Buchan leads Star Western Hemispheres

San Diego, CA (May 24, 2019) – The wind gods finally delivered for the International Star Class 2019 Western Hemisphere Championship to provide for three races for the Silver Star title.

After one day of too much, one day of too little, conditions improved for day three of the regatta with classic local conditions of 6-10 knots from the west with clear, sunny skies.

But regardless of the conditions, Carl and his son Jamie Buchan have stayed the course, posting all top five scores to hold the lead by one point over Eric Doyle and Payson Infelise.

“A lot of good people had their ups and downs,” noted Carl Buchan. “Our goal is just to have more good races and see how things play out.”

Buchan, who won a Gold medal in the Flying Dutchman alongside his dad’s win in the Star at the 1984 Olympics, enjoys his family’s legacy in the class.

“I’m sailing with my son Jamie… sailing has been a family affair. My grandfather and father sailed Stars and now my son, wife, and daughter, we all sail. Four generations. It’s something we can really enjoy together.”

Doyle and Infelise, who started the regatta with a 15th, are clawing their way back into the hunt, posting all top three scores today. “I bought an older boat with a brand new mast and it has taken us a little while to figure things out,” admitted Doyle. “We got better as time went on, changed a few things and the breeze picked up.

“In the last race, we totally messed up the start. I hit the pin and was going backwards, so we were lucky to pull back into third place.

“A lot of people think that in San Diego you always go right, but it was left all day. Sometimes I didn’t even hit left hard enough. Upwind and downwind you had to stay in the pressure more offshore.

The race schedule is from May 22 to 25.

Event details – Results – Photos

Day Three Results (Top 10 of 26; 5 races, 1 discard)

Source: SDYC