the 100th anniversay of the Star World Championship in Marblehead. We look to make attendance in Sunapee as easy as possible and will provide boat storage before and after the event, host a warm-up at the Lake Sunapee Open August 5-7 and help with boat transportation.
Finally, we would like to promote U30 competitors at the event and are accepting applications for entry fee scholarships in memory of Andy Macdonald for skippers under the age of 30. Please email Brad Nichol to apply.
We look forward to an excellent summer of sailing. Come join us on Lake Sunapee in August!
Sincerely,
John Chiarella & Brad Nichol
Event Co-chairs
August 15, 2022
Author: Rachele Vitello - August 25, 2022The 2022 Star Western Hemisphere Championship started yesterday with the first race, sailed with very light wind on Sunapee Lake, New Hampshire, USA. Two more races were finished today by the 33 teams attending the championship, mostly from the USA, with three Canadians, a Bahamian and a German boat.
After a little waiting on the water with AP flag up for the light wind, Race 2 started at around 1pm local time, a three-lap course with about 5 knots from North West, led from the beginning by Andy Ivey/Reid Krakower, and followed by Peter Follansbee/Nathalien Cook, both from Lake Sunapee Yacht Club. Star World Champion Eric Doyle with Payson Infelise closed in third, after yesterday’s performance below their level (15th).
Race 3 started right after, at 2,30 pm, with very similar conditions. At the first windward mark the locals Peter Follansbee/Nathalien Cook were leading the fleet, but by the gate they had already been overtaken by Stephen Braverman/Ron Rezac from Boston, who were then able to keep the lead until the end. Follansbee/Cook finished second and Allan Cullen/Dave Martin, coming all the way from Vancouver, got third.
Today’s bullet in the third race and a couple of good results before it, make Braverman/Cook provisional overall leader of the fleet, followed by Lake Sunapee Ivey/Krakower with John Dane III/Timothy Ray third.
Up to three races are in plan for tomorrow, day three of the competition that will end on Saturday with a Silver Star winning team.
Author: Rachele Vitello - August 27, 2022Yesterday was a forced lay day for the 33-boat fleet gathered on Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire, for the 2022 Star Western Hemisphere Championship. The wind was light and a storm was predicted to arrive in the early afternoon, so after an attempt to get one race in, the Race Committee had to send the teams back for safety reason and call it for the day.
A fourth race was much needed to validate the championship and two very challenging and tactical races were sailed today, with 5 to 8 knots of wind from the north. The first race started on time at 10 am and was open to the first windward mark, but from the downwind gate, Star World Champion – among other titles - Paul Cayard with Brad Nichol (USA), moved into first place and kept it until the end. John Dane/Timothy Ray (USA) scored a second place and another Star World Champion, Eric Doyle with Payson Infelise (USA), finished third.
With race four in the bag, the 2022 Star Western Hemisphere Championship was valid, but a fifth race would have counted a discard, much wanted by many teams. Cayard/Nichol particularly wanted to drop the 13th from the first day and proved to deserve that by winning both races today in very light and shifty conditions that only lakes can provide. Second in the fifth race were Doyle/Infelise, also back to form, and Keith Dodson with Myles Pritchard finishing third.
“We had a great day, but you need to have luck on your side to win in Sunapee Lake. It’s been a great Western Hemisphere Championship, it was good to race with many people who don’t usually go to World Championships or the Bacardi Cup but were able to come here and race. It is great for the Class, it keeps them motivated! We had John Dane and Eric Doyle fighting with us, but again, this lake is not Garda lake, it is super shifty and we had the best this time. I am really looking forward to the 100th Anniversary World Championship in a couple of weeks in Marblehead, it’s going to be a great event!”
All the star sailors now will turn the focus on the imminent 100th Anniversary Star World Championship to take place in Marblehead, MA, from September 8th to the 17th.
Full results:
https://yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eid=15281
Gibson Island Yacht Squadron, host of the District 2 Miller Series, June 25-26, is offering free storage for any Star sailing in the Miller Series. The Miller Series will be held the weekend after the North Americans and is on the road up from Annapolis to Marblehead. GIYS is an exclusive and safe island with 24/7 security at the entrance to the island. For more information contact Tom Price
June 13-18 North American Championship info - Annapolis, MD
June 25-26 Gibson Island Miller Series info - Gibson Island, MD
August 6-7 Sunapee Open & District 23 Championship - Sunapee Lake, NH
August 21-27 Western Hemisphere Championship - Sunapee Lake, NH
September 8-17 Star World Championship - Marblehead, MA
