Photo Credit: Ian Barker
Mark Mendelblatt (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and Mark Strube (West Palm Beach, Fla.) won a gold medal in the Star class at the 127th Kiel Week. The world’s largest sailing event, Kiel Week boasts 3 million visitors, 10,000 masts, 4,500 sailors, 2,000 boats, 360 starts, 50 nations, 40 sailing disciplines, 11 racing areas and 9 days of racing.
Rain and light winds kept the Star class ashore on Sunday and Monday. “The wind did not increase in the way we hoped it would this morning, but we look forward to a better weather forecast Tuesday. It is very sad, especially for the Star and the Finn, which have only sailed one race so far”, said Jobst Richter, Chairman of the Kiel Week Race Committee.
The Star fleet got back to racing on Tuesday. The first race got underway in 10 knots of breeze at 11.15 with a black flag start but all the fleet got away cleanly. Two more races followed to give the Stars enough races to sail a Medal Race but without a discard. After four races Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson (GBR) led the leaderboard. A consistent day at the front of the fleet from the 2008 Olympic gold medallists, posting two seconds finishing the day with a bullet places them two points ahead of Mark Mendelblatt and Mark Strube.
In second place going into the Medal Race, the main rival for Mark Mendelblatt and Mark Strube (USA) was British gold medal winning team of Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson who lead by just two points. Mendleblatt and Strube finished second behind Hamish Pepper and Craig Monk (NZL) but this was enough to give them the gold medal. The American team picked up 20 points to leap four six places up the World Cup Standings to fourth overall. Percy and Simpson finished eighth in the Medal Race with equal points to Pepper and Monk but the Kiwis race win gives them the silver medal and the Brits the bronze.
This was the second time Mendelblatt and Strube have competed at Kiel Week together as a team – and the second time they have won the event. “We won two Kiels. It’s pretty nice to win gold every time we come over,” said Strube, who added that they focused on doing well and tried to stay positive. “Our downwind techniques are getting better, and we are trying to improve our upwind and tacks.”
“We consider ourselves one of the top [Star] teams,” said Strube. “A few teams have an edge on us, and we’re trying to surpass them over the next couple of years before the Olympic Games.”
More information on Doyle Star Sails
Team USA Grabs Two Gold Medals, One Bronze at Kiel Week in Germany
Tags: Star
