Grael/Goncalves Win Star Westerns

Miami, FL (April 15, 2018) – What a finish for competitors racing in the 2018 International Star Class Western Hemisphere Championship. On this last day, everybody feared there may be no racing due to predicted weather conditions, but the thunderstorms arrived later in the evening and the morning was just perfect for racing, with winds from south – south east with great velocity.

Two races were sailed today, just like every other day of the week, but today the big battle was between Lars Grael /Samuel Goncalves (BRA) and Paul Cayard / Arthur ‘Tutu’ Lopes (USA/BRA): only five points separated the teams last night, both had a chance to win the championship.

They were fighting for positions on the racecourse and finished in second and third in the first race and in fifth and second in the second. Brazilian Finn sailor Jorge Zarif with Guilherme De Almeida were on fire today, winning both races.

Paul Cayard and Tutu Lopes were fast enough to cut the margin down to only three points, but could not match the consistency of Lars Grael and Samuel Goncalves in this regatta.

Third on the podium are Jorge Zarif and Guilherme De Almeida, making Cayard the only non-Brazilian among the top six sailors.

“It was a tough competition with Paul, and in strong winds”, declared an enthusiast Lars Grael after the price giving ceremony, “we are glad of the result. It’s the seventh Silver Star event win in my life, and the second Western Hemisphere, the first one was in 2014. Yesterday we changed the mast and chose one more suitable for strong winds and it proved a very good choice especially downwind.”

Lars Grael is also the winner in the Master category, followed by Paul Cayard in second and John MacCausland in third position.

Augie Diaz / Bruno Prada (USA/BRA), fourth overall, are the winners of the Grand Master, John Dane III / Tim Ray (USA) are second and Peter Vessella / Phil Trinter (USA) third.

In the Exalted Grand Master, the winners are Larry Whipple / Antonio Tsoras (USA), with Ingvar Krook / Christoffer Lundgren (SWE) are second and Bob Teitge / Thad Brej (USA) third.

The next Silver Star event scheduled for 2018 is the Eastern Hemisphere Championship, in Trieste in two weeks’ time.

Results, Top 10, 8 Races, 1 throw-out
1. Renata, BRA8474, Lars Grael / Samuel Goncalves – 1 -2 -3 -1 -4 -[10] -2 -5 ; 18
2. USA 8466, USA8466, Paul Cayard / Arthur Lopes – 9 -3 -1 -2 -[12] -1 -3 -2 ; 21
3. Tati Quebra Barraco, BRA8210, Jorge Zarif / Guilherme De almeida – 3 -1 -5 -10 -[17] -8 -1 -1 ; 29
4. Danilu, USA8509, Augie Diaz / Bruno Prada – 5 -[13] -10 -4 -2 -5 -8 -3 ; 37
5. USA 8481, USA8481, Tomas Hornos / Phil Toth – 11 -7 -[21] -13 -1 -2 -10 -9.3 ; 53.3
6. Pied Piper / National Marine, USA8464, Jack Jennings / Frithjof Kleen – 2 -15 -13 -[27] -8 -3 -6 -8 ; 55
7. Back from the Dead, USA8230, John Dane III / Tim Ray – 12 -12 -11 -9 -7 -4 -5 -[38] ; 60
8. USA 8459, USA8522, Peter Vessella / Phil Trinter – 7 -4 -6 -6 -[19] -19 -7 -11 ; 60
9. Vida Bandida, BRA8510, Luca Modena / MARCELLO SANSONE – 4 -[38] -2 -23 -5 -14 -9 -7 ; 64
10. African Queen, DEN8532, Jørgen Schönherr / Jan Eli Gravad – 16 -[21] -12 -3 -3 -9 -11 -12 ; 66

Two races were scheduled for each day, April 12 – 15.

Event Website – Entry List – Facebook – Results

Source: ISCYRA Communication