1996 World Championship - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
January 9-21, 1996
The following results are from the Star Logs. Starting with 1977 frequently only yacht numbers were given. The last time both yacht numbers and yacht names were given was 1989. In later years sometimes, fleet designations were omitted. In these cases some of the more obvious fleet designations were supplied. Also from time to time only last names were supplied. First names, where known, were added.
Results
Place No. Skipper Crew Fleet Daily Places Pts. 1 7763 Enrico Chieffi Roberto Sinibaldi PDV pms 2 4 7 1 3 17 2 7829 Mark Reynolds Hal Haenel SDB 4 3 17 1 6 5 19 3 7826 Torben S. Grael Marcelo Ferreira Gua 3 1 6 8 8 4 22 4 7830 Paul Cayand George Iverson SDB 7 8 5 3 2 10 25 5 7823 Alan Adler Rodrigo Meirelles RdJ 2 12 7 4 3 12 28 6 7335 Ross MacDonald Eric Jespersen EB 11 13 8 2 7 1 29 7 7563 Hans Wallen Bobby Lohse Kat 9 7 2 5 11 8 31 8 7787 Jose Doreste Javier Hermida Barc 12 10 1 17 5 11 39 9 7754 Mats Johansson Stefan Hemlin Vin 5 5 10 13 9 14 42 10 7849 Frank Butzmann Kai Falkenthal BF 8 15 12 6 31 6 47 11 7828 Colin Beashel David Giles SY 10 9 3 10 16 pms 48 12 7602 Joe Londrigan Phil Trinter SDB 14 14 22 11 4 9 52 13 7488 Roberto BenamatiGiuseppe Devoti Gar 16 dnf 9 9 13 13 60 14 7834 Peter Bromby Lee White ISOL 1 17 11 20 26 18 67 15 7777 Peter E. SiemsenPedro Camargo Buz 6 6 16 12 32 pms 72 16 7542 George Szabo IIIRick Peters SDB 20 16 ymp 16 19 7 74 17 7796 Paolo Semeraro Mario Marenco BAR 17 11 19 dsq 15 26 88 18 7679 Enrico Passoni Ermes Costa Rom 19 21 15 19 22 pms 96 19 7732 Vincent Brun Magnus Liljedahl SDB dsq 4 20 dnf 14 2 102 20 7844 Foss Miller Garth Olsen PS 22 41 21 24 20 22 109 21 7540 Jurg Ryffel Cyille Fullemann Rap 15 33 37 14 29 25 113 22 7655 Rob Maine III Gary Applebaum WH 33 19 23 18 35 24 117 23 7793 Ric. Simoneschi Corrado Cristaldini FdiG 23 29 14 30 25 27 118 24 7467 Urs Hunkeler Markus Lauber LUV 32 25 18 31 23 21 118 25 7758 Richard GronbolmVille Kurki Dru ymp 28 34 32 21 17 124 26 7590 John King Wellington De Barros Cop dnf 20 pms 21 10 15 128 27 7800 Anders Lundmark Niklas Olsson Sand 21 22 33 41 44 11 133 28 7560 Daniel StegmeierBeat Stegmeier LUV 28 23 27 29 50 28 135 29 7200 Gastao Brun Ricardo Nunes Ermel RdJ 26 30 24 25 38 pms 143 30 7794 Petro D'Ali Fernando Colaninno IC 35 dnd ymp 23 18 20 155 31 7850 Philip Graves Kai Bjorn EB 25 31 pms 22 17 dns 157 32 7218 Augusto Barrozo Paulo Fabriani Gua 18 42 dsq 34 37 31 162 33 7157 Peter King Andre Lekszyeki Cop 37 35 29 33 28 pms 162 34 7577 Peter Moeckl Christian Nehammer ZuW 33 39 26 44 24 35 163 35 7845 A. Boudouris Dimitrios Boukis GR 13 dnd dsq 15 12 dnf 164 36 7774 Jorge Zarif Guilherme De Almeida SAN 31 18 pms 27 27 dnf 165 37 7517 Daniel A. Wilcox Silvio De Luca Gua 29 dnf 13 28 24 pms 168 38 7752 Chris Gautschi Kurt Freuis Bod 38 32 42 37 45 19 168 39 7518 Diogo Cayolla Miguel Costa POR 27 37 35 35 47 ret 181 40 7534 Alberto Zanetti Alejandro Colla OL 30 26 pms dnf 41 23 182 41 7756 Dieter Schön Thomas Auracher B pms 27 25 43 55 32 183 42 7770 Alberto LaTegolaGiovanni Di Cagno BAR 35 46 32 42 40 33 183 43 7437 Rainer Wilhelm Scott Zimmer SMA 40 47 40 40 30 34 184 44 7358 Jose Dias Arnaldo Coochi RdJ 24 38 38 46 43 pms 187 45 7366 Regi Schlubach John Schlubach ISOL 47 24 38 45 51 38 190 46 7812 R. Roellenbleg Joerg Fricke Sta dnf 36 dnf 26 39 29 192 47 7388 Davide DegennaroSegrio Lambertenghi BAR 46 44 44 36 48 30 200 48 7804 Rolf Beck Jurgen Eiermann IJs 45 dnf 30 39 46 42 202 49 7338 Ingvar Krook Hugo Oljemark AR 41 43 31 dsq 33 pms 210 50 7400 Urs Ryffel Markus Thomet Rap 44 45 41 38 42 pms 210 51 7842 Rudi Houdek Wolgang Rappel Sta dnf 40 28 48 dnc 40 213 52 7678 Alfred Weber Harry