Regatta Reports
Who is Who at the Star Worlds
By Lynn Fitzpatrick, WorldRegattas.com
Jan 15, 2010, 11:46

Over 80 Star teams representing 20 countries are in Rio preparing for the 2010 Star World Championship. Over 24 Brazilian teams know the Rio's waters like the backs of their hands and the rest of the serious competitors have been in Rio for one or both of the tune-up regattas and special training sessions. There is not a weak link in the bunch. What follows are sketches of many of the fleet's Star sailing careers.

ARG - Alejo Rigoni and Juan Pablo Percossi
Alejo Rigoni and Juan Pablo Percossi have an enthusiastic cheering squad wherever they go. The youngsters won both the 2008 and the 2009 District 18 Championships. JP likes automobile racing, but his family is very happy that he has been enjoying himself in the Star. They showed their mettle at the 2009 Star World Championship in Varberg, Sweden where they finished ninth overall and were the top Junior team at the regatta. They were second in the final race of the series behind Lars Grael and Ronald Seifert, and a great distance ahead of the rest of the Star-studded fleet. At 25 and 22 years old, respectively, they will not be sailing as Juniors anymore, but they have a bright future sailing Stars.

BRA - Alan Adler and Guilherme Almeida
Alan Adler won the District 7 Championship all the way back in 1982. He was the first South American ever to win the Star World Championship. In 1989 Adler and Falcao bested a 105-boat fleet in Porto Cervo to win the Star World Championship. They finished over 20 points ahead of their closest competition. Adler took second to Ross Macdonald in the 2004 World Championship, finishing only one point behind the Canadian. Said Adler, “It was the greatest sensation that I have had in my sailing career.”

BRA - Gastao Brun and Gustavo Kunze
Gastao Brun is the 2010 Star World Championship Regatta Chair and he’s sailing the event. He has had a long, illustrious Star sailing career winning the Star South American Championship nearly 30 years ago, in 1982. He won it again in 1987 and 2007. Gastao was the District 7 champion four times in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s and he has even won a race in a Star World Championship series.

BRA - Lars Grael and Ronald Seifert
Lars Grael and Ronald Seifert started sailing together three weeks before the 2009 Star World Championship in Varberg, Sweden. It has been a winning combination. They mastered the light air and the current and placed third in Varberg after winning the final race by an unprecedented country mile. They followed up on their World’s performance by winning the next regatta, the 47-boat Taca Royal Thames Regatta, which was the first warm up regatta for the 2010 Star World Championship. They were fifth in the 2009 South American Championship. Grael won the District Championship in 2009 and has two Silver Stars to his credit, including the 2008 South American Championship. He was second in the 2008 Brazilian Olympic Star Trials.

Grael won Olympic Bronze Medals in the Tornado Class in Seoul and Atlanta. Among the many sailing projects that Lars is involved with are the Argo Challenge and Brasil 1, the 2011-12 Brazilian Volvo Ocean Race Challenge. Follow Lars at www.LarsGrael.com.BR

BRA - Torben Grael and Marcelo Ferreira
Torben Grael and Marcelo Ferreira are the most decorated Star team at the 2010 Star World Championship. As a team, they have won the Star World Championship once, been runner-up five times and were third twice. They also won the Olympic Gold Medal in the Star in Savannah and Athens and a Bronze in Sydney. Torben won the Bronze in the Star during the Seoul Games with Nelson Falcao.

Grael was recently crowned 2009 World Sailor of the Year for leading Ericsson 4 to victory in the 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race, among other accomplishments. Grael and Ferreira won their first Olympic Gold Medal together in Savannah and repeated their performance in Athens . The pair won the 1990 Worlds in Cleveland. Ferreira also won the Star World Championship in 1997 with Alexander Hagen, and is the only crew sailing this regatta with two Star World Championship titles. Nicknamed “Playboy”, Ferreira is always smiling and is a pro at showing everyone how to have a good time, especially in his hometown.

BRA - Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada
If you are ever ahead of Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada you are having a great day on the water. Guarapiranga is their home fleet and the 2008 Olympic Silver Medalists are sure to fair well in this series, provided Robert’s infant son isn’t keeping him awake at night. They were just off the pace, with double-digit finishes in both of the regattas earlier this season, but the 2007 Star World Champions are capable of peaking at the right time. The pair was second in the first Star World Championship that they sailed together in 2006 and third at the 2008 Star World Championship.

CAN - Ross Macdonald and Andre Lekszycki
Ross Macdonald was third in the 1989 Star World Championship and ever since then, when he shows up at a regatta he is a threat, even after he has been on hiatus. Macdonald won the 1994 Star Worlds in San Diego and was second in 1999 and 2000. Racing the Star, he won an Olympic Bronze Medal in Barcelona in 1992 and followed it up with a Silver in Athens in 2004.

Macdonald always knows how to find a talented, fun-loving crew and he snapped up Andre Lekszycki for this season in Rio. Andre Lekszycki is one of Rio de Janeiro’s greatest Star crews and has won championships with locals Gastao Brun, Alan Adler and Torben Grael. Lekszycki’s nickname – Doublé. A nickname bestowed on him by Lars Grael, because he doubles for a monster in movies.

