2014 North American Championship – Oxford, Maryland, USA
Regatta Report
Day One
Race day one of the 2014 International Star Class North American Championship delivered all of the tough competition and tight racing as anticipated however it was the elements that ultimately fueled the strife instead of the all-star packed list of sailors.
Races one, two and three were completed today in remarkably different breeze than forecasted and while the fleet struggled to successfully manage the shifty, unstable conditions, a few sailors dominated them, namely Arthur Anosov and David Caesar (USA 8000), John MacCausland and Rick Burgess (USA 8490), Keith Donald and Kevin Elterman (USA 8087), and Carroll Beek-McCallum and Jock Kohlhas.
Race 1 began with a general recall, followed by a clean start in the second sequence. Six time International Star Class North American Champion John MacCausland and his crew Rick Burgess (USA 8490) took a commanding lead early on in leg 1, rounded each mark in first, maintained their lead throughout all four legs by protecting the favored left side of the course, and won the race with apparent ease.
In Race 2, the fleet saw the wind shift further left at the start and had set up for the controlling, seemingly persistent left phase but was rocked by a 45° right shift as it approached the top ¼ of leg 1. District 2 locals Keith Donald and crew Kevin Elterman (USA 8087), who had been working up the right side of the course since the start, were the first team to the new breeze and proceeded to round the windward mark in first. USA 8087 Donald/Elterman continued to lead the fleet around the course for the remaining three legs and crossed the finish line in first place, earning their first Silver Star honors: Two Silver Chevrons and two Silver Bars, respectively.
Race 3 began in the right phase wind that slowly shifted back left as the race progressed. After the start, the Star sailors headed straight to the right side of the course without hesitation. Paul Cayard and crew Brian Terhaar (USA 8460) rounded the weather mark in first with the 1996 Bahamian Olympic Star team Mark Holowesko and Miles Pritchard (BAH 8406) close behind, who after taking full advantage of a 15° left shift downwind, eventually passed USA 8460 Cayard/Terhaar and rounded the leeward mark in first. Despite the now left phase breeze, BAH 8406 Holowesko/Pritchard began heading upwind on the right side of the course again and the entire fleet followed suit, except for one team. On their way downwind, Carroll McCallum and crew Jock Kohlhas (USA 8420) saw more pressure on the left, rounded the right leeward gate mark, and sailed away from the fleet chasing down the breeze.
USA 8420 McCallum/Kohlhas’s bold strategy paid off big time putting them in first place around the windward mark with a comfortable lead and they defended their position all the way downwind to the finish to win Race 3. McCallum, one of the five novice skippers competing this week, earned her first Star Class honors ever today: two Silver Chevrons.
Arthur Anosov and crew David Caesar (USA 8000) proved today that above all else, consistency is the key to overall success, especially in unsteady conditions. With a third, 10th, and second place finish in races one, two and three respectively this afternoon, USA 8000 Anosov/Caesar tops the leaderboard with 15 points total and a nine point lead.
Carroll McCallum, USA 8240: 'When you are trying to move up in the fleet, sometimes you just have to try something different. Jock [Carroll's crew] saw more breeze on the left so we went left. This race win today was for Dodie Beek, my mother, for over 70 years of loving Stars and Star sailors!'
Dave Caesar, USA 8000: 'Based on the forecast, we left the dock with flat, heavy air sails and when we got to the racing area it was clear that the conditions were different than the prediction. We did everything we could to power up and stay powered up all day. Transitions and changing gears smoothly was also key today with the shifty breeze, especially in the last two races.'
Day Two
The winds are proving to be a challenging opponent on the second day of the Star North Americans, where two races were completed in 5-10 knots. “It isn’t that the wind starts at 5 knots and builds to 10 or the reverse,” explained Paul Cayard, currently fourth overall. “Here the wind is 5-10 every minute of the day. And it shifts 30 degrees too.” With five races now completed, Arthur Anosov and David Caesar (USA) continue to lead the 41-boat field, though they now have a solid discard after posting a 2-42 today, carding a BFD penalty in the fifth race. The 8 race series is scheduled across 4 days (Oct. 8-11).
Day Three
For the third day in a row now, competitors at the 2014 International Star Class North American Championship endured none other than Oxford’s most precarious winds as they fought one another through Races 6 and 7 for the top spot in the overall standings yesterday.
After completing 7 races, Brazilian team Torben Grael and Guilherme Almeida (BRA 8210) top the leader board with a cumulative 29 points and have a 10 point lead going into the final race day of the series. Although 10 points is usually considered a comfortable margin, this particular race venue has proved itself untrustworthy many times to deliver conditions that even slightly resemble normal wind behavior so the Silver Star Championship title is still just about anyone’s for the taking.
