Star Sailors League Final

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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

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Star Sailors League Press Release

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SSL Finals 2018
View this email in your browser
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.
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Star Sailors League-Day 4

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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
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Star Sailors League-Day 3

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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
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Star Sailors League Finals-Day 2

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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

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Star Sailors League Finals

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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.

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2018 Western Hemisphere Championship

Read more
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Star Midwinter Championship-Levin

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Coconut Grove

Two races were held today on Biscayne Bay for the Star Class racing for the Bob Levin memorial trophy.

The breeze was on at 16 knots from the East which got the temperature up into the 60’s. It was a shifty again with the wind coming over the key onto the track.

Magnus and I went into the day one point behind Jack Jennings and Frithjof Kleen. But today was to be our day.  In race one, we started at the pin and never looked back.  Jennings and Kleen were in 5th at the first mark but their speed brought them up to second but the final run.  Diaz/Prada were also sailing well and finished third.

So going into the final race it was “who beats who”  to take the Levin Trophy for 2018.  Magnus and I had a conservative start under Diaz/Prada. Jennings and Kleen were slightly ahead as we all taked onto port.  Our speed was superior and we slipped out front and to leeward of the pack. We then got a header. The whole fleet flipped over onto starboard and Magnus and I were on top of the fleet.  And that’s where we stayed.

Jennings/Kleen finished second with Diaz/Prada in third. And that was the order for the regatta.

My hat is off to my crew! Magnus is 64 years young. 5 races in 16 knots in two days is hard on anyone, but Magnus is ageless. A gold medalist in 2000 the man is a true athlete, mentally and physically. Here’s to you Magnus!!

The next event will be the Masters regatta February 3, 4. followed by the Walker and Midwinters the following weekend.

For complete results go to www.yachtscoring.com

Paul

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Star Sailors League Press

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Nassau

Here is the official SSL press release from the first day of racing.

SSL Finals 2016
November 28th – December 4th
Nassau, Bahamas

BATTLE COMMENCES AT SSL FINALS 2016

The 4th edition of the Star Sailors League Finals kicked off in earnest today with two qualifying races. The early exchanges confirmed the amazing quality and depth in the fleet, which contains no less than 16 Olympic medallist among the skippers alone. The trade winds have been consistently blowing for days before the regatta and the sea state was a significant factor, especially as the racecourse was at the very top of Montagu Bay. Squall activity affected both the wind speed and direction, with the breeze ranging from 10 to 20 knots and oscillating 30 degrees.

After two races, Italians Diego Negro & Sergio Lambertenghi showed consistency and speed to lead the Qualifying Rounds by a single point without winning a race. Americans Mark Mendelblatt & Brian Fatih finished a solid second and Brazilians Robert Scheidt & Henry Boening, finished the day in third.

Diego Negri:
“It was a great day, not an easy first one though, lots of wind changes and waves. We had a good start on the first race, we were on the left, fought among the top five at the top mark and finished third. For the second race the wind increased a little bit, we decided to start more in the middle of the fleet and we were leeward to the fleet, got a big righty and it looked good, we had a nice fight and with a great downwind leg we finished second.”

Robert Scheidt is back at the SSL Finals having missed out last year due to his Olympic Laser campaign. Sailing with Henry Boening, the Brazilians were first to the top mark and were never overtaken, winning the first race of the regatta. Americans Mark Mendelblatt & Brian Fatih, were never out of the leading pack and finished second. Italians Diego Negro & Sergio Lambertenghi showed good speed and consistency to take third.

Robert Scheidt:
“The first race was very good, it was a good fight with Mendelblatt and Negri. We are happy we were able to hold them off and won the first race. The second race wasn’t so good, we made some technical mistakes but we finished within the top 10 and that was our goal.”

Race Two got underway after the top mark was moved to accommodate a big wind shift, and it was a blanket start, with virtually the entire fleet hitting the line on the start gun. SSL City Grand Slam champions, Xavier Rohart & Pierre-Alexis Ponsot copped a turning penalty in the first race of the regatta but the Frenchmen came back fighting in Race Two, taking the gun ahead of Negri & Lambertenghi. Jorge Zarif & Bruno Prada sailed intelligently upwind, and showed great technique downwind, to claim third.

