Nassau

SSL Finals

The Day started off with the Quarter Finals. Arthur and I tuned up before the fist race with Jorge Zarif and found out then that he was very fast after his retune last night. I think I may have said too much when I told Augie Diaz what I did the night before to retune my mast,  Still we felt we would be competitive. Shortly after the start, we crossed France close and they yelled and protested. The umpires reached for and grabbed the green flag (no foul) and then paused for about 30 seconds, discussed, and eventually decided to penalize us.

It was a set back for sure but early in the race. We battled the French for the 5th spot that qualified for the semi final most of the race but in the end they beat us across the line and we were eliminated finishing the event in 8th.

Jorge Zarif/Pedro Trouche (BRA) won the Quarter Final, the Semi Final and the Final by a healthy margin. He had another gear today even on Robert Scheidt who won the qualifiers by a 20 point margin. Scheidt/Boening finished second and Negri/Kleene finished 3rd.

This was the 6th SSL Finals and the thoughest yet. The level keeps going up. I certainly didn’t sail great this week. Decent I suppose. I am disappointed because I think we had more potential than 8th. We were on the back foot all week, only just getting up to race winning speed yesterday.

It was an honor to be out on the water this week with all of the competitors!  At my age, I appreciate the opportunity to compete with the the best in our sport.

That’s it for this year. Next sailing for me will be in Antartica in early January. I’ll send some pictures!

Full Results: https://bit.ly/2zICUGS

SSL Finals 2018
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SSL Finals 2018
December 3rd- 8th
Nassau, BahamasSCHEIDT/BOENING DEMOLISH OPPOSITION
ON FINAL DAY OF
STAR SAILORS LEAGUE FINALS QUALIFYING

While the star performers today certainly were Robert Scheidt/Henry Boening and Paul Cayard, significant to more competitors was what was happening mid-fleet. For today, Friday, the final Qualifier races were held at the Star Sailors League Finals in Nassau.

Crews finishing the Qualifier in third to tenth positions would progress on to the Quarter Finals. From here the top five would go to the Semi-Finals and meet the second placed Qualifer finisher. The top three Semi-Finalists would then meet the winner of the Qualifiers in the Final. All these stages are single race affairs taking place tomorrow, Saturday.

Sadly the 15 teams not making the top ten have been eliminated.

Four races were held today, on the same azure-coloured waters on the plateau off Montagu Bay as yesterday. Conditions with a 10-12 knot northeasterly and built to 15-18, shifting right for the fourth and final race.

Stand-out competitors were once again Olympic legend Robert Scheidt and Henry Boening. The Brazilian duo won three of today’s four races. In eight out of the 11 races held during the Qualifiers, Scheidt and Boening have finished on the podium. This consistency caused them to finish Qualifiers 22 points ahead of Mark Mendelblatt and Brian Fatih, with Diego Negri and Frithjof Kleen in third.

Yesterday we had a rig check and made a few adjustments,” said Scheidt. “The boat felt better and we were more confident with our speed. We had good starts too and picked the right spots, which put us in front right away. Then we had good speed – all those components together made a big difference. Henry did a great job in the manoeuvres and calling the wind. After we had two good races we felt confident and the rest of the day went really well.”

Paul Cayard and Brazilian Arthur Lopes found both an extra gear and a turbocharger today, posting a 2-1-3-14. “We made a little adjustment to the mast last night, which turned out to be quite important and really made a big difference,” explained the Whitbread Round the World Race and Louis Vuitton Cup winner. “We were fast upwind. Perhaps through the confidence we were fast downwind as well.”

Both Cayard/Lopes and the Brazilians did well playing the top left today. “In the northeasterly breeze, that almost always pays and you have current with you,” said Cayard, who has raced here for some 40 years. “And you expect a geographical shift around Rose Island [the low-lying Bahama Island to weather of today’s course] in the morning, when the current is stronger.” Later in the day when the current reverses and the wind goes right, the opposite side can pay.

