Star Class North American Championship at Tred Avon Yacht Club Overall

by Laura Beigel 15 Oct 2014 08:08 BST 8-11 October 2014

The 2014 International Star Class North American Championship came to an exciting close Saturday with the completion of the final race in the series held at the Tred Avon Yacht Club in some of the most challenging winds Star sailors have faced in a Silver or Gold Star regatta this year. Overall success was not defined by number of race wins, but by consistency and maintaining a low point average as seen in the final results. Within the top 5 finishers, none of the teams won a race throughout the series and 1st through 5th place, with 40 and 72 total points respectively, were separated by a seemingly large 32 point gap that calculates to a mere 4 point difference in race finishing place averages. Brazilians Torben Grael and Guilherme Almeida (BRA 8210) ultimately won the Championship with a cumulative 40 points and a race average 8th place for all 8 races.

For Race 8, the final race of the 2014 International Star Class North American Championship, the Race Committee sent the Star sailors on their longest and most difficult race yet: the 5 leg, windward-leeward Course 3 with 1.8 mile long legs. The wind was blowing 10-12 knots from the West at 060 deg., similar to the previous day's wind conditions. The Race Committee started the sequence for Race 8 right on time and with all boats clear at the start, the fleet had officially begun its final crusade for the 2014 International Star Class North American Championship Silver Star title.

Shortly after the start, several boats tacked onto port and aimed for the right side of the course without looking back, a strategy that paid off huge in Race Day 3's conditions during Race 6 and 7. Unfortunately as the fleet approached the windward mark, it became very clear that a relying entirely on the right would be the best way to sail yourself to the back of the fleet. Sailors who stuck to the left side of the course upwind made major gains playing the center-left shifts all the way to the windward mark. Douglas Smith and Chris Rogers (USA 8072) were the first team from the left to fetch the windward mark, they rounded with a 3 boat length lead and carried the fleet onto the second leg of the overall 5 leg race. Paul Cayard and Brian Terhaar (USA 8460) rounded in 2nd with Tomas Hornos and Josh Revkin (USA 8177) right on their hip. Canadians Mark Passmore and Simon Van Wonderen rounded in 4th just ahead of Arthur Anosov and David Caesar (USA 8000) in 5th.

As the Stars made their way downwind on leg 2, the wind shifted left 10 degrees giving teams who set up closer to the right side the advantage and ability to move up within the fleet more easily. USA 8460 Cayard/Terhaar had overtaken USA 8072 Smith/Rogers about halfway down leg 2 and rounded the leeward mark in the lead. USA 8177 Hornos/Revkin held on to their 2nd place position, rounding ahead of CAN 8235 Passmore/Van Wonderen in 3rd, and USA 8000 Anosov/Caesar in 4th. The Race Committee moved the weather mark to 050 deg. to match the new wind bearing and notified all competitors as they rounded the leeward gate marks and moved onto leg 3.

The first leeward mark rounding was perhaps the most pivotal point in the race because despite the left shift trend on the previous two legs and the recent windward mark change 10deg. to the left, many of the sailors, including the majority of the leading boats, set up to sail upwind on the right hand side of the course. At the second windward mark rounding, it became evident just how persistently unfavorable the right side of the course was when only one of the top five boats from the previous two mark roundings sustained its position.

Local Eastern Shore of Maryland Star Fleet member and recent recipient of the International Star Class's Boat Donor Program, Alan Campbell with crew Steve Rollo (USA 8045) rounded the leeward mark in the low teens and anticipating another major shift, headed left. Just as they had expected, the wind shifted another 15deg. to the left and USA 8045 Campbell/Rollo sailed into 1st place eventually rounding the weather mark 10 boat lengths ahead of 2nd place USA 8177 Hornos/Revkin. Derek DeCounteau and Jamie Stewart (USA 8083) followed the pair around in 3rd place with 4th place Bob Lippincott and Michael Zuschnitt (USA 7512) and 5th place Jerry Wendt with Ezra Culver (CAN 8389), close behind. The top 5 sailed the final remaining downwind leg and leeward mark rounding in the same order, however due to another left wind shift and course change by 10 degrees to 040 deg., CAN 8389 Wendt/Culver and USA 8460 Cayard/Terhaar managed to move up a few places during leg 5 on the parade to the finish line.

