Star Class Honoring the Past, Leading the Future
REPORT OF THE 12TH DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIPS
AND THE RICK BURGESS TOMAHAWK REGATTA 2025
The 12th District Championships were held May 31 – June 1, 2025 at the Lake Hopatcong Yacht Club in conjunction with the Rick Burgess Tomahawk Regatta. Sailors began arriving as early as Wednesday from 4 nations, 9 states and 4 districts.
Festivities started with a Welcome Dinner at the grand historic home of Lake Hopatcong Fleet Member, Stu Miller. Saturday saw 3 races in big shifty breeze from the west, a very unpredictable direction. We were happy to see no serious damage.
Top 3 at the end of racing on Saturday were Arthur Anasov and Dave Caesar (1, 6, 3); Peter Bromby and Mike Marcel (9, 2, 1) and John MacCausland and George Iverson (11, 1, 2). In the Blue Star, Andy Ivey with Bob Carlson (3, 1, 2) led the way, with Pat Flinn and Brian Kitchin (5, 2, 1) and Quinton Gallon and Ryley Garvey (2, 4, 5) close behind.
Saturday night the Fleet provided hors-d’oeuvre during the cocktail hours, with music by Colleen Murphy’s brother’s band and a buffet dinner with speeches congratulating Rick Burgess for the honor of having this, his 59th consecutive Tomahawk Regatta, named for him. Rick acknowledged his friends from near and far, as well as his family for coming to celebrate with him. His son Richard crewed for him on 7824 and grandson, Frankie, competed against him coming in second in the Green Star. He stressed the importance of family, and thanked his son, Steven and granddaughter Kayley for joining in the celebration. He thanked, especially, his wife, Jan, for supporting him in his life-long passion for Star boat sailing.
Sunday saw more cool, brisk breeze from the west, and 2 more races to complete the regatta. Unfortunately, on this day, carnage could not be avoided, with 2 masts lost at the start of Race 5.
At the end of the series, Quinton Gallon and Ryley Garvey successfully defended their 2024 Blue Star with Ivey and Carlson in second and Rick and Clark Dein in third. The Green Star was won by Peter Brezffa, with past world champion Dominick Zycki up front. Frankie Burgess and Bob Krahulik were second and Fred and Olivia Eagles were third.
The first Rick Burgess Tomahawk Regatta was won by Anasov and Caesar, being awarded a beautiful perpetual trophy donated by the MacCausland family. Second and third were Peter Bromby and Mike Marcel with John MacCausland and George Iverson. Results and photos are attached.
As the Fleet Captain of the Lake Hopatcong Yacht Club, I am especially excited to welcome you to the 2025 Rick Burgess Tomahawk / 12th District Championships! This is a special year as not only does it celebrate the 90th season of Star sailing on Lake Hopatcong, but it also gave us an opportunity to recognize and celebrate a true champion of Star sailing, my father, Rick Burgess! I’m sure if you are reading this, you know Rick and all the joy that he’s brought to this sport. What you may not know is that he has sailed in every single Tomahawk Regatta since at least 1966! That’s a 21-year-old Rick Burgess… Can you imagine!!!! And since then, hasn’t missed a single one! Consecutive – for nearly 60 years! So, we got together and decided that obviously our club is amazing, because why else would anyone come 60 years in a row? LOL! And then we rethought about how amazing Rick is and thought it was appropriate to rename the Tomahawk after him! Rick was not a LHYC member - he sailed for many years out of Greenwood Lake NJ & Seneca Lake NY. However, the Lake Hopatcong Club has always welcomed all visiting sailors and strives to make everyone feel like members! We’d be honored to have you attend this year’s special event. So, a couple things: The Tomahawk is an open regatta, but it is being sailed in conjunction with the 12th District Championships. It will be raced together, but scoring will be separate. If you are a 12th District sailor, you MUST be in good standing with the Star class (dues paid) in order to sail this event. There is a Liability Waiver as well as 12th District registration form on this Clubspot post. Register as a MEMBER and enter your sail number as your member number. Housing is available on a limited, 1st come, 1st served basis (and filling quickly). Contact Tom Flinn at 973-476-1628 or tdfesq7729@gmail.com to request housing. There are a couple reasonable hotels nearby that as of this posting are not sold out: Quality Inn Ledgewood – Dover 1691 Us Highway 46, Ledgewood, NJ, 07852 Baymont by Wyndham Budd Lake 102 Us Highway 46, Budd Lake, NJ, 07828 Days Inn by Wyndham Budd Lake 138 Route 46, Budd Lake, NJ, 07828 The venue for the Friday night event could possibly change due to weather and other factors, so please be on the lookout for an amendment to the NOR. Trailer parking is expected to be tight, so please feel free to text me and let me know when you expect to arrive so I can ensure you have a good place to park your boat. My cell: 973-975-7868 HAVE FUN & ENJOY YOURSELVES! If you need anything, just ask! Thank you!!! Rich Burgess Jr.