Today’s score elevated Cayard/Lopes from lowly 14th place to seventh place and into the Quarter Finals. “I am delighted,” continued Cayard. “It was frustrating how hard we were struggling over the first few days. To be fast in all four races today gave me a lot of confidence that we have resolved the problem.”

Around the vital 10th placed slot there were ‘snakes and ladders’. Among those on ‘ladders’ today were Swedish London 2012 Star Olympic champion Freddie Lööf and Italian crew Edoardo Natucci. They started the day in 11th place but three results inside the top 10 left them eighth and with a berth in the Quarter Finals.

An OCS in today’s first race, caused Brazilian two time Olypmic medallist Lars Grael and Samuel Gonçalves, just to remain in the top 10. Not so lucky was Hungarian Finn Gold Cup winner Zsombor Berecz and his veteran Czech crew Michael Maier, who finished 11th despite being tied on points with Grael/Gonçalves.

Others packing their bags tonight include British three time Olympic medallist Iain Percy, racing here with Swedish Star bronze medallist, Anders Ekström. “It was very tiring, but really good fun,” said Percy.

11th hour business commitments sadly caused Percy to miss the first days of the regatta. Today they posted a 9-6-6-6. “I really enjoyed it, but we just turned up and were out of practice, but we didn’t find it frustrating which is nice. We were in the hunt and caught up when we were at the back. It feel great to be back in the boat, it keeps it real and keeps you sailing properly. I would love to come back next year.

Others heading home include French 470 World Champion Kevin Peponnet, sailing this week with Star and America’s Cup veteran Mark Strube. “It is amazing to sail against these legends. They have shared a lot. I am really happy to be here and gain some knowledge of this boat.” However their performance today wasn’t ideal. “We broke the vang and the main sheet block.”

One of the great surprises has been the performance of Laser Radial Youth World and European Champion, Guido Gallinaro, and his German crew Kilian Weise. They finished the event 19th, their scoreline including an 8th yesterday – not bad for a 17-year-old. “It was a great experience for me,” said Gallinaro. “We had quite good races today. In one we were fourth at the top mark. It was a great week for us.”

Looking forward to tomorrow, Scheidt says they may have won the Qualifiers but now the competition starts afresh: “It doesn’t mean much. We are happy that we are in the Final, but we are going to sail against the best guys and we still have to win that race. It is going to be hard.

1 Robert Scheidt (BRA) Henry Boening (BRA) 33
2 Mark Mendelblatt (USA Brian Fatih (USA) 55
3 Diego Negri (ITA) Diego Negri (ITA) 65.8
4 Jorge Zarif (BRA) Pedro Trouche (BRA) 68
5 Mateusz Kusznierewicz (POL) Dominik Zycki (POL) 75
6 Eivind Melleby (NOR) Joshua Revkin (USA) 81
7 Paul Cayard (USA) Arthur Lopes (BRA) 94
8 Fredrik Loof (SWE) Edoardo Natucci (ITA) 97
9 Xavier Rohart (FRA) Pierre-Alexis Ponsot (FRA) 98
10 Lars Grael (BRA) Samuel Gonçalves (BRA) 99

finals.starsailors.com
starsailors.com

Nassau, December 7th, 2018
__________________________

Press enquiries to:

Rachele Vitello
SSL Media and Communication
rachele.vitello@starsailors.com
+39 328 21 40 680
Skype: rakvit99

Download DAY 4 VNR and Interviews
Download DAY 4 Interviews in SWE, FRA, ITA, POR
Star Sailors League Finals 2018 – Highlights Day 4
STAR SAILORS LEAGUE (SSL)

