2019 World Championship - Porto Cervo, Italy
Jun 13-23, 2019
Regatta Report
Day 1 - Italy leads as Star Worlds gets underway
The Star Class World Championship is off to a good start with today’s race run as scheduled despite light breeze. The Championship, which has returned to Porto Cervo after thirty years, has 63 competing teams from 20 different nations.
Just as the Starting Procedures were getting underway as scheduled a wind shift forced the Race Committee to hoist the AP flag and wait for the breeze to settle. After about an hour a northerly breeze from 7 to 9 knots kicked in and the Star fleet could begin their World Championship. The course was changed along the final leg when the breeze shifted to the northeast and dropped to 4-5 knots. At the end of the day there are two Italian teams in the lead followed by a Spanish team.
Enrico Chieffi, the Star Class World Champion in 1996, and his crew Manlio Corsi (above) captured the lead right from the start, rounding the first mark in first place and lengthening their lead right to the finish. The second placed team today is also Italian and sees Diego Negri – silver medallist at the 2016 Star European Championship – with Sergio Lambertenghi aboard. Thanks to a recovery along the last leg of today’s race they finished ahead of the Spanish team with Roberto ‘Chuny’ Bermudez De Castro and Miguel Fernandez Castro aboard. Chuny is an oceanic sailor who has won the Volvo Ocean Race and sailed for Spain in the Star Class at the Athens 2004 Olympics.
“We couldn’t have gotten this World Championship off to a better start, maybe we should quit while we’re ahead and go home,” Chieffi joked. “It was a great race, very technical and hard, especially towards the end, but luckily the breeze held right to the finish. The last time I participated in a Star Class World Championship was in 1996 in Rio de Janeiro where I won it, I’m very happy to be here competing again. Who knows how the next few days will go.”
Day One Results (Top 10 of 63; 1 race)
1. ITA Enrico Chieffi/ Manlio Corsi
2. ITA Diego Negri/ Sergio Lambertenghi
3. ESP Roberto Bermudez De Castro/ Miguel Fernandez Vasco
4. NOR Elvind Melleby/ Joshua Revkin
5. NED Thomas Allart/ Kilian Weise
6. POL Mateusz Kuszinierewicz/ Bruno Prada
7. SWE Tom Loefstedt/ Anders Ekstrom
8. USA Doug Smith/ Brian O’Mahony
9. GER Hubert Merkelbach/ Maarkus Koy
10. USA Augie Diaz/ Henry Boenning
Day 2 - New leader at Star World Championship
Uncertain conditions at the beginning of the second day at the Star Class World Championship gave way to typical Sardinian breezes later on and the day’s racing got underway about an hour late. There are still four races to go, but after today’s race the provisional scoreboard has changed as Polish skipper Mateusz Kusznierewicz (above) moved from sixth to first while Augie Diaz (USA) jumped up from tenth to second overall.
This morning the Race Committee hoisted the AP flag at noon and there was a wait of an hour before the breeze filled in. After a first start ended in a general recall, the fleet of 63 Stars from 20 nations set out on the second race of this event in breeze from the north/ northwest at 7-9 knots. Augie Diaz, Star Class World Champion in 2016, with crew Henry Boening, the current European Champion, lead the race from start to finish while Kusznierewicz finished second. Currently in third place overall are the Swedes Tom Lofstedt with Anders Ekstrom, who finished seventh yesterday and sixth today.
“It’s too soon to talk about winning but we’re happy to be at the top for now,” shared Kusznierewicz. “Our lead is narrow so anything could happen.” Today’s winner Augie Diaz was multiply pleased about the day. “The first is for ‘Maguila’ (crew Henry Boening) who got his first win in a Star World Championship, and the second is for Bruno Prada finishing second after a great race. He is usually my crew and whom I consider like a son.”
Day Two Results (Top 10 of 63; 2 races)
1. POL Mateusz Kuszinierewicz/ Bruno Prada 6-2, 8
2. USA Augie Diaz Henry/ Boenning 10-1, 11
3. SWE Tom Loefstedt/ Anders Ekstrom 7-6, 13
4. NED Thomas Allart/ Kilian Weise 5-9, 14
5. NOR Elvind Melleby/ Joshua Revkin 4-11, 15
6. NED Haico de Boer/ Pedro Trouche 14-3, 17
7. ITA Diego Negri/ Sergio Lambertenghi 2-16, 18
8. DEN Jorgen Schoenherr/ Jan Eli Gravad 11-7, 18
9. USA Paul Cayard/ Artur Lopes 19-5, 24
10. IRL Torvar Mirsky/ Robert O’Leary 16-8, 24
Day 3 - Third day, third leader at Star Worlds
The third day of the Star Class World Championship has its third leader as the consistency of Augie Diaz (USA) now has he and crew Henry Boenning in the lead of the 63-boat fleet. The breeze once again took its time to kick in and the Race Committee kept the AP flag hoisted until 1 PM. An hour later, after a general recall, the Star sailors got the event’s third race underway in breeze from the southeast at 6 to 7 knots at first, building gradually to 10 knots.