Race 6 and 7 were sailed in an erratic North/ Northwesterly breeze that blew from 025°, 100°, and everywhere in between, at speeds anywhere from 4 to 12 knots, and in a flooding tide that, due to the wind direction, ran perpendicular to the Race Course. Looming rain storms in the area added another variable to the mix for the sailors to consider in their race strategy should the squall affect the wind on its approach or hit mid-race. Several Eastern Shore of Maryland Star Fleet and District 2 locals excelled in Race Day 3’s conditions, using their many years of experience sailing in Oxford to carefully navigate through the fleet and around the course.
When the Star fleet reached the race area yesterday morning, the Race Committee posted the AP Flag at 11:00 am for a few short minutes to give competitors extra time to check in and view the course information. Within 2 minutes, the AP Flag was taken down then one minute later the 5 minute horn sounded signaling the beginning of the starting sequence for Race 6. The Race Committee set a Course 4, windward-leeward twice around with a downwind finish, with a windward mark bearing of 085°. Race 6 began with an individual recall and no longer than 100 yards past the starting line the fleet split in two when one half tacked to port headed to the right side of the course while the other half remained on starboard sailing forward toward the left.
Ultimately the right side of the course was favored on the first leg giving Jack Rickard and Sam Eadie (USA 8036), leaders of the right side, the momentum they needed to cross the boats approaching from the left and round the windward mark in first place. Argentinians Alberto Zanetti and Federico Calegari (ARG 8278) rounded second with 3rd place John Chiarella and Bob Carleson (USA 8215), 4th place Bert Collins and Jake Doyle (8063), and 5th place Tom Londrigan and Steve Cutting (USA 8361) close behind. At the windward mark Bob Lippincott and Michael Zuschnitt (USA 7512) were notified they were OCS at the start and they left the race course.
As the rest of the sailors raced downwind to the leeward gate, the fleet was hit with a 15° right shift that gave Larry Whipple and Mike Wolfs (USA 8484) the opportunity to take over the lead as well as the opportunity for USA 8361 Londrigan/Cutting to move into second place. At the gate, USA 8484 Whipple/Wolfs rounded first just ahead of USA 8361 Londrigan/Cutting, USA 8036 Rickard/Eadie, USA 8063 Collins/Doyle, and ARG 8278 Zanetti/Calegari who proceeded to rounded in that order and head upwind for the newly adjusted windward mark at 100°.
ARG 8278 Zanetti/Calegari sailed a flawless second weather leg and reached the windward mark in first, just as a new left phase breeze began to control the course. USA 8036 Rickard/Eadie rounded in 2nd followed by Brazilians Torben Grael and Guilherme Almeida (BRA 8210) in 3rd, USA 8063 Collins/Doyle in 4th, and Doug Schofield and Bob Schofield (USA 8264) now in 5th. The wind had shifted almost a full 70° before it settled into its new direction and consequently, the last downwind leg of Race 6 became almost a parade to the finish. ARG 8278 Zanetti/ Calegari maintained their lead for the entire 4th leg and won Race 6 with BRA 8210 Grael/Almeida crossing in 2nd, USA 803 Collins/Doyle in 3rd, USA 8036 Rickard/Eadie in 4th and USA 8264 Schofield/Schofield in 5th.
Race 7 got off to a clean but tough start due to a small rain cell that was passing over head. The starting sequence began in a steady 6-8 knots from 020° that progressively lightened to 4 knots and became more unsettled as the storm moved away. Right off the line, the majority of the fleet began working up the right side of the course and about half way upwind the breeze filled back in to its previous 6-8 knots. As the fleet neared the windward mark, the leading boats came from the middle of the course with local Eastern Shore of Maryland Star Fleet member, Championship organizer for this regatta, and novice skipper R.J. Cooper with Brain Boyd (USA 8024) at the front of the pack.
USA 8024 Cooper/Boyd rounded the weather mark in first with John MacCausland and Rick Burgess (USA 8490) hot on his tail. Another local Fleet and Yacht Club member Alan Campbell with Steve Rollo (USA 8045) rounded the weather mark in 3rd followed by Steve Braverman and Kevin Hetherington-Young (USA 8052) in 4th and Will Murdoch with Tim Paris (USA 7713) in 5th. As the fleet headed downwind, the wind began shifting to the right and Torben Grael with Guilherme Almeida (BRA 8210) took advantage of the new breeze, using it to move into the top 5.
