Please select your home edition
Edition
Trinidad and Tobago - Sail Service Stay

2023 Star World Championship at Marina di Scarlino, Tuscany, Italy - Day 5

by ISCYRA 23 Sep 2023 12:08 PDT 17-24 September 2023

Day Five of the 2023 Star World Championship started with another couple of hours' wait ashore. The 200 sailors feared the morning would follow the same dreaded pattern of the previous days. The Race Committee went out early on the water to monitor the wind. The easterly breeze was expected to shift to allow the anticipated and more reliable northerly breeze on the racecourse, and indeed, it did.

The fleet was called out at about 1 PM with the wind blowing at 13 knots from 310 degrees. Race three of the Championship started with one general recall followed by a Black Flag start. At the first top mark, it was again the U30 German team with Max Kohlhoff / Ole Burzinski in the lead, followed by Eivind Melleby / Joshua Revkin (NOR/USA) and Hubert Merkelbach / Kilian Weise (GER), with the Norwegian team later disqualified as one of the eight BFDs. The Grand Master skipper and former ISCYRA president went on to be the first to round the downwind gate with a comfortable margin that increased by the finish line. Merkelbach / Weise won race three, Kohlhoff / Burzinski were second, followed by yet another U30 German team, Jan Borbet and Jesper Spehr, then Diego Negri / Alessandro Sodano (ITA) and Piet Eckert / Frederico Melo (SUI/POR). The last two teams were closely matched on points at the top after three races.

"With 100 boats, we have many friends here, and it was nice to catch up with all of them in the past few days. Great facilities, good services—it was all great. But we were delighted to go sailing today after a few days of no racing and a bad first day for us. It was even better to claim the win; it was my first one at a World Championship, so it makes it even more special!" commented a very satisfied Kilian Weise. "I like it windy, and it was about time to win another race at the Worlds for me. It feels very good! We had a very good start, we went full speed on the right side, the boat was fast, so we kept the lead and got the bullet," added skipper Hubert Merkelbach.

Shortly after the end of race three, PRO Giancarlo Crevatin began the race four starting procedure, with a breeze of up to 15 knots from 330 degrees and choppy seas. The eager fleet ended up in yet another general recall, leading the Committee to another Black Flag start. Melleby / Revkin were the first at the weather mark, followed by another World Champion and Bacardi Cup winner, Eric Doyle / Payson Infelise (USA), then the Swiss/Portuguese duo Eckert / Melo. The first two teams maintained their positions at the gate, with Manu Hens / Joost Houweling (BEL/NED) coming in third. The finishing order saw Doyle / Infelise claiming the bullet and climbing to fourth overall, followed by Melleby / Revkin, who were stuck in 33rd overall due to the BFD and a 40th place in race two, and Hens / Houweling.

"We liked the last race because it was windy; we like it when it is windy!! We finally had the conditions we hoped for here; we know the place has it. We had nice waves; waves are fun downwind. It was a little bit shifty, and we like that too. We worked hard for it, and we are happy we were able to pull it off. It is great," commented Eric Doyle. "The bigger the waves, the better! We were kind of hoping we could get at least a race in yesterday. Today it was just fun; we had a good shot at the weather mark in the first race, we didn't quite make it, and we ended up sixth, so we are happy to have won the last one. It felt like the boat was fast, and we tuned it really well," added crew Payson Infelise.

Piet Eckert with Frederico Melo finished Race Four in fourth position, and their solid scorecard allows them to be the overall leader before the final two races tomorrow and the discard. Max Kohlhoff with Ole Burzinski are second, and Diego Negri with Alessandro Sodano fell to third with a 15th place in the last race.

The plan for tomorrow is to have two more races with the first start scheduled at 10:30 AM. The forecast calls for a north breeze of up to 15 knots.

Full results available here.

Related Articles

2024 South American Championship overall
Paul Cayard and Pedro Trouche crowned champions Three days of excellent conditions and impeccable organization by Club Náutico Olivos made for an unforgettable championship in Buenos Aires. Posted on 23 Nov
2024 South American Championship Day 2
High winds and tight competition in Buenos Aires Paul Cayard (USA) and Pedro Trouche (BRA) battle head to head with Lucas and Leandro Altolaguirre (ARG). Posted on 23 Nov
2024 South American Championship Day 1
Strong winds, sunshine, and tight competition in Argentina Strong winds, sunshine, and tight competition define an exceptional opening day in Argentina. Posted on 21 Nov
Star South Americans set to begin in Argentina
31 teams ready to compete on the Rio de Plata The 2024 South American Championship is set to kick off in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from November 20 to 23, bringing together 31 teams from around the world. Posted on 21 Nov
Star World Champions heading to Etchells Worlds
A range of international performers ahead heading for Royal Brighton Yacht Club in January The Etchells National and World Championships in January 2025 at the Royal Brighton Yacht Club, are attracting a range of international performers across classes including the most recent Star Class World Champions, John Kostecki and Austin Sperry. Posted on 28 Oct
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
Maritimo 2023 S600 FOOTERTrinidad and Tobago - Sail Service Stay