Alan Campbell and crew Steve Rollo (USA 8045) crossed the finish line in 1st place, winning one of the International Star Class's 5 North American Championship perpetual trophies: the Edward N Hay Memorial Perpetual Trophy for the 1st place finisher in the last race of the series. Race 8 was the second race at a Silver Star Championship Campbell has won thus far in his career and was Rollo's first race win after just TWO regattas (this event included) in the Star, earning him a Star Class Honor of 2 Silver Bars as a Race Winning Crew. Jerry Wendt and crew Ezra Culver (CAN 8389) finished the race in 2nd overall, earning Culver his first Star Class Honor of 1 Silver Bar for a Race Top 3 Finishing Crew. Tomas Hornos and Josh Revkin (USA 8177) finished in 3rd place with Paul Cayard and Brian Terhaar (USA 8460) immediately behind them in 4th, and Derek DeCounteau with crew Jamie Stewart (USA 8083) crossing in 5th place.

Awards & Winners:

Royal Canadian Yacht Club Perpetual Trophy, 1st Place Overall: BRA 8210 Torben Grael & Guilherme Almeida
Mead Bachelor Perpetual Trophy, 1st Place Crew: BRA 8210 Guilherme Almeida
Jack Daniels Perpetual Trophy, 1st Place in Race 1: USA 8490 John MacCausland & Rick Burgess
Edward N Hay Memorial Perpetual Trophy, 1st Place in Last Race of Series: USA 8045 Alan Campbell & Steve Rollo
Top Junior Skipper: USA 7512 Bob Lippincott
Top Junior Crew: USA 8177 Josh Revkin
Top Master: BRA 8210 Torben Grael & Guilherme Almeida
Top Grand Master: USA 8484 Larry Whipple & Mike Wolfs
Top Exalted Grand Master: USA 8036 Jack Rickard & Sam Eadie
Top Classic Boat: USA 7078 Rick Rundle & Kyle McVane
Top Novice: USA 8024 R.J. Cooper & Brian Boyd
Top Tred Avon Yacht Club Member: USA 7512 Bob Lippincott & Mike Zuschnitt
Top District 2 Member: USA 8490 John MacCausland & Rick Burgess
Top Female: USA 7986 Barbara Vosbury & Guy Avellon

Quotes of the Day:

Alan Campbell, USA 8045: "We had good boat speed and were fortunate enough to have watched the guys on the first leg pay off on the left. We just followed suit and covered middle left. We knew we the left is where we wanted to be so we just made the decision and stuck to our guns. We sent it.""

Torben Grael, BRA 8210: "The conditions were very tricky so sticking to the fundamentals, you know staying in phase at all costs, was very important to fighting through the fleet from the back to the front and to making consistent results."

Tomas Hornos, USA 8177: "I have never been happier to finish second in a regatta. Seriously."

Overall Results:

