Stars leads Stars at Cascais Worlds

by Lynn Fitzpatrick on 4 Jul 2007 After the first day of racing at the 2007 Star World Championship in Cascais, Portugal, the 2005 and 2006 world champions are tied for the lead. Hamish Pepper and Carl Williams, the reigning world champions, and Xavier Rohart and Pascal Rambeau, the 2005 world championship team, each have 4 points following two races in a split fleet.

Working with a thirty boat fleet and a shorter course than is usually sailed, Pepper/Williams, Rohart/Rambeau, and Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson of Great Britain, were able to pull off impressive starts, round the first weather mark in first place and extend their leads so that they finished with a notable gap behind them.

In fact, Rohart/Rambeau won their race with more than a minute’s jump on second place finishers Italians Diego Negri and Gigi Vaile. Sailing consistently, each of today’s top ten teams have only single digit finishes.

Low clouds hung over the headlands and extended as far as the eye could see over the water. A small swell and 8-10 knots of breeze that picked up to the point that it whistled through the halyards of some of the spectator boats, prevailed throughout the day.

According to Alfonso Domingos, currently ranked eighth by ISAF in the Star and a Cascais native, 'the wind conditions that we saw today were normal given today’s cloud conditions.' Hamish Pepper and Ian Percy concurred that the conditions favored the right side of the course. All are a bit concerned about what are likely to be shifty conditions on the other courses that are tucked up closer to shore.

Six of today’s top finishing teams are among the top ten Star teams as ranked by ISAF. While many of the teams; such as Rohart/Rambeau, Negri/Viale, Scheidt/Prada, Kusznierewicz/Zycki and Pickel/Borkowski have been sailing as many ISAF ranking regattas as possible throughout the past year; others have put in a lot of time on the water, albeit not in a Star.

The Pepper/Williams, Percy/Simpson, Horton/Nichol, Grael/ Ferriera, Bruni/ Nobili, Szabo/Scott and Mendleblatt/Liljedahl teams have had limited training and racing together in a Star because one or the other or both have been involved in America’s Cup campaigns.

Always trying to perform their best among such talented competition, many skippers and crews dispensed with national alliances and practiced for the world championship with other Star skippers or crews who were waiting for their teammate's fate to be determined in Valencia.

Alinghi’s victory today has sealed the fate for the last of those registered for the Star World Championship. Mark Mendelblatt, whose Star is in the water waiting for him, may be able to race in Cascais.

The Stars will sail another four races before it is determined who will be in the gold fleet, sailing for the world championship and to be among the top competitors to qualify their country for next year's Olympics in Qingdao, China.

