Star Class Honoring the Past, Leading the Future
I knew what it was the minute I first saw it.
It must have been 2014, me and my family had recently moved to Dubai. On the way back from a trip to the supermarket an unmistakable stern shape caught my eye. If you have seen one before you cannot miss it. I remember thinking, “Oh wow, a Star in Dubai, that is cool. I wonder who owns it and if there are many of them here.”
I grew up in a family deeply attached to the sea: both my grandfathers, my father, my brother and sister-in-law have served or are serving in the Italian Navy. From a young age, I was exposed to sailing and I remember dad talking about sailing a Star in La Maddalena (#mylovestory) in the 1970s before me and my brother “showed up”. The Italian Navy has a strong sailing tradition and La Maddalena, as an important naval base had a Sezione Velica (a Sailing Club) of significant status. La Maddalena, for those who don’t know it, is an archipelago of islands located between the main island of Sardinia and Corsica and plays host to many iconic races including the Rolex Cup (https://www.yccs.it/en/regattas-2021/maxi_yacht_rolex_cup-305.html). It is the perfect playground to learn to sail in beautiful, yet challenging, conditions.
Back to the story. Fast forward a few years and I was routinely passing by the same spot, noticing the boat always in the same place, always on its trailer. So one day, in early February 2021, I decided to stop. I am not sure why but I felt the need to have a closer look. I quickly arrived at the conclusion that the boat had been there for a long time and was not really used. The tyres on the trailer were flat, the cover was blown off, the mast was on the pavement and the whole boat was covered in what looked like several layers of sand accumulated over the years (for those who live in the Middle East we know what those Shamals can do …). My interest in the story of the boat grew by the minute. “How come such a beautiful boat had been abandoned? Did the owner have to leave the country? Is she or he not able to sail anymore? Is he or she coming back? At this time I was collecting my points to become a member at Dubai Offshore Sailing Club so my passion for sailing was re-energised and the desire to understand what happened to the boat started to turn into a slight obsession!
I remember stopping a gentleman walking by the boat in this residential street in Jumeirah asking him if he lived nearby and if he knew who the boat belonged to. He told me that the boat had been there for years and the owners had left a long time ago. At that point I formed the idea that, for whatever reason, the owners had had to abandon the boat and I wanted to rescue it and put back in the water, where she belongs.
I left a note on the boat asking for information with my details. No one replied, but I kept going back, again and again. I met a lot of the people living on the street and they all shared the same story, the boat had been there for years and no one had touched it. My next stop was the authorities. Over the course of the next 3 months I spoke to the Police, Roads & Transport Authority, Dubai Municipality and many more. Despite my efforts, I had no success in tracking down the owner, and even if everyone agreed the boat was abandoned I could not take it away.
By this time a few close friends were aware of the story and had begun helping me try to figure out the puzzle. On one trip to the boat with Piero, I took the decision to jump on board and see if there were any clues., It was like stepping back decades. What I found was a little pouch and amongst the typical sailing gear, I found Austrian Shillings! Aha! The first real clue.
From that moment on I became a PI! I contacted the boat manufacturer (Mader boats) and the Star World Wide Association (StarClass.org). I looked up the trailer manufacturer all with no real leads. By this time, the intriguing story had also captivated friends at DOSC. One day Costa suggested trying to figure out the Sailing Club of the sticker that was on the stern of the boat. The sticker was very faded and hard to read but with the clue of the Austrian Shillings it was possible to shortlist likely contenders.
After a few failed attempts I finally managed to pin down the Union-Yacht-Club Attersee (https://www.uycas.at/). I spoke to the club, shared the sail number and the very supportive administration team (Theresa) gave me a possible name of the owner. They had not heard of this person for many years but after speaking to the Star Class Captain they seemed to remember a gentleman called Gunther M. who left Austria for the Middle East. I finally had a name! Sadly it didn’t really become any simpler. A search for Gunther didn’t turn up much. At first, a lead to a company in Ras Al Khaimah did not yield anything and I was certainly not expecting much after the second one, which came from a rather old looking website for Cigars, where Gunther and another person were mentioned.