Skipper Eivind Melleby (NOR), winner of the 2017 Star Class World Championship, and his crew Joshua Revkin (above) worked their way up through the fleet and finished in first place. This win brings them from fifth place in the provisional overall results to second. “It was a good race with pretty stable breeze and small shifts that were hard to play but it was for everyone,” said Melleby. “Downwind we had really good speed and I think that’s how we won the race. We expect to have pretty much the same conditions in the next couple of days then a bit windier on Saturday (June 22), so we’re half way through the Championship and we will give it our all.”
Finishing second today was German Christian Paucksch with Melanie Bentele – one of just two women racing in the Championship. “Eivind Melleby passed us just at the end which is too bad, but if I think that when my girlfriend and I started sailing the Star Championship together, we said that we should always try to leave a boat behind. We should be very proud of ourselves today as we left quite a few behind.” Augie Diaz and Henry Boening staged an excellent recovery, adding a fourth place to the only scoreline that remains entirely in the top ten.
Day Three Results (Top 10 of 63; 3 races)
1, USA Augie Diaz Henry Boenning 10-1-4, 15
2, NOR Elvind Melleby Joshua Revkin 4-11-1, 16
3, POL Mateusz Kusznierewicz Bruno Prada 6-2-11, 19
4, USA Paul Cayard Artur Lopes 19-5-8, 32
5, DEN Jorgen Schoenherr Jan Eli Gravad 11-7-14, 32
6, IRL Torvar Mirsky Robert O’Leary 16-8-10, 34
7, ITA Diego Negri Sergio Lambertenghi 2-16-17, 35
8, ESP Roberto Bermudez De Castro Miguel Fernandez Vasco 3-28-6, 37
9, USA George Szabo Guy Avellon 13-20-5, 38
10, ITA Enrico Chieffi Manlio Corsi 1-26-13, 40
Day 4 - Racing cancelled
There was no racing today at the Star Class World Championship as light and unstable winds prevented the fourth race from being conducted for the 63-boat fleet. The Race Committee hoisted the AP Flag right after the morning briefing at 9 AM, lowering it at 1 PM with the first Warning Signal called for 2 PM. But once the fleet reached the race course it became clear that it was going to be more difficult than expected to get this event’s fourth race underway.
After procedures were started once AND then suspended, the fleet waited on the water along with the Race Committee but finally at 3 PM racing was abandoned for the day. “Today the wind was very shifty and was also not cooperating in terms of velocity,” explained Peter Reggio, Principal Race Officer. “We were ready to start but right in the middle of the sequence we began receiving some really low numbers from the top mark and news about a big left shift, so we stopped there. We waited another hour to give the breeze some extra time to fill in for raceable conditions but then we had to abandon for the day and send the fleet back to port. I don’t think we’ll have trouble in the upcoming days. Tomorrow we’ll try and get two races in and then we’ll wrap it up with another one on Saturday (June 22). The forecast for both days looks good.”
Day 5 - Diaz remains in lead
A positive and very intense two race day for the Star fleet that had to make up for the missed race yesterday due to the wind too light and shifty. With one race to go to the end of the 2019 Star World Championship, Augie Diaz and Henry Boening are leading the provisional overall ranking followed by Eivind Melleby and Joshua Revkin tied in points with Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Bruno Prada in third place. The title should end tomorrow with the last scheduled race, however, two spare days are in line if the weather should not cooperate.
This morning the 63 teams attending the 2019 Star Worlds met on the racecourse in front of Porto Cervo well aware that the nice weather conditions would allow two long races. The Race Committee started the first procedures around 12, but the first race of the day only got underway one hour and a half later after six General Recalls. Five of these were Black Flagged attempt and they cost over 20 disqualified in the fleet, one of today’s victims is American Paul Cayard with Brazilian crew Arthur Lopes. On the next starting procedures of the day, another two General Recalls delayed the actual start of the race, that only began at 16,15. In both races the wind was blowing between 10-15 knots, while the direction, a East/South-East, was a bit shifty and caused a few changes of course.
Marin Misura, Croatian Star sailor with two Finn campaigns on his shoulders, literally dominated race four, leading from the beginning to the end. A little fight went on behind him, between the renowned Argentinian yacht designer Juan Kouyoumdjian and Italian Riccardo Improta. Juan Kouyoumdjian succeeded and closed the race in second, while in third place surprisingly finished Mateusz Kusznierewicz after taking over few boats in the last leg.