After getting off to a slow start at the 67-boat South American Championships, they won one race and finished the series in seventh.

FRA - Xavier Rohart and Pierre Alexis Ponsot
They have been training in Brazil since the middle of November. They are tanned, laid back, speaking a bit of Portuguese and even have a set of friends at the Yacht Club and in the community.

Xavier Rohart won the 2003 and 2005 Star World Championships and the Olympic Bronze Medal in Athens with Pascal Rambeau. The pair finished third and second in 2006 and 2007 Star World Championships, respectively. Following Qingdao, Rohart has been developing fellow Finn sailor, Pierre Alexis Ponsot, into a top-performing Star crew. Rohart is a conservative, steady sailor and always a threat.

GBR - Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson
Since winning the 2008 Olympic Gold Medal Iain Percy and Andrew “Bart” Simpson took a breather from Star sailing and have been in the TeamORIGIN afterguard and have been doing a lot of match racing. Their last Star regatta was Sail for the Gold in Weymouth, where they won the Gold. They did not compete in the 2009 Star World Championship nor did they compete in the Taca Royal Thames and South American Championship earlier this season.

They’ve had two practice sessions leading up to this regatta. Percy commented at the pre-regatta press conference, “Sometimes short, sharp training sessions can work in your favor.”

GER - Johannes Polgar and Markus Koy
Jojo sailed Tornadoes for over a decade and represented Germany in the Tornado at the 2008 Olympics in Qingdao. His Olympic Tornado sailing came to a climatic close during the Medal Race in Qingdao when one of his rudders sheered off after colliding with a log in the middle of the racecourse. Polgar is an avid multihull sailor and enjoys sailing F18’s.

Jojo stunned everyone, including himself, when he and Tim Kroeger among the early leaders at the 2009 Star World Championship in Varberg, Sweden. He and Markus Koy started the Taca Royal Thames Regatta in a similar fashion where they finished seventh. They had a difficult South American Championship. Keep an eye out for them in light air, Polgar’s multihull experience gives him an advantage in playing the angles.

GER - Alexander Schlonski and Frithjof Kleen
Alexander Schlonski spent years in the Laser and transitioned to the Star in 2008. He teamed up with expert Star crew, Frithjof Kleen, Vice President of PICA, and the pair won the Expert Olympic Regatta in Garda, Italy in April 2008 and found themselves in the medal round of Olympic Classes regattas and in the top 10 of traditional Star regattas. One of Germany’s outstanding young Star teams, the pair placed fourth on count back at the 2009 Star World Championship in Varberg.

GER - Robert Stanjek and Phillip Stanjek
Robert Stanjek won the 2008 Star European Championship with Markus Koy as his crew. He won a number of other regattas in 2008 and had a strong 2009, especially after they spent time training with Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada in Brazilian waters.

Robert and Phillip are the only brothers sailing the 2010 Star World Championship in the same boat. They kicked off their 2012 Olympic campaign with the Taca Royal Thames Regatta where they finished just out of the top 10. They proved that they have the potential to win races in a big fleet with by winning the first race of the 63-boat 2009 South American Championship in November.

IRL - Max Treacy and Anthony Shanks
Max Treacy and Anthony Shanks are the longest standing Star sailing team from Ireland. They gave everyone a run for their money during the Irish Sailing Federation’s 2008 Olympic selection process.

ITA - Alberto Barovier and Christian Griggio
Alberto Barovier has been a constant on the Star sailing circuit. Quick on his feet and fearless, Albi was BOR’s bowman on their 90’ trimaran. He is back at the helm of the star and is optimistic about his upcoming campaign efforts with Christian Griggio.

ITA - Diego Negri and Nando Colaninno
Diego Negri poured it on during 2007 and 2008 and peaked at the 2008 Star World Championship in Miami where he finished second sailing with Luigi Viale. Unfortunately, the momentum did not carry on through the Olympics.

Nando is one of the most sought after Italian crews and has sailed with all of the great Italian Star skippers. He has also proven his skill as a skipper and won significant regattas in his home country.

ITA - Nicola Celon and Edouardo Natucci
Nicola Celon and Edouardo Natucci started sailing Stars together in 2001 after Celon represented Italy in the Soling in 2000. The competition is fierce in District 14 (Mid-Mediterranean District) and Celon and Natucci won the District Championship many times in the early 2000’s. Back problems kept him out of the Star from 2004 through 2009. After winning the 2006 Melges 24 World Championship and doing a lot of core exercises, he’s back.

They are fast and they round the first windward mark all too often.

NOR - Eivind Melleby and Petter Morland Pedersen
Watch out! The Vikings have sailed into Guanabara Bay and they are fresh off of back-to-back victories in the Commodore’s Cup and the Levin in Miami.

Melleby went offshore and was Ericsson 3 Nordic crew’s helmsman for eight legs of the 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race. He stayed home for one of the legs to be present for the birth of the latest addition to the Melleby family. Pedersen made guest appearances as a Star crew.