When I tried to reach the local UAE number I got a message that it was no longer in use. Again another disappointment. But then I called the second number in Germany and I did manage to speak to the other person listed on the site.. When I explained the story (at this point anyone whom I spoke to about this was fascinated by the saga) he immediately said that Gunther was his business partner in UAE but they have closed the business a long time ago and he had lost touch with him. After a courteous call, I asked him if he had a contact number for Gunther but he wasn’t sure it would work. It was at that point that he shared a key piece of information: Gunther has a son in Dubai. Mario, Mario M.!
I immediately start looking for Mario. The only one I could find on LinkedIn worked for Jumeirah. I too work in travel so I thought Jackpot! You need to remember though that at this stage my assumption was that the owner had to leave the country suddenly, so I didn’t want to be indelicate... I tried to connect using our industry connection. Result Nothing. After a few messages, I remember writing something along the lines of: “I imagine you are wondering what this guy wants but let me explain…”
What happened after that is one of the most heart-warming things that has ever happened to me and certainly one I am most proud of. Gunther, Mario’s dad, was the keen sailor and brought the boat down from Austria many years ago. Incredibly he never managed to sail it in the UAE. Unfortunately, Gunther’s health took a turn for the worse in the late 2010s and he returned to Austria leaving the boat in Dubai. Gunther passed away in 2019. Both Mario and his sister are not sailors hence why the boat never moved from the residential road where they used to live. When I had the chance to explain the story so far, Mario, his mum and sister decided to make an amazing gesture: they gifted me the boat! WOW.
It came as a complete surprise. It was not something I was looking for. I would have been happy to pay but they were certain they wanted to give me the boat and see her back on the water. We had a chance to meet and talk about the whole story and it was great to share memories and the common desire to give the boat a second life. She could bring happiness and new memories to people again.
At this point with the help of Mert, another DOSC keen sailor and part of the SB20 fleet with Kokopelli, we moved the boat to the front of my house where I could determine a plan of action.
The boat needed some TLC. And once again there were many gestures of kindness. Pierluigi, (Custom Boats Dubai) a fellow Roman and longstanding Dubai resident was introduced by a friend as someone who could restore the hull to its former glory. But I’d come this far and wanted to work on the boat myself. He was so kind as to not only help me, but also allow me to work with him and his team on the boat in his yard.
Then it was time for the rigging. Apart from the obvious lack of the boom, it took me a while to figure out what was missing and what needed replacing so I reached out to Massimo (Emmeti Spars) who helped me with a beautifully reconditioned boom, a new sets of halyards and some very valuable advice.
Whilst the boat was in Jaddaf for the hull repairs Mario came to see me and spend a few hours helping me put the boat back together. He and his dad had had a very successful high-quality installation business in UAE, so he knew exactly what he was doing, arguably much more than me! This is when Mario also shared another moving part of the story. He explained that he and his father had become estranged towards the end of his dad’s time in Dubai. It was only when Gunther was very unwell, a few years later, that they talked again. When he shared this story and revealed that working on the boat had brought him closure I felt very emotional.
It took more or less 3 months to bring the boat back to life. It was June 2021 and it was finally time for Antares (that is the “new” name of the boat… but that is another story for another time) to take to the Dubai waves. It is hard to put down in words what it meant to me to finally see the boat in the water and feel how beautifully she sails - it is magical.
There is however one final happy ending. If you recall, I noticed the boat because of my dad’s stories of sailing the Star in the 1970s. Two years into the pandemic my parents could finally come to visit. Like no movie scriptwriter could have planned it, on the day of his 88th birthday my dad and I were sailing together on Antares in Dubai. You do not need to be a sailor to understand the meaning of such an experience! What I wasn’t expecting was for my mum to take the helm at 83!
I am sharing this story as a thank you to everyone involved. I feel lucky to have had this experience. It was incredibly fulfilling on so many different levels and I genuinely hope the boat is there to bring joy to many more sailors in the years to come.
Sincerest thanks to: Piero, Costa, Massi, Nick and Mert for the support throughout this crazy journey! Thank you to Pierluigi for the help in her restoration (she is red because dad’s star in the navy was red). Thank you to Massimo for the invaluable help with the rigging. Thank you to Theresa and UCYA for the help in tracing Gunther; to the Star World Wide association and to everyone who got involved but most importantly to Mario, his mum and sister for being so supportive and kind.
The boat is at DOSC if anyone wants to see it. And if you would like to sail it please give me a shout.