Race five saw Augie Diaz and Henry Boening always in the lead, with Diego Negri and Sergio Lambertenghi pressuring from behind. The Italian duo was able to pass the American/Brazilian team on the last downwind winning their first race of this Championship. A day to remember for Marin Misura who closed the race with yet another podium, in third place. Diego Negri, winner of race five said: “It’s been a great win today, at last Sardinia showed its typical conditions, big waves and strong breeze. We gained a few positions in both the downwinds, and went from second to first right on the last one and this helped up climbing up a little in the overall.”
Polish skipper Kusznierewicz commented, “Tomorrow it’s going to be full on, we’ll attack, this is what we came here for, to win the Star World Championship. Augie Diaz and Henry Boening are sailing a great week, he’s always on the right side, we’re holding in there and we’re only four points behind, so it’s still possible, we will fight for our chances, we’ll be looking in front of us, not behind. We like windy conditions, so we’re happy that tomorrow it will be even windier, bring it on!”
Day Five Results (Top 10 of 63; 5 races, 1 discard)
1. USA Augie Diaz/ Henry Boenning (10)-1-4-4-2, 11 points
2. POL Mateusz Kusznierewicz/ Bruno Prada 6-2-(11)-3-4, 15
3. CRO Marin Misura Tonko Barac (22)-10-9-1-3, 23
4. ITA Diego Negri/ Sergio Lambertenghi 2-16-(17)-8-1, 27
5. NOR Eivind Melleby/ Joshua Revkin 4-11-1-(64/RET) 12, 28
6. ESP Roberto Bermudez De Castro/ Miguel Fernandez Vasco 3-(28)-6-16-10, 35
7. ITA Roberto Benamati/ Alberto Ambrosini (24)-15-3-6-11, 35
8. USA Paul Cayard/ Artur Lopes 19-5-8-(64/BFD) 9, 41
9. IRL Torvar Mirsky/ Robert O’Leary 16-8-10-(17)-8, 42
10. USA George Szabo/ Guy Avellon 13-20-5-(29)-6, 44
Day 6 - Kusznierewicz and Prada win Star Worlds
The 97th edition of the Star Class World Championship ended with a victory for Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Bruno Prada in the sixth and final race, giving them the title over 63 teams from 20 nations. Just before 12.00 noon, the scheduled time for the day’s start, the Race Committee hoisted the AP Flag. The start, after two General Recalls, was at about 3 PM when the wind from the northwest filled in. The breeze was at 16 to 20 knots, peaking at 22 knots towards the end of the race.
For Kusznierewicz and Prada, in a week where their best placement had been a second in the second race, today they started in the lead and after rounding the mark lengthened their distance from the rest of the fleet finishing well ahead of the other teams. Augie Diaz and Henry Boening, who entered the final race with a four point lead, dropped to second after posting a 7th. Kusznierewicz was already Star Class World Champion in 2008 so this is his second title while Bruno Prada has made Star Class history by winning this title five times. Diaz was Star Class World Champion in 2016 while Boening is currently the Star Class European Champion. Diaz did receive first prize as a Star Class Grand Master, a recognition that is reserved for Star sailors who are over 60.
“We are really happy to have won this Championship, it’s almost incredible when I think that this is the first time I have raced with Bruno (Prada),” noted Kusznierewicz. “Our aim was to give it our all and never give up and that’s what we did. From start to finish, even when we were behind in the fleet we always managed to recover and finish well. We knew that every result counted and this is a sweet taste of success for us. We never think about the overall victory or about the records we can break when we’re racing,” shared Prada. “This win is especially significant for me and I’m really happy, but the most important thing is that I do it all for my children and for my friends. I hope to give them an example that inspires them to do their best because you can get great results even if you’re not a superhero: the important thing is to fight for what you want.”
Mateusz Kusznierewicz (right) and Bruno Prada winners at the Star World Championship 2019. Photo credit: YCCS/Studio Borlenghi
Final Results (Top 10 of 63; 6 races, 1 discard)
1. POL Mateusz Kusznierewicz/ Bruno Prada, 6-2-(11) 3-4-1, 16 points
2. USA Augie Diaz/ Henry Boening (Gran Master), (10)-1-4-4-2-7, 18
3. NOR Eivind Melleby/ Joshua Revkin, 4-(11)-1-5.3/RDG-11-3, 24.3
4. CRO Marin Misura/ Tonko Barac, (22)-10-9-1-3-11, 34
5. ITA Diego Negri/ Sergio Lambertenghi, 2-16-(17)-8-1-12, 39
6. USA Paul Cayard/ Artur Lopes (Gran Master), 19-5-8-(64/BFD)-9-2, 43
7. ESP Roberto Bermudez De Castro/ Miguel Fernandez Vasco, 3-(28)-6-15-10-15, 49
8. IRL Torvar Mirsky/ Robert O’Leary, 16-8-10-16-8-(21), 58
9. ITA Enrico Chieffi/ Manlio Corsi (Master), 1-(26)-13-13-23-18, 68
10. AUT Hans Spitzauer/ Christian Nehammer (Master), 15-14-27-9-(64/BFD)-5, 70