The Star Sailors League is a World Sailing Special Event that organises elite championships with substantial prize money to celebrate today’s heroes and to honour the legends of our sport. Our SSL Ranking, SSL Grand Slams and annual SSL Finals are inspired by tennis and give the public an exciting and easy to understand format for competition among individual athletes. Our SSL Nations Gold Cup is our biennial grand finale to crown the world’s top sailing nation. The SSL Nations Gold Cup uses the same nationality principles as the Olympic Games to provide a country against country championship like the World Cup in football. Star Sailors League shines the spotlight on the athletes and arouses the sporting passions of national pride.

photo by Marc Rouiller 

Nassau

Four races were held today in 12-15 knots from the northeast to close out the qualifying part of the SSL Finals. The adjustments we made last night were right on the money and we were quite fast upwind and downwind. When you are fast it is much easier to be smart and go the right way. Tutu and I scored 2, 1, 3, 14. We finished the qualifying series in 7th.  Big move from 15th this morning!
 
The best part is that our trend is up. It’s a nice way to go into the quarter final race tomorrow.
 
The format is:
The number 1 qualifier goes straight to the Final
The number 2 qualifier goes straight to the Semi Finales
Qualifiers 3-10 race the quarter final race. The top 6 go onto the semi final and join qualifier #2. The top three from this race go forward to join #1 for the Final, winner takes all, race.
 
Everyone is tired. We will be sleeping for 10 hours tonight. Weigh in for all teams tomorrow morning at 08:00. The quarter final race starts at 11:00EST.

Photo Elena Otekina | Star Sailor League Bow: 07 USA 8466 // Skipper: Paul Cayard USA // Crew: Arthur Lopes BRA

Full Results: https://bit.ly/2zICUGS
 
Tune in for the broadcast live online: Star Sailors League Facebook Page Starsailors.com
 
Download the Star Sailors League Application to keep in touch with news from the SSL Finals in Nassau and WATCH THE LIVE FEED:
Apple IOS- https://itunes.apple.com/it/app/star-sailors-league/id1311165647?mt=8
Android – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.virtualeye.starsailorsleague
Nassau
Day 3 of the SSL Finals saw three races in 12-15 knots from the northeast….beautiful sailing conditions that the Bahamas are famous for. Unfortunately for Arthur and I, it wasn’t a great day. We struggle for speed upwind mostly, and downwind its just a battle.
 
Provisional Ranking after 7 total races:
Mark Mendleblatt (USA) & Brian Fatih (USA)
Robert Scheidt (BRA) & Henry Boening (BRA)
Jorge Zarif (BRA) & Pedro Trouche (BRA)
 
Four races remain to be sailed. Arthur and I are 15th, 18 points out of 10th. It will probably require all top 5 finishes for us to have a chance to make the quarter finals on Saturday. We took our mast out of the boat tonight to make some adjustments. These are long days!
 
Full Results: https://bit.ly/2zICUGS
 
Photos by Gilles Morelle @adonnante and Marc Rouiller

Bow: 07 USA 8466 // Skipper: Paul Cayard USA // Crew: Arthur Lopes BRA

WATCH THE LIVE FEED:
Apple IOS- https://itunes.apple.com/it/app/star-sailors-league/id1311165647?mt=8
Android – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.virtualeye.starsailorsleague

Photo by Marc Rouiller

Nassau, Bahamas

The first 4 races of the 2018 SSL finals are in the books. It was just an ok day for my crew Arthur (Tutu) Lopes and I. The wind was from the west at 8-10 knots and very shifty most of the day. The fleet starts like the photo and stays about that tight the whole way around the 50 minute race. The downwind legs are a workout with the unlimited kinetics.  The lower limit for this should be 10 knots like in the Finn class. What we are doing is another sport…Fanning.

I didn’t sail the shifts particularly well and we struggled for speed in the first two races. We made some adjustments and felt a bit better dialed in at the end of the day.

At the end of the day, we are in 12th, still very much in it.  The goal is to be in the top 10 to qualify for the quarter finals at the end of racing Friday.  7 more races to go.