USA 8024 Cooper/Boyd maintained their lead all the way downwind and lead the fleet around the leeward mark. USA 8490 MacCausland/Burgess rounded in 2nd, ahead of now 3rd place BRA 8210 Grael/Almeida, 4th place USA 8045 Campbell/Boyd, and 5th place USA 8052 Braverman/Hetherington-Young. The wind continued to shift further right again on the second upwind leg and USA 8490 MacCausland/Burgess was able to get farther right than USA 8024 Cooper/Boyd to gain an advantageous position and pass USA 8024 Cooper/Boyd with just a quarter of the leg left until the windward mark.
USA 8490 MacCausland/Burgess rounded the windward mark first with USA 8024 Cooper/Boyd less than 2 feet behind and both jibed around the offset. BRA 8210 Grael/Almeida held his 3rd place position upwind and around the windward mark followed this time by Arthur Anosov with David Caeser (USA 8000) in 4th and Paul Cayard with Brian Terhaar (USA 8460) in 5th. These five boats continued on downwind to finish in the same positions they rounded in. Both R.J. Cooper and Brian Boyd (USA 8024) were novices when the entered the 2014 Star North Americans but with their 2nd place finish in Race 7 they have each earned their first Star Class Honors ever: 1 Silver Chevron, and 1 Silver Bar respectively.
Day Four
The 2014 International Star Class North American Championship came to an exciting close Saturday with the completion of the final race in the series held at the Tred Avon Yacht Club in some of the most challenging winds Star sailors have faced in a Silver or Gold Star regatta this year. Overall success was not defined by number of race wins, but by consistency and maintaining a low point average as seen in the final results. Within the top 5 finishers, none of the teams won a race throughout the series and 1st through 5th place, with 40 and 72 total points respectively, were separated by a seemingly large 32 point gap that calculates to a mere 4 point difference in race finishing place averages. Brazilians Torben Grael and Guilherme Almeida (BRA 8210) ultimately won the Championship with a cumulative 40 points and a race average 8th place for all 8 races.
For Race 8, the final race of the 2014 International Star Class North American Championship, the Race Committee sent the Star sailors on their longest and most difficult race yet: the 5 leg, windward-leeward Course 3 with 1.8 mile long legs. The wind was blowing 10-12 knots from the West at 060 deg., similar to the previous day's wind conditions. The Race Committee started the sequence for Race 8 right on time and with all boats clear at the start, the fleet had officially begun its final crusade for the 2014 International Star Class North American Championship Silver Star title.
Shortly after the start, several boats tacked onto port and aimed for the right side of the course without looking back, a strategy that paid off huge in Race Day 3's conditions during Race 6 and 7. Unfortunately as the fleet approached the windward mark, it became very clear that a relying entirely on the right would be the best way to sail yourself to the back of the fleet. Sailors who stuck to the left side of the course upwind made major gains playing the center-left shifts all the way to the windward mark. Douglas Smith and Chris Rogers (USA 8072) were the first team from the left to fetch the windward mark, they rounded with a 3 boat length lead and carried the fleet onto the second leg of the overall 5 leg race. Paul Cayard and Brian Terhaar (USA 8460) rounded in 2nd with Tomas Hornos and Josh Revkin (USA 8177) right on their hip. Canadians Mark Passmore and Simon Van Wonderen rounded in 4th just ahead of Arthur Anosov and David Caesar (USA 8000) in 5th.
As the Stars made their way downwind on leg 2, the wind shifted left 10 degrees giving teams who set up closer to the right side the advantage and ability to move up within the fleet more easily. USA 8460 Cayard/Terhaar had overtaken USA 8072 Smith/Rogers about halfway down leg 2 and rounded the leeward mark in the lead. USA 8177 Hornos/Revkin held on to their 2nd place position, rounding ahead of CAN 8235 Passmore/Van Wonderen in 3rd, and USA 8000 Anosov/Caesar in 4th. The Race Committee moved the weather mark to 050 deg. to match the new wind bearing and notified all competitors as they rounded the leeward gate marks and moved onto leg 3.
The first leeward mark rounding was perhaps the most pivotal point in the race because despite the left shift trend on the previous two legs and the recent windward mark change 10deg. to the left, many of the sailors, including the majority of the leading boats, set up to sail upwind on the right hand side of the course. At the second windward mark rounding, it became evident just how persistently unfavorable the right side of the course was when only one of the top five boats from the previous two mark roundings sustained its position.
