Please select your home edition
Edition
Rooster Wetsuit Range

2024 Star World Championship at San Diego Yacht Club - Day 2

by Rachele Vitello, International Star Class 10 Sep 04:06 BST September 7-13, 2024

Four start attempts for Race Two at the 2024 Star World Championship in San Diego, California, were a frustrating beginning of a day that the the fleet will remember as a very difficult one, during the two laps of the windward/leeward course they had to keep their cool while the weather was playing tricks on them.

The wind off the coast of Silver Strand, just south of San Diego, was fickle and shifty. A good 10-12 knots breeze welcomed the fleet on the racecourse at around 1230, but right after the third start sequence, approximately an hour later after two general recalls, it died 2 minuted in the race, leaving half of the fleet just floating on the left side of the line. That same side was then the favored one in the fourth and actual start of Race Two, and that is where local skipper Will Stout with crew Danny Cayard took off from. A good first beat playing the shifts and they were comfortably leading at the top mark, followed by local legend Eric Doyle with Payson Infelise, and by the gate, their margin had at least doubled, and so on until the finish, which they crossed several minutes before Doyle / Infelise.

"We got off on the left side of the line and just had a little bit more pressure than everybody else, then we took it to the right side and then it was just about tacking left and right to stay in the pressure", said Will Stout. "The pressure was up and down and left and right all day today, and we really tried to keep our heads out of the boat, talking constantly with each other, it seemed to continuedly pay for us, and we were looking at our competitors, there's no slouches out there, so we tried and use what they were doing to our advantage, and we were able to put one together today", added Danny Cayard.

Stout / Cayard are second overall thanks to two very good days, while Doyle / Infelise are the provisional leaders of the 2024 Star World Championship, even though, like everyone cares to underline, the road is still long and the trophy far away.

"Very trying conditions especially for the Race Committee today, they did a fantastic job, the wind was shifting around, it was quite up and down, at a lot of different wind directions from the either the pin end or the weather end", commented Eric Doyle. "It was very challenging, we had several recalls and a race abandoned because the wind died in our face, so basically it went from zero to 12 knots at times, it was very tough sailing, you had to hook the puffs together, play the left but watch out for big right shifts and work hard downwind. Kudos to Will and Danny, they had a big race and won, but after two days we're happy of our performance, we're chipping away and things are going well".

For a handful of very happy teams, like Augie Diaz (USA) and Bruno Prada (BRA) who went from a 16th to a 4th, there were many struggling on the racecourse. Huge distances separating them, everyone looking for that puff that just wasn't coming, like Olympian Jon Dane III and Peter Sangmeister (USA), 9th yesterday and 35th today, or even worse, Continental Champion Tomas Hornos (USA) and Mauricio Bueno (BRA), 10th in Race One and 56th in Race Two.

Nonetheless, no angry faces were spotted at the after-sail refreshment at the San Diego Yacht Club, the Championship is not even halfway through and after four races the throw out comes in.

More information at worlds.starchampionships.org

Related Articles

Bacardi continues support for next generation
Supporting young talented Star Class sailors Bacardi continues to support young talented Star Class sailors in their pursuit of success with its Bacardi Cup U30 Program 2025. Posted on 30 Sep
2024 Star Worlds at San Diego overall
John Kostecki and Austin Sperry crowned champions John Kostecki and Austin Sperry crowned champions. A hard-fought battle on the water among the top six teams, the Americans finished third in the last race, overall one point ahead of Will Stout with Danny Cayard and Leandro and Lucas Altolaguirre. Posted on 14 Sep
2024 Star Worlds at San Diego Day 5
Wide open going into the last day tomorrow Will Stout and Danny Cayard win Race Five, their second bullet in the series, and are the provisional overall leaders, tied on points with John Kosteki and Austin Sperry. Posted on 13 Sep
2024 Star Worlds at San Diego Day 4
Another beautiful day in San Diego San Diego delivered yet another beautiful day on the water, with winds up to 12 knots, sunshine and cooler air. Posted on 12 Sep
2024 Star Worlds at San Diego Day 3
A family affair Out of three races of the 2024 Star World Championship, two were won by the American-German team Paul Cayard and Frithjof Kleen, the other one, yesterday's, by Will Stout and Danny Cayard, Paul's son, so every race so far was won by a Cayard. Posted on 11 Sep
2024 Star Worlds at San Diego Day 1
Paul Cayard and Frithjof Kleen win the opening race with good pace and smart race management San Diego delivered incredible conditions on Day One of the 2024 Star World Championship. With sunshine, 12 to 15 knots of northwesterly breeze, and chop mixed with ocean swell, the 64 teams participating had it all. Posted on 9 Sep
2024 Star Worlds kicks off at San Diego
San Diego Yacht Club hosts the event for the ninth time in the Star Class's 100+ years of history San Diego Yacht Club has always had a special place in the Star Class history. Some of the GOATs of sailing, and the Star boat, banged their first corners just off Point Loma, with 15 Star World titles won by SDYC members over the years. Posted on 8 Sep
Entry open for Bacardi Cup Invitational Regatta
There is no better place to experience a unique blend of exhilarating racing and Bacardi hospitality Set sail for the world-renowned 2025 Bacardi Cup Invitational Regatta and the 2024/2025 Bacardi Winter Series. Our online entry is officially open! Posted on 5 Sep
2024 Star North American Championship overall
Paul and Danny Cayard are the winners It's been a tight battle among the top two teams, the 2024 Star North American Championship held in Newport Harbor Yacht Club, ended yesterday and has a winner, actually two, it is the father - son team Paul and Danny Cayard. Posted on 11 Aug
2024 Star Worlds in San Diego welcomes new talent
Sailing legends celebrate a remarkable class The Star World Championship returns to San Diego, California, for the first time in over a decade, September 7-13, 2024. San Diego Yacht Club (SDYC) expects upwards of 60 Star boats on the starting line under sunny, SoCal skies. Posted on 2 Aug