POR - Afonso Domingos and Frederico Melo
Since the 2008 Olympics, the only European to have won the Bacardi Cup, not once, but twice, teamed up with Frederico Melo for the 2009 and 2010 World Championships. Domingos is a super helmsman in the Star and has done well in the TP52 circuit and other big boat sailing.

Melo went through the ranks of the Laser Radial, Laser and Finn. Still growing, he’s now in the Star.

POR - Gustavo Lima and Charles Nankin
Coach Andy Zawieja said, “I’m an old man and I haven’t seen anybody sail downwind as fast as this guy! Watch out.” Anyone who knows Star sailing also knows that Zawieja has an eye for trim and technique like no other.

Gustavo Lima, Portugal’s Olympic Laser sailor in Qingdao, has crossed over into the Star. Lima placed fourth in the 2008 Olympics and has topped the ISAF Laser rankings in April 2002.

SUI - Flavio Marazzi and Enrico De Maria
It may be Flavio Marazzi and Enrico DeMaria’s year. After sailing together for six years, they are finally on the top of the ISAF rankings. They handily won the South American Championship in November after finishing second in the Taca Royal Thames Regatta the week earlier.

They have put a lot of time and effort into developing the Wilke Star, which they used throughout their campaign for the 2008 Olympics and afterward. They were just out of the money at the Athens and the Qingdao Olympics. They won a race at the 2009 Star World Championship and finished eighth overall. Their best performance in the Star World Championships was in 2004 when they finished second. They were fourth in 2008.

SWE - Freddy Loof and Johan Tillander
The pressure of winning the Star World Championship on their home turf has been lifted and Freddy Loof and Johan Tillander have been giving Flavio Marazzi and Enrico DeMaria (SUI) a run for their money in Rio and they usually end the series with a strong finish.

Loof won the 2001 and the 2004 Star World Championship with Christian Finnsgard and Anders Ekstrom, respectively. If he wins in Rio with Tillander, he will match Bill Buchan and Augostino Straulino with three World Championship wins. Buchan won with three different all-star crews while Straulino won all of his Star World Championships with Nicolo Rode.

USA - Claude Bonanni and Rick Burgess
Claude Bonanni and Rick Burgess proved that even the top brass of the Star Class can surprise themselves out on the race course. Bonanni is the Star Class Western Hemisphere Vice President and Burgess is the Chairman of the International Governing Committee. Bonanni and his Folli have traveled extensively in South America, sailing regattas in Argentina and Brazil.

After sailing together for years, the pair had race that they’ll never forget. Their Tampa Bay-based Folli scored a second place finish in the fourth race of the 2009 South American Championship and the team finished mid-fleet in the 63-boat regatta.

USA - Andrew Campbell and Brad Nichol
Andrew Campbell represents some of the best raw talent in the Star Class. Campbell was the USA’s Laser representative at the 2008 Olympics and has made a remarkable transition into the Star, without owning a boat. He has sailed a Folli and a Lillia and is sailing a P-Star for this regatta and homes that it will arrive in Miami for the Bacardi Cup. The San Diegan surprised everyone with his performance in a P Star in the 2009 Bacardi Cup, sailing with Michael Nichol and has continued to post impressive results whether he is sailing with one of the Nichol brothers or with one of the all time great Star crews, Magnus Liljedahl. Campbell and Liljedahl finished 5th at the 2009 Star World Championship in Varberg, Sweden, Campbell’s first Star World Championship.

USA - Tomas Hornos and Luis Hornos
Tomas Hornos may follow in the steps of legendary Star sailors Torben Grael and Mark Reynolds. Like the two past Star World Champions and multiple Olympic Gold Medalists, Tomas is a past Snipe World Champion. Tomas won the 2007 Snipe World Championship in Portugal. He’s sailing with his father Luis, the District 1 Secretary.

The youngest of all of the skippers at the 2010 Star World Championship, Tomas is the only Junior skipper at the event.

USA - Rick Merriman and Phil Trinter
Now here’s a promising combination. By winning the 2008 Star Western Hemispheres and being a top-performer among the Americans, Rick Merriman earned a slot on the USA’s Olympic Sailing Team. He’s sailing with Phil Trinter, who along with Paul Cayard, represented the USA in the Star at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Trinter is one of three crews sailing the 2010 Star World Championships that has already won the Star World Championship title. Trinter’s victory was in 1993 when he and Tom Londrigan won the 90-boat series in Kiel, Germany. A year earlier, Trinter finished second in the Star World Championship.

USA - George Szabo and Rick Peters
Szabo/Peters won the Star Worlds with an average score of six points for the five races in their scoreline. They followed the same strategy for every race. After sailing a conservative first beat of the final race of the series, they found themselves so far ahead of their competition that all they had to do was make sure that they could hold themselves and the boat together to finish the race.

Szabo loves light air and swells. Keep an eye on this team, especially if Guanabara Bay dishes up conditions that are similar to those in Southern California.

Szabo and Peters sailed their first Star World Championship together in 1994 and remember the Brazilians throwing a great party in San Diego. Szabo and Peters, who are members of a good-sized US contingent are thinking about how to reciprocate with an American party in Brazil.

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