Qualcomm Star World Championship

San Diego, CA (September 4, 2013) – With four of six races now completed in the Qualcomm Star World Championship, the lead four teams have managed a level of consistency that is now separating this group from the pack. A drop race kicks in after the fifth race. Racing concludes Friday.

Current Standings (Top 5 of 66)
1. John MacCausland/ Phil Trinter (USA), 2-11-2-2, 17 points
2. Brian Ledbetter/ Gregg Morton (USA), 9-1-3-6, 19
3. George Szabo/ Craig Moss (USA), 7-6-4-5, 22
4. Xavier Rohart/ Serge Pulfer (FRA), 6-16-1-1, 24
5. Andrew Campbell/ John von Schwarz (USA), 3-19-22-4, 48
6. Augie Diaz/ Arnis Baltins (USA), 13-3-33-8, 57
7. Carl Buchan/ Jamie Buchan (USA), 12-22-9-18, 61
8. Vincent Brun/ Brian Terhaar (USA), 4-5-41-12, 62
9. Hubert Merkelbach/ Gerrit Bartel (GER), 20-4-25-13, 62
10. Eric Doyle/ Payson Infelise (USA), 10-15-19-21, 65

Complete results

Full report…
Once again, the winner of the day is French skipper Xavier Rohart and crew Serge Pulfer. Race 4 was equally as challenging as the previous day’s race, but not because of the weather. Rohart and Pulfer fought inch by inch with John MacCausland and Phil Trinter from the moment the starting gun was fired until the last couple of seconds at the finish.

With each day the competition among the Star fleet at the Qualcomm 2013 Star World Championship grows more intense. The fleet began the day with a starting sequence on time at 1230 hrs, but three minutes into the sequence the Race Committee postponed the race to adjust the starting line to avoid another general recall. Shortly after, the Race Committee attempted another start, but was forced to order a general recall when the majority of the fleet was over the starting line before the gun.

Finally on the third attempt, the fleet was all clear at the start but two of the Stars in particular stood out instantly. Xavier Rohart with crew Serge Pulfer and John MacCausland and Phil Trinter were the first two boats off the starting line at the gun with the best boat speed and position on the course. At this moment Rohart and MacCausland began leading the fleet up the right side of the course and their duel to win the race.

Rohart immediately took the controlling position over MacCausland and the two boats started to put some distance between themselves and the fleet. At the first windward mark rounding, Rohart rounded in first with MacCausland following closely behind. On the downwind leg, MacCausland and Rohart engaged in a one-on-one battle for the best position to round the leeward mark and gain the advantage of being the first boat to the favored side of the course.

As both teams approached the mark, Rohart was able to barely squeeze by MacCausland and round the left leeward gate mark in first. During the second windward leg, Rohart’s main focus was to protect his position on the course between the MacCausland, the rest of the fleet, and the next mark. At this point in the race, there was very little distance between the two leading boats, and MacCausland was waiting for his chance to take first place.

MacCausland and Rohart continued their duel throughout the last downwind leg, onto the final upwind leg to the finish. Despite the constant fight between the two, Rohart maintained his lead for the entire race and beat MacCausland to the finish by a mere 00:21 seconds.

Although Xavier Rohart and Serge Pulfer won Race 4 of the Qualcomm 2013 Star World Championship Series, John MacCausland and Phil Trinter’s second place finish in today’s race earned them the overall leading position in the regatta.