Hoferer AU 34 49 dnf 51 54 39 227 53 7457 Gerhard Meyer Ronald Seifert SP 42 48 39 57 60 44 230 54 7772 Peter D. SiemsenAndre Mirsky Buz 43 52 48 54 53 37 231 55 7117 Paulo Duarte Luis Amaro RdJ ymp 50 43 49 58 41 231 56 7673 Dirk Thomsen Jorge B. de Mattos KF 49 dnf 45 52 52 38 236 57 7700 Al Pescolato Nelson Falcao GuB pms 34 ret 47 38 pms 241 58 7680 Anton Tamburini Giambatista Giacchetti PDV 50 53 48 50 59 45 246 59 7821 Harald Wirth Paul Samonig AU 48 51 47 53 49 dnf 248 60 7083 Harry W. Walker Juan Pablo Engelhard BisB 51 dnf 50 56 57 43 257 61 7805 Chris Reckmann Markus Schmid G 52 dnf 49 55 58 46 258
Regatta Report
by Harry Webster Walker
The beauty of Rio and its beach is, mountains, bikinis and sun were important in bringing 61 sailors from 6 nations to this, the 74th Star World championship in 1996. The chance to sail against the best, plus back-to- back championships (the South Americans and the Worlds), turned up a group of competitors that featured the current and seven former worlds champions, perhaps a dozen Silver Stars and a flock of winners of important Star Class events.
All boats had to be in the water by 1600 on Saturday so that everyone could attend the Opening Ceremony. The verandah and terrace of the yacht club were crowded with dignitaries and guests, and the small basin was full of 61 white Star boats. The Navy band performed, speeches were made and 16 nation al flags were raised by competitors representing their nations as their respective national anthems were played. A cannon was fired, the Star Class flag was raised, and the Championship was declared open.
Many of the 1996 Worlds competitors had sailed in the South American Championship at Buzios, so they were tanned and accustomed to Brazil's summer heat prior to the Worlds. The one and a half hour tow each day took us to the course off Copacabana Beach. It was hot; however, at about 12:30 p.m., the sea breeze started in.
The first race, in 15-18 knots of breeze, was won by Peter Bromby and Lee White from Bermuda. It was a see-saw battle with Alan Adler and Rodrigo Meirelles, with all the good action to those who went left immediately following the start. The eventual championship winner, Enrico Chieffi was PMS, but Mark Reynolds with Hal Haenel, Torben Grael and Marcello Ferreira were up there. When asked how he did it, Bromby replied “Luck." Unfortunately, there was a great deal of plastic, wood and debris in the water that day which caused many boats difficulties.
Race 2, in winds of up to 25 knots and enormous seas, was won by Torben Grael and Marcello Ferreira, perhaps the local favorite to win a second gold star. Torben edged out Enrico Chieffi and Mark Reynolds, with Vince Brun and Magnus Liljedahl taking second through fourth places.
That evening many sailors crossed the bay by boat while others went around and over the Costa e Silva bridge in vans, supplied by sponsor Cutty Sark Scotch, to the Yacht Club Brazil at Niteroi, across the bay from Rio, where they held a great churasco, or barbecue. Every meat-eater in the crowd had his fill that night. Steak, sausage, lombo, chicken, beer and soft drinks were everywhere - and more piled all the time. We all got back to our hotels after midnight completely satisfied.
Race 3, in more moderate but still fresh conditions, also had the wind at 120°. Olympic Gold Medalists in Finns, Dr. Jose Luis Doreste with Javier Hermida up front took this race that required much "changing gears." The popular Spaniard tells us about it. "After several general recalls, like every day, finally we could start with a very nice wind, close to 20 knots. I did it in the upper third of the line, trying to avoid the problems of the big fleet starting near the Committee Boat.