Star Results after Day One
                              
 
1   FRA 8107 ROHART, Xavier
PASCAL, Rambeau 3 1 - - - - - - - - - 4
 
1   NZL 8292 PEPPER, Hamish
CARL, Williams 3 1 - - - - - - - - - 4
 
3   ITA 8266 NEGRI, Diego
LUIGI, Viale 4 2 - - - - - - - - - 6
 
4   BRA 8127 SCHEIDT, Robert
BRUNO, Prada 2 4 - - - - - - - - - 6
 
5   GBR 8261 PERCY, Iain
ANDREW, Simpson 1 8 - - - - - - - - - 9
 
5   POL 8170 KUSZNIEREWICZ, Mateusz
DOMINIK, Zycki 1 8 - - - - - - - - - 9
 
7   GER 8213 PICKEL, Marc
INGO, Borkowski 2 7 - - - - - - - - - 9
 
8   USA 8156 HORTON, Andy
BRAD, Nichol 7 4 - - - - - - - - - 11
 
9   USA 8320 REYNOLDS, Mark
HAL, Haenel 5 6 - - - - - - - - - 11
 
10   SUI 8296 MARAZZI, Flavio
CHRISTOPH, Christen 6 7 - - - - - - - - - 13
 
11   POR 8309 DOMINGOS, Afonso
BERNARDO, Santos 12 3 - - - - - - - - - 15
 
12   GER 7971 STANJEK, Robert
MARKUS, Koy 4 11 - - - - - - - - - 15
 
13   ITA 8180 BRUNI, Francesco
GILBERTO, Nobili 11 5 - - - - - - - - - 16
 
14   GER 8149 HAGEN, Alexander
FRITHJOF, Kleen 10 6 - - - - - - - - - 16
 
15   ITA 8014 BAROVIER, Alberto
FERDINANDO, Colaninno 15 2 - - - - - - - - - 17
 
16   USA 8268 DANE, John
AUSTIN, Sperry 7 11 - - - - - - - - - 18
 
17   NOR 8234 MELLEBY, Eivind
PETTER, Morland 8 10 - - - - - - - - - 18
 
18   SWE 8256 LööF, Fredrik
ANDERS, Ekström 9 9 - - - - - - - - - 18
 
19   USA 8286 ANDERSON, Karl
EDWARD, Morey 17 3 - - - - - - - - - 20
 
20   IRL 8254 O CONNELL, Maurice
BEN, Cooke 11 10 - - - - - - - - - 21
 
21   AUS 7836 MURRAY, Iain
ANDREW, Palfrey 6 17 - - - - - - - - - 23
 
22   BRA 8210 GRAEL, Torben
MARCELO, Ferreira 14 9 - - - - - - - - - 23
 
23   GER 7991 MILLER, Matthias
MANUEL, Voigt 13 13 - - - - - - - - - 26
 
24   USA 8222 MERRIMAN, Rick
RICHARD, Peters 12 15 - - - - - - - - - 27
 
25   NZL 8061 LORD, Rohan
MILES, Addy 23 5 - - - - - - - - - 28
 
26   ITA 8281 MODENA, Luca
MICHELE, Marchesi 5 25 - - - - - - - - - 30
 
27   ITA 8290 SANTONI, Silvio
SERGIO, Lambertenghi 17 13 - - - - - - - - - 30
 
28   CRO 8280 LOVROVIC J., Marin
SINISA, Mikulicic 16 14 - - - - - - - - - 30
 
29   AUT 8226 SPITZAUER, Hans
HANS-CHRISTIAN, Nehammmer 18 14 - - - - - - - - - 32
 
30   ITA 8076 SIMEONE, Luca
VITTORIO, Landolfi 9 24 - - - - - - - - - 33
 
31   ARG 8212 KOUYOUMDJIAN, Juan
ALEJANDRO, Colla 21 12 - - - - - - - - - 33
 
32   SUI 8232 DANNESBOE, Henrik
MICHAEL, Mutti 8 27 - - - - - - - - - 35
 
33   FIN 8094 LINDBERG, Staffan
ERKKI, Heinonen 24 12 - - - - - - - - - 36
 
34   USA 8273 SZABO, George
ANDREW, Scott 20 16 - - - - - - - - - 36
 
35   BER 8272 BROMBY, Peter
BILL, McNiven 16 20 - - - - - - - - - 36
 
36   AUS 7860 LANDENBERGER, Andrew
SIMON, Reffold 22 15 - - - - - - - - - 37
 
37   POR 7760 ANJOS, Henrique
AFONSO, Marques 15 22 - - - - - - - - - 37
 
38   HUN 8166 TENKE, Tibor
JOZSEF, Bendicsek 18 19 - - - - - - - - - 37
 
39   ARG 7213 LABANDEIRA, Julio
ENRIQUE, Della 10 28 - - - - - - - - - 38
 
40   DEN 8147 ANDERSEN, Benny
MOGENS, Just 14 24 - - - - - - - - - 38
 
41   ESP 7581 BERMUDEZ DE CASTRO, Roberto
PABLO, Arrarte 19 21 - - - - - - - - - 40
 
42   SUI 7990 STEGMEIER, Daniel
BEAT, Stegmeier 25 16 - - - - - - - - - 41
 
43   RUS 7 SHEVTSOV, Sergey
ROMAN, Sadchikov 24 17 - - - - - - - - - 41
 
44   GRE 8192 PELEKANAKIS, Leonidas
GEORGIOS, Stylianos 13 29 - - - - - - - - - 42
 
45   IRL 8158 TREACY, Maxwell
ANTHONY, Shanks 19 23 - - - - - - - - - 42
 
46   NED 8188 JORISSEN, Sander
ERIK, Veldhuizen 22 20 - - - - - - - - - 42
 
47   ITA 8242 GATTI, Giullio
MANUELE, La 26 18 - - - - - - - - - 44
 
48   ARG 7907 MACGOWAN, Fabián
NICOLÁS, Rosas 21 23 - - - - - - - - - 44
 
49   NED 7753 BLEES, Marc
GERT, van 28 18 - - - - - - - - - 46
 
50   UKR 8205 DATSENKO, Kostiantyn
OLEKSANDR, Yevseyenko 20 26 - - - - - - - - - 46
 
51   CRO 7955 LOVROVIC, Dan
MARIN, Lovrovic 29 19 - - - - - - - - - 48
 
52   JPN 8144 SUZUKI, Kunio
DAICHI, Wada 28 21 - - - - - - - - - 49
 
53   SWE 8298 LöFSTEDT, Tom
MARTIN, Larsson 27 22 - - - - - - - - - 49
 
54   KOR 8098 JIN, Hongchul
SANGSUK, Kim 23 27 - - - - - - - - - 50
 
55   UKR 8247 HUREIV, Vasyl
VOLODYMYR, Korotkov
SVITLANA, MATEVUSHEVA 25 25 - - - - - - - - - 50
 
56   LAT 8135 CEPURNIEKS, Eizens
ALEXANDER, Muzicenko 27 28 - - - - - - - - - 55
 
57   CAN 8143 CRAMER, Brian
TYLER, Bjorn 30 26 - - - - - - - - - 56
 
58   HUN 7799 GEREBEN, Marton
PETER, Gereben 26 30 - - - - - - - - - 56
 
59   ESP 7420 GARCIA DE SOTO, Jose Francis
SANTIAGO, Cuervas-Mons DNF 29 - - - - - - - - - 62
 
60   CHI 8181 ZUAZOLA, Rodrigo
ROBERT, Riegel 29 DNF - - - - - - - - - 62
 
61   MON 8276 MARCO, Marchesi
BARRABINO, Eric 30 DNF - - - - - - - - - 63
 
62   SUI 8085 ZIMMERMANN, Lorenz
DANIEL, Christen DSQ 31 - - - - - - - - - 64
 
63   USA 8309 MENDELBLATT, Mark
MAGNUS, Liljedahl DNC DNF - - - - - - - - - 66