Brits win Star Worlds Race Five

by Lynn Fitzpatrick www.WorldRegattas.com on 17 Apr 2008 Iain Percy and Andrew (Bart) Simpson (GBR) anticipated the changes in the wind direction better than anyone today, including the team that hoisted the Charlie flag at three of the marks. The Brits, who have been struggling with their speed all season, relied on a good start and being on top of some big shifts to take the lead at the first weather mark and hold on.

Diego Negri and Luigi Viale (ITA) almost leapt off the boat when they crossed the finish line in second place. Not only were they celebrating their finish and a nice lock on second place in the regatta, but it’s Diego Negri’s birthday. The leaderboard is like the UN with each of the eleven leading teams from a different nation and Mateusz Kusnierewicz and Dominik Zycki (POL) are at the top of the chart with 9 points following five races in the 104-boat fleet at the 2008 Star World Championships.

The boat yards and the dumpsters were piled high with shrapnel, bent whisker poles, torn sails, and punctured sections of transoms on Wednesday morning as a ridden hard and put away wet fleet left the docks for the fifth race of the 2008 Star World Championships. Everybody had at least on extra layer of gear on to stave off a recurrence of yesterday’s wet shivers. When the protests, requests for redress and withdrawals were resolved and factored into Race 4’s results some of the teams that have been making it to all of the regattas over the past year and a half moved up in the rankings and are sitting close together in the point standings. All of these teams have had the opportunity to practice reaching during windy days on Biscayne Bay this season and they have raced triangular and Olympic courses. Their efforts showed on Tuesday.

Wednesday’s forecast was for more of the same, but from the north. The helicopter flying overhead had ample opportunity to take photo shoots of starts, because the RC went into sequence five times while waiting for the light winds to settle in. It was only after the RC moved to the south and west toward the center of Biscayne Bay that the fleet got off to a start…under the black flag. Percy/Simpson started a little to the left of the middle of the line and favored the left up the beat. They were part of a small band of boats that found a big left shift with pressure at the top of the beat.

Alan Adler and Ronald Seifert (BRA) were the first to round the weather mark, but they were also the first to see the writing on the board telling them to go home. Percy/Simpson were in second with Prof O’Connell and Ben Cooke (IRL) following. The good news for Percy/Simpson was that not only was the boat ahead of them blackflagged but the one behind them was also blackflagged. From then on, it was clear sailing for Team Skandia GBR. Among those who were sent home who have chalked up two BDF’s in there scoreline – Eivind Melleby and Petter Morland Pedersen (NOR) and O’Connell/Cooke.

Percy/Simpson broke ahead by going low. No one gybed because they could see the pressure building from up high. By the time they reached the gate, a new breeze had filled from the left. The new course, indicated below this Charlie flag, indicated a course that put all but the leaders who rounded the left gate heading directly into the rest of the fleet that had approached the left gate from the left.

The fickle breeze that had hovered between 5 and 10 knots during the early afternoon and had bounced between 45 degrees and 355 degrees swooped in from NNE like an arctic blast. Once it arrived, everyone flopped on to starboard with their bows pointing toward the mainland. Percy/Simpson reached the shift ahead of the others and were able to maintain the lead. The news when they reached the top was that the course to the next gate was 215 degrees.

The changes in positions during the race were enormous. It was amazing to watch Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada (BRA), Hans Spitzauer and Christian Nehammer (AUT) and Peter O’Leary and Stephen Milne (IRL) pass scores of boats on the final run by sailing along the eastern edge of the fleet in the big breeze. By the time they reached the final leeward gate, there were white streaks of foam on the water.

Percy/Simpson rounded the bottom gate with a 30-second lead on Negri/Viale and John Dane and Austin Sperry (USA) had a solid clutch on third place. The leaders’ positions held but the rest of the deck of cards was reshuffled.

This fifth race of the 2008 Star World Championship hosted by Coral Reef Yacht Club enabled the fleet to drop their lowest score and with BFD’s, DNF’s, DNS’s, and DSQ’s in many score lines, overall positions changed.