Provisional Ranking:

1. Robert Scheidt  (BRA) & Henry Boening (BRA)

2. Mark Mendleblatt (USA) & Brian Fatih (USA)

3. Diego Negri (ITA) & Frithjof Kleen (GER)

Full Results: https://bit.ly/2zICUGS

Four more races are scheduled tomorrow and racing will begin at 11,00 local time (-5 GMT). Tune in for the broadcast live online:

Star Sailors League Facebook Page Starsailors.com

Download the Star Sailors League Application to keep in touch with news from the SSL Finals in Nassau and WATCH THE LIVE FEED:

Apple IOS- https://itunes.apple.com/it/app/star-sailors-league/id1311165647?mt=8

Android – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.virtualeye.starsailorsleague

Nassau, Bahamas

Racing starts tomorrow for 25 of the best sailing teams in the World! The Star Sailors League, which includes Olympic Champions and World Champions from various classes, is hosting its annual “Finals” Championship in Nassau, Bahamas.  The forecast for tomorrow during the racing period is for winds from the South Southwest 4 groping to 2 knots.
 
Racing will begin tomorrow at 13,00 local time (-5 GMT) and will be broadcast live online:
Star Sailors League Facebook Page
Starsailors.com
 
Subscribe to the Star Sailors League Newsletter:
 
Download the Star Sailors League Application to keep in touch with news from the SSL Finals in Nassau and WATCH THE LIVE FEED:
Apple IOS- https://itunes.apple.com/it/app/star-sailors-league/id1311165647?mt=8
Android – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.virtualeye.starsailorsleague
Paul

Bow: 07 USA 8466 // Skipper: Paul Cayard USA // Crew: Arthur Lopes BRA
Drawing its inspiration from tennis and its annual Masters, the SSL Board has launched in 2013 the SSL Finals which will be organised at the end of every year. This regatta has exceptional media coverage and brings together the 10 best sailors of the Ranking and about 15 VIP guest sailors.

Bow: 07 USA 8466 // Skipper: Paul Cayard USA // Crew: Arthur Lopes BRA
Drawing its inspiration from tennis and its annual Masters, the SSL Board has launched in 2013 the SSL Finals which will be organised at the end of every year. This regatta has exceptional media coverage and brings together the 10 best sailors of the Ranking and about 15 VIP guest sailors.

photos by Brian White

Oxford MD

Jorge Zarif and crew Guilherme de Almeida (BRA) are the 2018 Star World Champions. At 26 years of age, Jorge, the son of a Brazialian Srar sailor of the same name, is the youngest winning skipper since Alex Hagen (GER) won the prestigious trophy in 1981.

The final day was challenging with 40 degree wind shifts and up to 25 knots of wind and a very steep, 3 foot, chop. The race committee had their hands full setting the course causing several recalled and postponed starts. In the end, the fleet was on the water from 09:30 to 18:30 to get races and 5 and 6 and the championship completed.

After doing the math Friday night, I realized that Arthur and I had only a very slim, mathematical, chance to win. We would have to beat Zarif In both races and remain in the top 3 in both races.

As we headed to the race course we had every intention of doing just that. In the first race, we got off to the left side and the wind shifted 30 degrees to the right. We came around the first mark in the 20’s and headed downwind. Halfway down the run, we swamped the boat. As the boat was now sitting lower in the water, the automatic bailers could not bail the boat before we took another wave over the bow. Realizing this would likely be our discard race, I decide not to
risk breaking the mast and retire from that race in order to be able to compete in race 6.

Zarif also sailed his discard with a 14th while Melleby/Revkin finished 7th. Diego Negri and Sergio Lambertenghi (ITA) won this windy and rough race.

Going into the final race no one really was sure of the points as their had been a number of boats disqualified under the black flag at the start of race 5, making the point counting that much more difficult.

Tomas Hornos, with Pedro Trouche crewing, won the final race with Melleby close in second Zarif finished fourth and Arthur and I in 6th.

