Posts Tagged ‘Star’
Harken: Interview with US Star Sailor Mark Mendelblatt
Mark Mendelblatt (Miami, Fla.) and Brian Fatih (Miami, Fla.) won a bronze medal in the Star Class at the 2011 Perth Worlds, earning them the USA berth at the 2012 Olympics in Weymouth. Read the interview after their selection to the Olympic Team:
Harken: Interview Mark Mendelblatt, Star
Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championship: USA’s Mendelblatt & Fatih Win Bronze
In an exciting finale to the Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championship, Mark Mendelblatt (Miami, Fla.) and Brian Fatih (Miami, Fla.) won a bronze medal in the Star Class. Mendelblatt and Fatih qualified for the country and earned them the USA berth at 2012 Olympics in Weymouth.
“We’ve been working hard and training hard, and it’s all coming together,” said Fatih soon after arriving back at the dock.
Dana Paxton explains: The Star duo started ahead of the German and Swedish teams, but at the gate, both teams passed the top Americans when Mendelblatt chose the wrong lane. The Swedish needed to put two boats between them, but Mendelblatt went on to explain that if he could hold them out they would medal. “Plan A was to get the silver and it was going well halfway down the run, but the mistake I made down at the bottom put us into plan b for the bronze,” said Mendelblatt. “Even though we finished last, we made sure they finished second to last.”
Listen to the full audio interview with Mendelblatt and Fatih:
Mark Mendelblatt and Brian Fatih Dec 17 after medal race ISAF Worlds by USSTAG
Utilizing innovative 3D modeling and rigorous testing, Doyle’s Technology Team continues to develop fast, winning Star sails. Designed and assembled in the USA, Doyle sails will proudly power Mark Mendelblatt and Brian Fatih in the 2012 Olympics.
For more information on Doyle Star sails, click here.
Hornos Wins 2011 Star District 12 New York State Championship
Congratulations to Tomas Hornos for winning the Star District 12 New York State Championship. The New York State Championship was held Saturday July 16 and Sunday July 17th on Seneca Lake with 23 boats from 4 districts competing. The tight competition included past Olympic silver and bronze medallist Hans Fogh from Canada, 6 time Silver Star winner John MacCausland from New Jersey, many time Canadian champion Brian Cramer and the current District 12 Champion Terry Line.
The conditions on both days were similar explains Tomas Hornos, "hot high pressures with about 10 knots in the morning, which was a residual cold mountain breeze that fills in at night and dies by mid-day, followed by really inconsistent fluky land thermals that made for lots of lead changes." The race committee got in 2 races on Saturday and 3 on Sunday.
According to Tomas, "The regatta came down to the last race with John MacCausland, Brian Cramer and myself all within a point of one another, so we match raced each other for the title. I ended up tied with Brian, because he beat me by one place at the finish and John was deeper." Tomas won the tie breaker to win the 2011 Star District 12 New York State Championship. "Five races, good friends, great food and a club that really enjoys hosting regattas, what a wonderful weekend."
For more information on Doyle Star sails, click here.
Vanderhoff Wins 77th Star Miller Series
Congratulations to John Vanderhoff and Adam Dolezal for winning the 77th Annual J. Rulon Star Miller Series hosted by the Chesapeake Bay Star Fleet and Gibson Island Yacht Squadron held July 9-10, 2011.
The 10 boat Star fleet had 3 races scored over the 2 days. Vanderhoff was tied with Tom Price, with Alex Schwab crewing, going into the 3rd and final race. Vanderhoff and Price each had a 1st and 2nd, with a 3 point lead over John MacCausland in 3rd. Vanderhoff and Price started next to one another and match raced on the first upwind of the course, frequently changing the advantage. But on the last beat, Vanderhoff got ahead of Price and was able to maintain the lead on the final run. Vanderhoff finished 2nd, 1 place behind MacCausland and 1 place ahead of Price. Vandergoff’s 2nd in the final race was enough to win the regatta.
Hornos Wins Star District 1 Championship
Tomas Hornos and Kip Gardner won the Star District 1 Championship hosted by the Mid-Connecticut Star Fleet in Milford, CT was held July 8-10, 2011.
The championship consisted of 5 races, 2 on Friday and Saturday and 1 on Sunday. Nice weather was had all weekend, with more wind on Saturday at 10-15 as a strong Northerly came in. Hornos won the first three races, but with a 5th place finish in the 4th race, the regatta came down to the final race. Hornos had 8 points going into the final race, while Will Swigart sailing with Mark Sokolich had 9 points. There were lots of position changes between Hornos and Swigart in the final race, but in the end Swigart came in 2nd and Hornos 4th. Factoring in the throw out race, Hornos’ finish was enough to win the regatta.
For more information on Doyle Star sails, click here.
Tom Londrigan Wins 2011 Star Western Hemisphere Championship
Congratulations to Tom Londrigan, Jr. and Steve Cutting for winning the the 2011 Star Class Western Hemisphere Championship held June 6-11, 2011 hosted by the Island Bay Yacht Club in Springfield, IL. There was strong competittion from the 33 boat fleet on Lake Springfield.
Tom Lodrigan, Jr. a Springfield native and
Steve Cutting discuss their success:
Steve: "We talk alot on the boat and have sailed together for a number of years, so we get what each other is doing."
Tom: "You can’t underestimate the value of number one having two guys that get along well on the boat and understand each other, but then also spend some time on the boat together as well."
Tom used a new Doyle M11 main and J8C jib. For more information on Doyle Star sails, click here.
Mendelblatt and Fatih Win Medal Race at 2011 Skandia Sail for Gold
Mark Mendelblatt and Brian Fatih won the Star class medal race at the 2011 Skandia Sail for Gold and came in 8th overall, the top American finish.
Skandia Sail for Gold is the first of two Selection Events for the U.S. Olympic Team as well as a qualifier for the Pre-Olympic Regatta. Skandia Sail for Gold took place June 6-11, 2011 across 10 Olympic and three Paralympic classes and hosted over 1,000 sailors from 62 countries at the venue to be used in the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The Olympic Regatta will be held July 27 – August 12, 2012, in the towns of Weymouth and Portland, which are located on the southern coast of England, approximately 120 miles southwest of London.
Mendelblatt and Fatih, both from Miami, FL, lead the fleet to the weather mark in the medal race were able to hold onto the lead.
Mark explains, "It actually was a pretty simple race for us thankfully. We started in the middle of line and was able to hold my lane. Our strategy was to play left hand side of course. We were able to do that from there, keep our nose out ahead. We rounded with a little bit of a lead and just kept it simple. We did a straight bear away set. A couple of guys right behind us gybed off and they took a loss doing that. So we had a little cushion after that and were able to hold onto it."
The medal race is markedly different than the other races in the regatta. Only the top 10 boats competed in the race. The medal race is a short race, approximately 20 minutes versus 1 hour to 1.25 hour. The medal race was also held inside, so there was less wind and waves. In addition, the medal race is an umpired race, so if you get a penalty you are pretty much out of the race.
Mark used a Doyle M12 main and J8 jib in the medal race and for most races. For more information on Doyle Star sails designed using CFD, click here.
Mendelblatt and Fatih will represent the USA at pre-Olympics in Weymouth in early August.
Listen to the full interview of Mark Mendelblatt:
