2017 North American Championship – Marblehead, Massachusetts, USA
Regatta Report
Day One
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.
Day Two
The second day of the Star North Americans tested patience and rewarded proper boat setup. The day began with an on the water AP until conditions stabilized. Sailors tuned their boats in clear blue sunny skies and a building south west breeze.
Doug Smith and Brian O’Mahony, who rounded the first windward mark in 8th, won race one by a significant margin! Another comeback was the father daughter pair of Dwight and Elizabeth Escalera, who climbed from 23 to 4th from the first windward mark to the second. Elizabeth remarked, “We sailed a lower lane the first downwind leg and were on the correct side of the current, which helped us a lot. We were so pumped about coming back that the rest of the race went really well.”
The second race kicked off at 1430, and as the sea breeze clouds built, the wind became patchy and the race was characterized by pockets of pressure and significant velocity changes. George Szabo and Ed Morey found a groove with their charter boat and won the race to finish the day in second overall. The world champion team of Augie Diaz and Bruno Prada currently lead the event with day one leader Luke Lawrence and Ian Coleman slipping to third overall.
Day Three
The fleet at the 2017 Star North American Championship was greeted on day three with a new wind direction and course location this morning, with more races completed in 6-8 knots. Race one brought about a tight battle between Jack Richard and Sam Eadie and race winners Derek DeCouteau sailing with Jamie Steward. Winning race two was Augie Diaz and Bruno Prada, their second of the event.
“I am pretty certain the way we won the last race is because we got into the breeze on the course right,” noted Diaz. “The current had switched so we were in the correct position on the course. It was very helpful to have so many lobster pots to read as we went by.” Diaz and Prada hold onto their overall lead going into the final day.
Day Four
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.”
Results