Progressive Scores following the fifth race of the 2008 Star World Championships

1. Kusnierewicz/Zycki (POL) 1,1,(44),3,4,9
2. Negri/Viale (ITA) 3,3,(25),9,2,17
3. Scheidt/Prada (BRA) (37), 12,2,1,14,29
4. Pepper/Williams (NZL) 12, (BFD),3,2,15,32
5. Pickel/Borkowski (GER) 5,(BFD),6,18,5,34
6. Mendelblatt/Strube (USA) 2,6,(32)17,11,36
7. Marazzi/DeMaria (SUI) 6,14,(47)10,8,38
8. Rohart/Rambeau (FRA) (26),21,1,4,20,46
9. Loof/Ekstrom (SWE) 27,8,9,5,(49),49
10. Murray/Palfrey (AUS) 11,11,5,24,(31),51
11. Suzuki/Wada (IRL) 7,(BDF),17,15,26,65
18. Spitzauer/Nehammer (AUT) 14,18,(23), 19 AVG,21,72
20. Lovrovic Jr./Mikulicic (CRO) 29,2,(64),21,25,77

2008 Star Class World Championship
Race 5
Information is provisional and subject to modification
Regatta results saved: Wednesday, April 16, 2008 6:26:39 PM EDT
ROUNDINGS M1 = W1-1, M2 = L3S-1, M3 = L3P-1, M4 = W1-2, M5 = L3S-2, M6 = L3P-2
Pos	Skipper/Crew	Club	M1	M2	M3	M4	M5	M6	Finish	Penalty	Pts
									Order
1	Percy, Iain/Simpson, Andrew	GBR	3	1	--	1	--	1	1		1
2	Negri, Diego/Viale, Luigi	ITA	16	--	2	4	--	2	2		2
3	Dane, John/Sperry, Austin	USA	7	6	--	3	1	--	3		3
4	Kusznierewicz, Mateusz/Zycki, Dominik	POL	46	19	--	13	--	4	4		4
5	Pickel, Marc/Borkowski, Ingo	GER	51	--	5	8	2	--	5		5
6	Merriman, Rick/Sharp, Brian	USA	12	4	--	10	3	--	6		6
7	Jorissen, Sander/Veldhuizen, Erik	NED	2	2	--	5	4	--	7		7
8	Marazzi, Flavio/De Maria, Enrico	SUI	9	5	--	11	6	--	8		8
9	Arapov, Mate/Uljevic, Ognjen	CRO	18	--	1	2	--	3	9		9
10	Horton, Andy/Scott, Andrew	USA	11	7	--	6	7	--	10		10
11	Mendelblatt, Mark/Strube, Mark	USA	29	8	--	9	--	5	11		11
12	Szabo, George/Peters, Rick	USA	17	11	--	18	--	9	12		12
13	Lofstedt, Tom/Carlsson, Krister	SWE	8	3	--	7	5	--	13		13
14	Scheidt, Robert/Prada, Bruno	BRA	32	--	--	41	--	10	14		14
15	Pepper, Hamish/Williams, Carl	NZL	10	16	--	15	10	--	15		15
16	Pascolato, Alessandro/Booning, Henry Raul	BRA	43	--	4	19	--	7	16		16
17	Grael, Lars/Jordao, Marcelo	BRA	41	13	--	17	--	8	17		17
18	Stanjek, Robert/Koy, Markus	GER	13	--	10	20	12	--	18		18
19	Suzuki, Kunio/Wada,Daichi	JPN	22	9	--	14	9	--	20		19
20	Rohart, Xavier/Rambeau, Pascal	FRA	19	15	--	24	11	--	21		20
21	Spitzauer, Hans/Nehammer, Christian	AUT	23	33	--	30	--	15	22		21
22	Domingos, Afonso/Santos, Bernardo	POR	48	21	--	31	14	--	23		22
23	Filter, Henry/Wagner, Will	USA	59	--	7	22	--	12	24		23
24	Tarakanov, Vitaliy/Karelsky, Maxim	RUS	25	--	--	16	8	--	25		24
25	Lovrovic Jr., Marin/Mikulicic, Sinsa	CRO	31	--	13	21	--	11	26		25
26	Treacy, Max/Shanks, Anthony	IRL	54	35	--	36	15	--	27		26