Local Eastern Shore of Maryland Star Fleet member and recent recipient of the International Star Class's Boat Donor Program, Alan Campbell with crew Steve Rollo (USA 8045) rounded the leeward mark in the low teens and anticipating another major shift, headed left. Just as they had expected, the wind shifted another 15deg. to the left and USA 8045 Campbell/Rollo sailed into 1st place eventually rounding the weather mark 10 boat lengths ahead of 2nd place USA 8177 Hornos/Revkin. Derek DeCounteau and Jamie Stewart (USA 8083) followed the pair around in 3rd place with 4th place Bob Lippincott and Michael Zuschnitt (USA 7512) and 5th place Jerry Wendt with Ezra Culver (CAN 8389), close behind. The top 5 sailed the final remaining downwind leg and leeward mark rounding in the same order, however due to another left wind shift and course change by 10 degrees to 040 deg., CAN 8389 Wendt/Culver and USA 8460 Cayard/Terhaar managed to move up a few places during leg 5 on the parade to the finish line.
Alan Campbell and crew Steve Rollo (USA 8045) crossed the finish line in 1st place, winning one of the International Star Class's 5 North American Championship perpetual trophies: the Edward N Hay Memorial Perpetual Trophy for the 1st place finisher in the last race of the series. Race 8 was the second race at a Silver Star Championship Campbell has won thus far in his career and was Rollo's first race win after just TWO regattas (this event included) in the Star, earning him a Star Class Honor of 2 Silver Bars as a Race Winning Crew. Jerry Wendt and crew Ezra Culver (CAN 8389) finished the race in 2nd overall, earning Culver his first Star Class Honor of 1 Silver Bar for a Race Top 3 Finishing Crew. Tomas Hornos and Josh Revkin (USA 8177) finished in 3rd place with Paul Cayard and Brian Terhaar (USA 8460) immediately behind them in 4th, and Derek DeCounteau with crew Jamie Stewart (USA 8083) crossing in 5th place.
Awards & Winners:
Royal Canadian Yacht Club Perpetual Trophy, 1st Place Overall: BRA 8210 Torben Grael & Guilherme Almeida
Mead Bachelor Perpetual Trophy, 1st Place Crew: BRA 8210 Guilherme Almeida
Jack Daniels Perpetual Trophy, 1st Place in Race 1: USA 8490 John MacCausland & Rick Burgess
Edward N Hay Memorial Perpetual Trophy, 1st Place in Last Race of Series: USA 8045 Alan Campbell & Steve Rollo
Top Junior Skipper: USA 7512 Bob Lippincott
Top Junior Crew: USA 8177 Josh Revkin
Top Master: BRA 8210 Torben Grael & Guilherme Almeida
Top Grand Master: USA 8484 Larry Whipple & Mike Wolfs
Top Exalted Grand Master: USA 8036 Jack Rickard & Sam Eadie
Top Classic Boat: USA 7078 Rick Rundle & Kyle McVane
Top Novice: USA 8024 R.J. Cooper & Brian Boyd
Top Tred Avon Yacht Club Member: USA 7512 Bob Lippincott & Mike Zuschnitt
Top District 2 Member: USA 8490 John MacCausland & Rick Burgess
Top Female: USA 7986 Barbara Vosbury & Guy Avellon
Quotes of the Day:
Alan Campbell, USA 8045: "We had good boat speed and were fortunate enough to have watched the guys on the first leg pay off on the left. We just followed suit and covered middle left. We knew we the left is where we wanted to be so we just made the decision and stuck to our guns. We sent it."
Torben Grael, BRA 8210: "The conditions were very tricky so sticking to the fundamentals, you know staying in phase at all costs, was very important to fighting through the fleet from the back to the front and to making consistent results."
Tomas Hornos, USA 8177: "I have never been happier to finish second in a regatta. Seriously."
Paul Cayard writes –
Brian and I had a decent start and sailed pretty well not he first leg (and were lucky that our side worked out well) to round the first mark second to Doug Smith and Chris Rogers. We managed to pass Smith Rogers to lead at the end of lap one. On the second upwind leg, we protected the left side as it seemed good that far in the race. This meant that we were within 10 degrees of the port lay line with 12 minutes of sailing to do. That wasn’t enough protection! Five boats passed us to the left!
The final run was a fetch and so was the final windward leg to the finish. We managed to pass two boats to finish fourth in the race and in the regatta. Torben Grael finished in 11th and that’s all he needed to do given that Arthur and Dave were ninth. Tomas Horno and Josh Revkin had a very good race finishing third and that was enough to boost him past Aurthur and Dave for second in the regatta. All in all, it’s been a fun eight days in Maryland and we had 13 races in that time. As frustrating as it can be at times, sailing in very shifty conditions makes you sharp. You have to make so many decisions over the course of the race as compared to very steady conditions which are more about boat speed.
Results