Along with Hornos & Trouche, 30 of the 124 sailors were 32 or under. The winning skipper was 26. Youngest competitor 15. The average age of this championship was under 50, the first time in 10 years. These are all very encouraging facts for the class.

The host club, Tred Avon, and the town of Oxford put on an outstanding event on and off
the water. Their hospitality and friendship could not have been better.

For the championship, the Star class has a very credible world champion, who is already Finn World champion and an Olympian. The defending champions finished second and Arthur and I in third. Negri/Lambertenghi, number one ranked Star team in the world, finished 4th.

While we came to Oxford to win, we are reasonably satisfied with our result. I first raced in the Star World championship 40
years ago at my home club, St. Francis, in San Francisco. There as a 19 year old crew, I finished 4th with boat builder Bill Gerard. That experience hooked me on the class of boat that has made me the sailor I am, led me to the career I have had and in which I will sail on for life. Here in Oxford, some more young people have become hooked on sailing thanks to the Star Class.

Next stop for us is the SSL Finals in Nassau in early December.

Paul

October 12, 2018

In the aftermath of hurricane Michael, the Choptank was too churned up for racing today.  Both the wind and sea state were rough and the race committee deemed it best to wait for tomorrow to complete the series.  The forecast for tomorrow is for 7 knots increasing through the mid afternoon to 12 knots from the north.  It will be cool and crisp.

A doubleheader on the final day! Lots of opportunity.

Paul

photos by Mark Hergen

Oxford, Maryland

First of all, let me apologize about last nights’ post.  My technological skills are not up to par.

Two races were held today on the Choptank ( yes, that’s the name of the part of the Chesapeake we are in) in a dying, but persistently left shifting wind.

In race three, it was the Melleby and Zarif show again as they went 1, 2. Zarif got the win this time. I made a mistake up the first leg tacking to the right while sailing next to Melleby heading left. The left was the place to be and we got to the first make in the teens. From there we managed to claw our way back to 8th. We seem pretty fast fortunately which helps when you are not smart. Augie Diaz had a nice race finishing 5th to close the gap to us after three.

The wind continued to drop further for Race 4. After a couple of general recalls, the fleet got away under a black flag. 6 knots was all that we had and by the finish, it was down to 3 knots. Those are trying conditions.

I can’t remember all the ups and downs. It was very difficult and tricky. We were at huge risk of losing 20 boats at one point up the second windward leg. All I know is that I had my Notre Dame hat on and felt the luck of the Irish with me. (Yes, I drank the Koolaid?) Arthur and I managed to come away with the win!

In after hours racing, Melleby/Revkin were disqualified from race 3 for not avoiding a collision with Zarif. By virtue of that, Arthur and I are 2nd overall behind Zarif.

The regatta is back on schedule. Tonight, hurricane Michael will pass through the region. 40 knots are forecast for 05:00 tomorrow morning. All boats were taken out of the water. The start has been postponed by 2 hours. Looks like we will race and it will be fun to have one breezy race.

For complete results go to: https://www.regattatoolbox.com/results?eventID=66N5cTLxgd

Paul

Gull Lake

No wind for two days then 3 races yesterday made up the second annual Vintage Gold Cup. GEM IX belonged to a mentor of mine, Sir Durward Knowles, when he won gold in the ‘64 Olympics. GEM IX is now part of the Cayard family and It was extra special to share this year with my third generation Star sailor son.  Winning made it that much more special.

Gull Lake Country club has both sailing and golf. Golf was heavily subscribed on Thursday and Friday.

Don Parfet and Jon Vandermolon continue to grow this classic Star event with the addition of 9 boats making a fleet of 21 for this years Vintage Gold Cup. The Star class is over 100 years old and Vintage Gold Cup is for wooden Stars that are 50+ years old. A big thanks to those two men for their passion and efforts!

The Vintage Gold Cup-Honoring the past!