27	Rigoni, Alejo/Gonzalez, Gustavo	ARG	35	20	--	29	13	--	28		27
28	Bromby, Peter/White, Lee	BER	5	23	--	42	--	19	29		28
29	Macdonald, Andy/Fatih, Brian	USA	47	17	--	35	17	--	30		29
30	Macdonald, Ross/Mitchell, Steve	CAN	67	--	14	23	--	13	31		30
31	Murray, Iain/Palfrey, Andrew	AUS	24	34	--	39	20	--	32		31
32	Diaz, Augie/Trinter, Phil	USA	6	30	--	43	21	--	33		32
33	Reynolds, Mark/Haenel, Hal	USA	28	37	--	27	16	--	34		33
34	Chieffi, Enrico/Colaninno, Nando	ITA	26	36	--	37	26	--	35		34
35	Svendsen, Joegen/Jurlander, Jens Christian	DEN	--	22	--	46	--	20	36		35
36	O'Leary, Peter/Milne, Stephen	IRL	38	--	12	47	--	14	37		36
37	Datsenko, Kostya/Yevseyenko, Olexandr	UKR	40	--	11	34	--	17	38		37
38	Smith, Jud/Yuill, Terry	USA	30	10	--	26	19	--	39		38
39	Buchan, Carl/Buchan, Jamie	USA	15	14	--	25	--	16	40		39
40	MacGowan, Fabian/Engelhard, Federico	ARG	86	--	16	44	25	--	41		40
41	Dannesboe, Henrik/Morey, Edward	SUI	87	--	20	61	27	--	42		41
42	Haakman, Sjaak/Zetzema, Weitze	NED	37	--	8	32	22	--	43		42
43	Zuazola, Rodrigo/Riegel, Robert	CHI	27	31	--	45	--	21	44		43
44	Merkelbach, Hubert/Bartel, Gerrit	GER	34	--	15	54	--	25	45		44
45	Lowden, Hunter/Wilson, Brett	CAN	21	--	--	28	23	--	46		45
46	Chinca, Valerio/Ciano, Massimo	ITA	45	--	--	40	24	--	47		46
47	Santoni, Silvio/Natucci, Dodo	ITA	92	54	--	69	32	--	48		47
48	Cramer, Brian/Bjorn, Tyler	CAN	84	--	17	50	--	22	49		48
49	Loof, Fredrik/Ekstrom, Anders	SWE	79	50	--	56	--	26	50		49
50	Lovrovic, Dan/Lovrovic Sr., Marin	CRO	72	32	--	58	29	--	51		50
51	Shevtsov, Sergey/Sadchikov, Roman	RUS	39	27	--	59	28	--	52		51
52	Proctor, Ched/Semler, Matt	USA	44	--	6	33	18	--	53		52
53	Modena, Luca/Lambertenghi, Sergio	ITA	53	56	--	72	--	32	54		53
54	Brun, Gastao/Kraiczyk, Fabio	BRA	74	--	22	49	--	24	55		54
55	Lehnert, Stefan/Menning, Peter	GER	36	24	--	38	--	18	56		55
56	MacCausland, John/Murphy, Kevin	USA	91	49	--	65	31	--	57		56
57	Allen, Bill/Lichter, Brad	USA	62	--	23	57	--	30	58		57
58	Watt, Dave/Martin, Dave	USA	71	28	--	60	--	--	59		58
59	Anderson, Benny/Just, Mogens	DEN	80	38	--	79	--	36	60		59
60	Labandeira, Julio/Della Torre, Enrique	ARG	68	--	24	63	--	31	61		60
61	Bermudez, Roberto/Ferreira, Marcelo	ESP	70	57	--	70	35	--	62		61
62	Sanchez, Francisco/Roca, Manuel	ESP	50	43	--	53	30	--	63		62
63	Vokhmintsev, Dmitry/Pinegin, Yury	RUS	78	47	--	55	--	29	64		63
64	Tamburini, Antonio/Ricci, Renzo	ITA	56	--	21	51	33	--	65		64
65	Avksentiev, Evgen/Kondratuyk, Kostyantin	UKR	73	40	--	68	--	34	66		65
66	Pelekanakis, L/Stylianos, George	GRE	42	18	--	52	--	23	67		66