"After the start we tried more to be faster than higher in order to reach the left part of the field as soon as possible, which has been paying better the previous races. We could sail over Colin Beashel and arrive very close to Hans Wallen, both in leeward. In wind ward we had Alan Adler and Peter Bromby as most dangerous boats. Close to the lay line, we tacked, going behind Bromby but crossing the rest of the fleet clearly. Arriving at the mark, the only boat that could disturb us was Wallen, who was in windward, going higher but slower.
"We crossed him in the last tack, rounding the mark 25m in front of him. Beashel and Chieffi rounded 3rd and 4th. In the reaches and the run we gained some distance, which made our last beat relatively easy. The fight behind us was getting closer, because Chieffi reduced the distance to Beashel and Wallen. After some tacks, Wallen finished 2nd, Beashel 3rd, and Chieffi 4th. It was a great coincidence to win the 3rd race of the Worlds, like two years ago in San Diego and both times in front of Wallen."
Race 4 was true to form - another winner and from another nation. Popular Gold and Silver Olympic Medalists Mark Reynolds and Hal Haenel from the USA won in 15-18 knot conditions and big seas. They beat Ross Macdonald with his crew Eric Jespersen. Mark states, “There was a nice breeze for the fourth race, small shifts and just enough wind and waves to do a bit of surfing off the wind. We had a mid-line start with clear air, but apparently in the middle of a large sag, the wind was a bit unstable right after the start and when we got out from the boats around us we saw we were a ways behind the boats at the starboard and port ends.
"We played the right middle and got around the windward mark in the lead and then just did our best to try to stay ahead of the pack. It was course "O" and we were barely able to hold off Macdonald and Jespersen after two reaches and rounded just ahead of them at the leeward mark. We gained a bit on the second beat which was just enough to hold off Ross and Eric and Wallen and Lohse who both came charging down with of a puff on the right side. Cayard and Iverson came up the middle on the last beat getting around Adler and Meirelles who got way leveraged off to the right and Wallen and Lohse who chose the left.
"We tried to cover the best we could and crossed the line in front of Macdonald and Jespersen. This was an important race for us because the previous race we had made a ton of mistakes. The fourth race put us back into the hunt."
The mid-week prize giving was held around the Rio Yacht Club pool and featured Torben and Marcello walking off with the Bud Vandeveer Trophy for the series leader at the end of the third race. Again, a lavish cocktail party and excellent churasco were provided by the organizers. Club Vice President Harry Adler made the presentations in 90° heat to a largely shorts and sports shirt crowd. It was enjoyed by all the Starboat friends.
The day of Race 5 started out with a north wind and heavy haze. The sea breeze was one hour late and left many struggling for the line. After only one general recall, the race goy underway in 8-9 knots. of wind from 130° and flatter seas. Enrico Chieffi with Robert Sinibnaldi won - the fifth different winner from the 5th nation. Enrico describes it best for us. "Race 5 was the only one sailed in light to moderate winds. The first windward leg was very difficult and most of the fleet got at the windward mark very close. Londrigan was first, I was second, and Semeraro was third.
The run was almost all port because the wind had towed to the right. At the leeward mark I was first, with Londrigan second and Macdonald third. The wind came up to 12 knots and the top five boats were very close. On the last beat, the wind turned further right and I could win the race. Cayard got second and Adler third." The wind died and all were eventually towed in.
Race 6, the final race, started with five competitors having a good chance to win and two with outside possibilities. The conditions were slightly overcast before the start and the seas lumpy. The wind was 13-15 knots and at the first start, a general recall, eight boats were black flagged. The committee got us off on the second try for a course "3" race. The battle was between the co-leaders, Mark and Enrico, but Mark was not able to get hooked up with Enrico and the Italian took third to Mark's fifth — and the Championship.
His smile and warmth and obvious joy in his victory were evident in his gracious speech after accepting the award when he thanked his crew and dedicated his victory to his bride of three weeks, Claudia. The finale was a splendid banquet, lots of dancing, great food and awards to deserving winners, including Peter Dirk Siemsen who took the Seniors' Trophy over Dierk Thomsen, second and Harry W. Walker, third.
The organizers are to be congratulated and thanked. The International Jury had a few sticky questions which they solved. The Race Committee worked hard to give us accurate long courses and short squared lines. Everyone showed the competitors the most hospitality and cooperation possible.
Muito bein organizado e obriga do, Rio.
