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Regatta Reports
By Lynn Fitzpatrick:
Iselin, Knapp, Beardsley, Burnham, Lippincott, Etchells, Straulino, North, Buchan, Elvstrom, Petterson, Conner, Blackaller, Melges, Brun, Adams, Cayard, Grael, Reynolds, and Scheidt. Is that a Who’s Who list of sailing legends or what? They are just some of sailing’s most acclaimed skippers who have their names etched at the base of the International Star Class Yacht Racing Association (ISCYRA) World Championship Trophy. Contested annually since 1923, the handsome trophy arguably has more history and prestige associated with it than any other in sailing.
Last year, in Cascais, Portugal, while the winds blasted down from the mountain tops and whipped the coastal waters up into a caldron, modern sailing’s legends waited. They waited from mid-morning through the afternoon and into the early evening to see which team would be crowned the 2007 Star World Champion and which countries would gain the first ten berths in the 2008 Olympics in Qingdao, China. The crane operated throughout the day and one by one, boats were hoisted out of the water. First it was the Silver fleet boats and gradually the Gold fleet boats who didn’t think that they had a chance of qualifying their country for the Olympics started to haul out. The television helicopter was in the air ready to film exciting races in survival conditions while the regatta organizers tried to work through all of the scheduling complications that excessive wind had wrought. Press conferences were called at regular intervals, and competitors and media alike watched the signal flags and awaited news.
Some of the sailors on the Star pier in Cascais were freshly released from their America’s Cup duties and excited to get back into the pinnacle of one-design fleet racing, others were on hand to coach and still others had been campaigning throughout this quadrennium for the glory of winning the Star World Championship and the added perk of qualifying their country for the Olympics. One of the welcomed distractions during the long hours of waiting was to assemble past Star World Champions together for a photo. With the probability that the wind was not going to abate and that the scores from the previous day were going to stand, Robert Scheidt, who was leading the regatta by four points going into the Medal Round was asked if he would pose with the group. Whether he was superstitious or did not want to be presumptuous, the eight-time Laser World Champion declined and paced around in circles while Xavier Rohart, Iain Percy, Hamish Pepper, Torben Grael, Ross Macdonald, Vince Brun, Carl Williams, Steve Mitchell, Pascal Rambeau, Marcello Ferreira, Hal Haenel, Mark Reynolds, Magnus Liljedahl, Freddie Loof and Anders Ekstrom gathered round the towering trophy. Later that evening, after returning from an aborted Medal Round, Brazilians Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada were greeted at the dock by Alexander Hagen, a two-time Star World Champion, and informally welcomed to The Club when Hagen presented each of them with a gold star.
Many of the coveted gold stars are being proudly displayed on Biscayne Bay while over 110 teams from 30 countries tune up for the 2008 Star World Championships. With four country berths for the 2008 Olympics up for grabs, some sailing federation’s Olympic trials being decided, and a gold star for the winning skipper and crew there is sure to be a ton of excitement on Biscayne Bay once the regatta starts on Friday, April 11th. The entire fleet will race six challenging full length races before we see who will be welcomed to The Club and whose names will be engraved at the base of an impressive trophy that lists an extraordinary fraternity of sailors.
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www.WorldRegattas.com will be launched on Wednesday, April 9th, just in advance of the 2008 Star World Championships. Lynn Fitzpatrick, whose tag line is “Raising the Profile of Sailing and Sailors”, will unveil a website that highlights international championship regattas, Olympic class regattas, inspirational sailing programs and profiles sailing’s personalities. Her comprehensive and timely coverage of the 2008 Star World Championships will be posted first to the www.WorldRegattas.com" website. If you are looking for fresh up to date content for your readers, please link to www.WorldRegattas.com. In the meantime, you will receive regatta preparation updates via e-mail and will find new material on the Star Class and regatta website.
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By Janet Maizner:
Countdown Begins on STAR WORLDS 2008
Miami, FL – Wednesday, April 9, 2008 – All but one of the top 20 ranked Star Class teams in the world are among the 208 competitors who are prepping for their most important race in the Class – the Star World Championships, held annually since 1923.
The Star Worlds 2008 will determine which countries take the last four open slots in the Olympics this summer in China and will determine for many countries, such as Germany, which Star team will represent them at the Olympics.
According to the International Sailing Federation’s (ISAF) updated Star team rankings released April 9, Mateusz Kusznierewicz from Poland held on to his #1 spot and the greatest upward movement was Italy’s Luca Modena who moved up 4 places to 15th.
Ranked in the #2 spot is the Italian Diego Negri, followed by Xavier Rohart of France, Afonso Domingos - Portugal, Freddie Loof - Sweden, Robert Scheidt – Brazil, Marc Pickel - Germany, Hamish Pepper - New Zealand, Flavio Marazzi - Switzerland, Iain Percy - Great Britain, Marin Lovrovic, Jr. - Croatia, Eivind Melleby - Norway, Iain Murray - Australia, Robert Stanjek - Germany, Luca Modena – Italy, John Dane - USA, Peter Bromby - Bermuda, Hans Spitzauer - Austria and George Szabo - USA in 19th place.
Registration for the regatta is winding down while measurement of sails and rigging and weighing of the boats and sailors continues through start of racing on Friday, April 11. Following a scheduled Practice Race April 10, there will be a patriotic and colorful Opening Ceremonies at Coral Reef Yacht Club consisting of a parade of 31 nations, national anthems and the US Coast Guard’s Honor Guard with speeches to follow.
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