67	Kohlhas, Jock/Scott, Larry	USA	55	42	--	62	--	27	68		67
68	Gureyev, Vasyl/Korotkov, Volodymyr	UKR	75	--	28	73	--	37	69		68
69	Gautschi, Christoph/Gouda, Alex	SUI	66	46	--	64	--	33	70		69
70	Wilhelm, Peer/Hollweg, Nils	GER	63	48	--	66	34	--	71		70
71	Stegmeier, Daniel/Stegmeier, Beat	SUI	85	44	--	75	--	35	72		71
72	Fransen, Ben/Coleman, Ian	USA	20	--	3	48	--	28	73		72
73	Gimeno, Vicente P/Hasbun, Ignacio	CHI	88	52	--	77	--	39	74		73
74	Chiarella, John/Carlson, Bob	USA	65	--	18	67	36	--	75		74
75	Ficker, Peter/Lopes, Arthur	BRA	60	26	--	74	--	40	76		75
76	Brethorst, Rick/Anderson, Scott	USA	95	59	--	85	37	--	77		76
77	Rauch, Hubert/Kling, Felix	GER	82	53	--	76	--	44	78		77
78	Vassilev, Nedko/Nikolov, Boycho	BUL	81	--	26	--	--	43	79		78
79	Burmester, Jens/Mehlen, Markus	GER	64	51	--	80	--	--	80		79
80	Babel, James/Hawk, Bill	USA	90	--	30	86	--	46	81		80
81	Bonanni, Claude/Burgess, Rick	USA	57	29	--	78	--	38	82		81
82	DeCouteau, Derek/Nederlof, Trevor	USA	94	--	27	84	--	48	83		82
83	Wyss, Daniel/Joss, Urs	SUI	58	--	19	71	--	41	84		83
84	Stazko, Ryan/Donahue, Jack	USA	33	45	--	81	--	45	85		84
85	Weiler, Hermann/Dietrich, Niklas	GER	83	58	--	87	38	--	86		85
86	Donald, Keith/Sean Bryson Quinn	USA	89	--	25	83	--	47	87		86
87	Burgess, Dennis/Clay, Gordon	CAN	93	55	--	89	39	--	88		87
88T	Fritz, Werner/Seeberger, Uli	GER	14	12	--	12	--	6	19	BFD	105.0T
88T	Krook, Ingvar/Hasselgren, Henrik	SWE	61	--	--	--	--	--	89	BFD	105.0T
88T	Melleby, Eivind/Pedersen, Petter	NOR	--	--	--	--	--	--	90	DSQ(1)	105.0T
88T	Tenke, Tibor/Bendicsek, Jozsef	HUN	49	--	--	--	--	--	91	BFD	105.0T
88T	O'Connell, Maurice/Cooke, Ben	IRL	4	--	9	--	--	--	92	BFD	105.0T
88T	Makila, Jali/Heinonen, Erkki	FIN	--	--	--	--	--	--	93	BFD	105.0T
88T	Adler, Alan/Seifert, Ronald	BRA	1	--	--	--	--	--	94	BFD	105.0T
88T	Tomasini-Grinover, Roberto/Bahr, Gunnar	AUT	--	--	--	--	--	--	95	DSQ(2)	105.0T
88T	Li, Hongquan/Wang, He	CHN	--	--	--	--	--	--	96	DSQ(3)	105.0T
88T	Thomsen, Dierk/Jensen, Darin	GER	76	39	--	--	--	--	97	DSQ(4)	105.0T
DNF	Bettarini, Stefano/Cristaldini, Corrado	ITA	69	--	29	88	--	--	DNF	DNF	105.0T
DNF	Hasche, Marko A/Behn, Philip G	GER	77	41	--	82	--	42	DNF	DNF	105.0T
DNF	Zimmerman, Lorenz/Mutti, Michael	SUI	52	25	--	--	--	--	DNF	DNF	105.0T
DNS	Babel, Bill/Davis, Trevor	USA	--	--	--	--	--	--	DNS	DNS	105.0T
DNS	Wirth, Harald/Pickering, Jim	AUT	--	--	--	--	--	--	DNS	DNS	105.0T
DNS	Manderson, John/Gotsulyak, Roman	USA	--	--	--	--	--	--	DNS	DNS	105.0T
DNS	Zambella, Joe/Peter Costa	USA	--	--	--	--	--	--	DNS	DNS	105.0T