After two races, the top VIP team was Jonas Høgh-Christensen & Stevie Milne, with two sixth place finishes. Putting the Danish/Northern Ireland combination in seventh place. Høgh-Christensen is a phenomenal Finn sailor representing Denmark at three Olympic Games, winning the Silver Medal at the London Olympic Games after an epic battle with Ben Ainslie. However this was the first time the Great Dane has even raced a Star.

Jonas Høgh-Christensen:
“We had a very good feeling with the boat, we tried to keep it simple and stay our of trouble. We had a couple of bad starts but managed to recover quite quickly after and sailed fast, both up and downwind, especially downwind we are fast. It was super fun and we really enjoyed it!
I love the Star, it’s tough, it’s technical, but with the free pumping it really comes in handy being a Finn sailor. The conditions couldn’t be better, it’s sailing in paradise.”

The youngest skipper taking part in the 2016 SSL Finals is the 22 year-old Argentinian VIP Facundo Olezza, racing with Portuguese Finn and Star sailor, Federico Melo. The rookie notched up a fifth place in the first race and ended the day in 8th position in the fleet.

Facundo Olezza:
“It was unbelievable to finish fifth in the first race! I personally try not to think about all of the names of my competitors, if I think of what they have achieved in their careers I would be more respectful than what I should be. So I just try to do my best, go out and sail. On top of everything try to enjoy it. The opportunity to race among these champions is one in a million. I am really happy to be here and I am learning a lot from Federico Melo. I love the Star, I don’t know what I was doing when I was sailing the other boats, from now on I will try to do some races on the Star along with my Finn Olympic campaign”.

Racing at the SSL Finals 2016 continues tomorrow with the second day of the Qualifying Rounds. A maximum of four races are scheduled for tomorrow with live coverage starting at 1100 (GMT-5).

Full coverage of all four days of action will be streamed live on the Internet with expert commentary from special studio guests, including America’s Cup four time winner Dennis Conner and Olympic silver medalist in London 2012 Luke Patience. On the water, the latest in hi-tech camera technology, as well as Virtual Eye 3D Graphics, will provide thrilling viewing.

Since our audience is present in all parts of the globe, Internet will be our stadium. From November 29th to December 4th, regattas will be streamed live on http://finals.starsailors.com. A complete live video stream of the races as well as additional insights provided by the state-of-the-art tracking system developed by Virtual Eye for the America’s Cup will allow people from over the world to follow their favorites and to cheer for them. Many prestigious sailing websites around the globe will also share our live broadcast on their homepage.

For more information visit
finals.starsailors.com

Nassau, Bahamas, November 29th, 2016

__________________________

Press enquiries to:

Rachele Vitello
SSL Media and Communication
rachele.vitello@starsailors.com

 

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Schoonmaker Cup Final

Photo by Marco Oquendo

Coconut Grove

Two races were held today today in 8-10 knots from the east-southeast. We had our ups and downs but basically Danny sailed very fast downwind and we made huge gains on the final runs of both races to finish 9 and 7.  That was enough to move us up to 7th overall which is a good result in this fleet especially for the youngest skipper in the fleet.

Augie Diaz and Arnie Baltins were the class of their own this weekend never finishing worse than 2nd. George Szabo Isao Toyama were second and Canadians Brian Cramer and Matt Johnston finished third.

It has been such a pleasure having Danny race with me in my favorite boat and experience the Star winter Series in Miami. Today the sun was out and the water was smooth on Biscayne Bay. When it is like that, there is no better place to race Stars.

In two weeks we will have the final regatta of the Wimter Series, the Walker Cup.  I will move back in the boat and have 2012 Star Class Olympian, Brian Fatih crewing for me. The Walker will serve as a warm up for the Bacardi Cup starting immediately after. Brian and I will race the Walker, the Bacardi Cup and then the World Championship in April, together.

For complete results on the Schoonmaker go to www.yachtscoring.com.

Paul

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