FEATURED REGATTAS: June 7, 2008

 The Stars had a long day.  They arrived at J.K. Labud with the intention of being prepared to start the first race of the day by 10:00; however the wind didn’t fill from the south until later.  The first and only race of the day started a little after 13:00 under mostly cloudy skies with 6-8 knot winds.

A third of the way up the beat it was clear that Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson (GBR) had control middle left.  They were in great company with Freddy Loof and Anders Ekstrom (SWE) and Hamish Pepper and Carl Williams (NZL).  A fast moving low black cloud raced the fleet toward the weather mark.  Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada (BRA) went left in anticipation of a shift.  From the left, Percy/Simpson were first to the mark followed by Evind Melleby and Petter Morland Pedersen (NOR), Loof/Ekstrom and Flavio Marazzi and Enrico De Maria (SUI).  The first eleven boats to round the weather mark are on the way to the Olympics.  Mate Arapov and Uljevic Ognjen (CRO), new comers to Star sailing, were twelfth. 

Most of the boats bore away rather than gybed to compensate for the current and to try to milk whatever additional pressure would come their way from the cloud during the run.  At the bottom of the run, Percy/Simpson rounded the left gate and Marazzi/De Maria took the right gate.  Once they cleared the boats that were on the run, Percy/Simpson tacked onto starboard were the first to pounce on the big left shift.  They held their distance on Marazzi/DeMaria and Loof/Ekstrom rounded in third. 

Percy/Simpson crossed the finish line thirty seconds ahead of Marazzi/DeMaria.  Loof/Ekstrom crossed in third and Scheidt/Prada held off Diego Negri and Luigi Viale (ITA) with a well timed gybe at the end to finish fourth and fifth, respectively.

A second race was started but abandoned as the wind died.  As the fleet returned to shore, the northerly started to fill.  Racing will resume on Sunday.  The final race of the series must be started before 15:00.  Will Marin Lovrovic Jr. and Sinisa Mikulicic (CRO) be able to hold their own among the Star World Champions immediately ahead and behind them in the standings?

Everyone is relieved to be racing and is looking forward to sailing three races on Saturday to complete the championship series.  The 2008 Star Eastern European Championship is being hosted by J. K. Labud with support from Joker, a developer and operator of Croatian supermarkets, shopping malls and hotels and the City of Split.

Results following three races of the 2008 Star Eastern European Championship

1. Scheidt/Prada (BRA) – 2,4,4 - 10

2. Lovrovic/Mikulicic (CRO) – 1,7,6 – 14

3. Loof/Ekstrom (SWE) – 5,6,3 – 14

4. Percy/Simpson (GBR) – 12,3,1 - 16

5. Kusznierewicz/Zycki (POL) – 4,1,11 -20