Twenty-seven teams have signed up for the International Star Class 2019 Western Hemisphere Championship to be held May 22 to 25 in San Diego, CA. A primarily west coast fleet will vie for this Silver Star honor that began in 1934 and was won in 2018 by Lars Grael and Samuel Goncalves (BRA) in Miami, FL.
Mark Reynolds, two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, comes out of semi-retirement to race in his local waters. “I’ve sailed in this regatta at least 25 times. I’m not sailing that much these days, but with the regatta at the San Diego Yacht Club, I figured it would be a good chance to get in the boat with Hal Haenel [Olympic crew] again.”
Although it may seem like there’s a bias, home-town advantage, the regatta isn’t always a SoCal shoe-in. “Even though the San Diego Star fleet can be argued to be the best in the world over the history of the class, I think it took almost 50 years for a local to win the Star Worlds when it was held here,” explained Reynolds.
Amazing Star sailors from all over the world are competing in the Star Western Hemisphere Championship. Among them:
- Mark Reynolds: Star World Champion (2x) & Olympian (4x)
- Brian Ledbetter: Olympian
- Paul Cayard: Star World Champion & Olympian
- Carl Buchan: Star World Champion & Olympian
- Eric Doyle: Star World Champion
SDYC Commodore Jerelyn Biehl comments, "With our deep history with the Star Class, SDYC is proud to host this silver Star event and continue our traditions. Many of our past and present Star sailors are attending and we expect a large spectator crowd to watch these iconic boats battle it out on the Pacific Ocean."
Two races are scheduled for each of the four days. Yesterday, May 22nd, on the first day, no racing could be done due to lack of wind.
SSL Press Officer since 2015
Focus on / Sailors / Regattas
