Requiring the best technical and racing skills, and, in return, giving the most fun! That's how Star sailors describe their boat which has competed in Olympic sailing since 1932, with the exception of 1976.
Much of the secret to the Star's success is the philosophy of keeping young while growing old. This means the competitiveness of the existing boats is assured while innovation and progress are encouraged. Thus, the Star class has pioneered many refinements now used as standard equipment on all racing sailboats. Supported by a worldwide association, the Star as a class is well-organized, with approximately 7,500 boats built over its 80 year history. Today, over 2,000 Stars are raced actively.
The oldest one-design craft, the Star's 1910-design by American Francis Sweisguth responded to the need to create a bigger, more comfortable and drier "Bug," which was a 17-foot keelboat popular at the time. The first one-design class, the Star revolutionized construction and racing rules. Sweisguth's hull design was ingenius. It has withstood the test of time and the application of new technology to remain at the forefront of international competition. Star World champions acknowledge their win by permanently changing their red mainsail star to gold.
Raced worldwide in over 170 fleets, the Star is a two-handed keelboat, with a sleek fiberglass hull and aluminum spars. Often called "The Torture Rack" because of the enormous 285-square-foot sail area, long boom and narrow waterline, this is a challenging boat to sail in heavy seas. The skipper and crew must be big (average combined weight of 420 lbs.), very fit and strong.
Bahamian Durward Knowles, a Star gold-medalist and eight-time Olympian, was awarded the "Olympic Medal" in 1988, the most prestigious honor given by the International Olympic Committee. Other international Star greats include America's Cup skippers Dennis Conner, Rod Davis and Buddy Melges, Pelle Peterson, Bill Buchan, Tom Blackaller, and three-time Olympian Mark Reynolds
The International Star (or Starboat) is a 6.9 m (22.7 ft) one-design racing keelboat for two people.
Starboat regatta (2010)
The boat must weigh at least 671 kg (1479.3 lb) with a maximum total sail area of 26.5 m2(285 ft2). It is sloop-rigged, with a mainsaillarger in proportional size than any other boat of its length. Unlike most modern racing boats, it does not use aspinnakerwhen sailing downwind. Instead, when running downwind a whisker poleis used to hold the jibout to windward for correct wind flow. Early Stars were built from wood, but modern boats are generally made of fiberglass.
The Star class pioneered an unusual circular boom vangtrack, which allows the vang to effectively hold the boom down even when the boom is turned far outboard on a downwind run. Another notable aspect of Star sailing is the extreme hikingposition adopted by the crew and at times the helmsman, who normally use a harness to help hang low off the windward side of the boat with only their lower legs inside.
The Star was designed in 1910 by Francis Sweisguth—draftsman for William Gardner's Naval Architect office—and the first 22 were built in Port Washington, New York by Ike Smithduring the winter of 1910-11. Since that time, over 8,400 boats have been built. The Star has been an Olympic Gamesclass since 1932. Although far from a modern design, the class remains popular today, with about 2,000 boats in active racing fleets in North America and Europe.
PHIL SPAULDING and the flat Stars Bill Buchan notes that Skip Etchells was not the first person to whom Phil Spaulding gave the specifications for a flatter Star. As far as he knows the first Star to be built to these specifications was # 1552, the Nina, built in Tacoma by Allen Teitge, father of Robert Teitge now of the Detroit River fleet. Number 1552 was built in 1937, and Allen Teitge sailed her to a 6th District Blue Star in 1939. The boat was then sold in 1940 to Charles Ross, also of the Puget Sound fleet. Ross renamed the boat to Cene. He did well with this boat, placing 6th in both the 1940 and the 1947 World’s, 1st in the 1948 North American’s, and 1st in the 6th District Blue Star in 1942 and 1947. Number 1552 was last listed as belonging to Robert Metzger, also of Puget Sound.
Robert Teige is an on going great member of the Detroit River Star Fleet.
