News
STAR NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP 2021 STARTS WEDNESDAY IN NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA
A successful season for the International Star Class in 2021 continues this week with the North American Championship in Newport Beach, California, after two strong championships in Split, Croatia, for the Europeans and in Miami for the Western Hemisphere in the spring.
30 teams, 100% made in USA will be on the starting line tomorrow at 12:30pm local time for the first two races of the event. The level of competition is sky high with six Star world champions in the fleet, four at the helm and two as crew. One of the crew is world renowned skipper Paul Cayard acting as crew in California to sail with his son Daniel, a third generation Star sailor as his grandfather is 1969 Star World Champion and 1964 Olympic Bronze Medalist Pelle Petterson (SWE). The other crew is none other than Bruno Prada (BRA), winner of five Star World Championships, three with stellar skipper Robert Scheidt, one at the last sailed event in Porto Cervo in 2019 with Mateusz Kusznierewicz (POL) and one with Augie Diaz (USA), his skipper this week and defender of the North American title. The other world champions are Eric Doyle, John McCausland and George Szabo, sailing in Newport Beach respectively with Payson Infelise, Brian Terhaar and Guy Avellon.
North American Championship Postponed
While NHYC regrets having to reschedule the North American Championship to August 2021 (dates TBD) we still plan to host Star racing this summer.
Update on 2020 Star North Americans
In keeping with our promise in May we are writing to give you an update on the District 5 (California) Star racing schedule for the balance of 2020. Please see the attached.
Unfortunately, the Lipton Cup in Santa Barbara, scheduled for June 27-28th, has been cancelled with no re-schedule date.
District 5 Announces Updated Schedule & NAs Plan
District 5 Secretary Nick Madigan sent the following update:
AUGIE DIAZ WINS THE SECOND SILVER STAR IN LESS THAN TWO WEEKS
The Star North American Championship was hosted by the Toms River Yacht Club on the Barnegat Bay in New Jersey this year. A star-studded list of competitors arrived for four days of scheduled racing including Gold Star world-champions USA’s John McCausland, George Szabo and Augie Diaz. Silver star continental champions Tomás Hornos and Brian Ledbetter from the USA. Local favorites included Allan Terhune Jr. having grown up at the host yacht club and rock star crews from Brazil like European Champion Henry Boening, Pedro Trouche, reigning Star Sailors League finals winner and American Joshua Revkin, a North American and World Champion.
Eric Doyle and Payson Infelise are North American Champions 2018
After four days of combat on the waters of Santa Monica Bay, Eric Doyle has earned his second Silver Star, winning the 2018 Star North American Championship regatta at California Yacht Club.
Doyle, representing San Diego Yacht Club, and racing with Payson Infelise of Newport Harbor Yacht Club, defeated 35 rival teams in eight races over four days of competition. The 50-year-old sailmaker previously won the Star North Americans and the Worlds nearly 20 years ago, in 1999. He compared this win to his victory 19 years ago, saying, “It hurts a little more to hike out; but the competition is still great, and Bill Stump (PRO) is still out here running great races.”