Pos	Helm	Crew	Sail No	Fleet	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	Pts
1	Torben Grael	Guilherme Almeida	BRA 8210	Gua	4	4	[25 RDG]	14	2	2	3	11	40
2	Tomas Hornos	Josh Revkin	USA 8177	BH	10	8	[20]	6	4	7	8	3	46
3	Arthur Anosov	David Caesar	USA 8000	SL	3	10	2	2	[42 BFD]	18	4	9	48
4	Paul Cayard	Brian Terhaar	USA 8460	WSFB	2	21	15	3	11	[23]	5	4	61
5	Jack Jennings	Jesse Fielding	USA 8464	LS	9	19	4	7	17	6	10	[27]	72
6	Larry Whipple	Mike Wolfs	USA 8484	BisB	5	7	12	17	7	17	16	[42 DNC]	81
7	John Maccausland	Rick Burgess	USA 8490	CR	1	25	[42 OCS]	5	8	24	1	18	82
8	Doug Schofield	Bob Schofield	USA 8264	ES	8	29	[42 OCS]	4	1	5	12	23	82
9	Mark Passmore	Simon Van Wonderen	CAN 8235	WLOC	16	6	3	[22]	13	12	19	13	82
10	Will Swigart	Brian Fatih	USA 8291	CLIS	7	18	14	1	14	[19]	15	14	83
11	Derek Decouteau	Jamie Stewart	USA 8083	BI	12	23	[28]	23	6	8	7	5	84
12	Erich Mones Ruiz	Diego Peisajovich	ARG 8285	BisB	6	[27]	8	24	5	20	6	20	89
13	Mike Hecky	Arnis Baltins	USA 8395	CR	13	2	24	20	[32]	15	17	10	101
14	Bob Lippincott	Michael Zuschnitt	USA 7512	ES	24	12	21	13	15	[42 OCS]	11	6	102
15	William Watson	Roger Sharp	USA 8367	CLIS	19	3	10	18	10	26	18	[29]	104
16	Jerry Wendt	Ezra Culver	CAN 8389	WLOC	15	20	18	26	18	10	[27]	2	109
17	Steve Braverman	Kevin Hetherington‑Young	USA 8052	BH	20	[33]	23	10	16	16	9	21	115
18	R J Cooper	Brian Boyd	USA 8024	ES	29	17	5	[34]	19	14	2	31	117
19	Jack Rickard	Sam Eadie	USA 8036	WH	25	14	13	9	30	4	22	[33]	117
20	Alberto Zanetti	Federico Calegari	ARG 8278	OL	11	13	[42 OCS]	19	FD	1	26	8	120
21	Alan Campbell	Steve Rollo	USA 8045	ES	28	9	22	[42 DNF]	NS	11	13	1	126
22	Tom Londrigan Jr	Steve Cutting	USA 8361	LS	17	15	[42 OCS]	11	3	9	29	NF	126
23	Bert Collins	Jake Doyle	USA 8063	AN	18	31	9	25	20	3	24	[32]	130
24	Keith Donald	Kevin Elterman	USA 8087	AN	14	1	DG	21	28	[31]	30	16	131
25	Mark Holowesko	Myles Pritchard	BAH 8406	N	21	16	11	[42 DSQ]	9	21	33	22	133
26	Claude Bonanni	Manolo Bunge	USA 8279	TaB	22	22	7	29	21	[37]	20	17	138
27	Schuyler Benson	Andrew Parish	USA 8067	ES	23	34	30	12	22	22	[36]	12	155
28	Barbara Beigel‑Vosbury	Guy Avellon	USA 7986	AN	26	24	6	[32]	27	27	23	26	159
29	Ben Sternberg	Valentin Veytsman	USA 8358	CLIS	[42 DNF]	NS	NS	8	12	25	14	19	162
30	Carroll McCallum	Jock Kohlhas	USA 8420	CLIS	[42 DNS]	26	1	16	34	32	25	30	164
31	John Chiarella	Bob Carlson	USA 8215	Sun	30	11	17	28	31	28	[42 DNS]	25	170
32	Rick Rundle	Kyle McVane	USA 7078	CHiH	35	5	16	27	33	30	28	[42 DNC]	174
33	Douglas Smith	Chris Rogers	USA 8072	SBC	[42 ]	NC	NC	15	25	29	21	7	181
34	Steve Kling	Mike Lovellette	USA 8131	AN	33	30	29	[35]	35	13	35	28	203
35	Tom White	Isao Toyama	USA 8157	SL	[42 DNS]	NS	DG	31	23	35	32	15	206
36	Sandy McAllister	Spencer McAllister	USA 7828	ES	32	35	27	[36]	29	34	31	24	212
37	Will Murdoch	Tim Paris	USA 7713	MES	31	36	26	33	26	[38]	34	34	220
38	Richard Sears	Ken Sears	USA 7902	CD	36	28	31	37	37	[39]	38	35	242
39	Eugenio Cingolani	Celia Cingolani	ARG 8268	SMB	[42 DNF]	NS	DG	30	24	36	NF	NC	251
40	Joe Pro	Nicolaus Pro	USA 8153	NCB	34	32	[42 DNS]	38	36	33	37	NC	252
41	Daniel Della Torre	Ed Morey	ARG 8286	OL	27	[42 DNF]	19	NC	NC	NC	NC	NC	256