Diaz/Baltins top Star Winter Series #3

Augie Diaz and Arni Baltins won the 2021 Levin Memorial, the third stage of the Star Winter Series on January 9-10 in Miami, FL.

An extreme range of conditions over the two-day regatta made consistency key to finishing on the podium. The mixed bag of conditions provided the opportunity for numerous teams to take the lead around the race course over the course of both days. Peter Vesella and Phil Trinter finished the weekend in second overall and John MacCausland and Guy Avellon in third.

For day one, competitors awoke to a very shifty and breezy north westerly wind ranging from twelve to eighteen knots. The Race Committee set shorter courses for the 16-boat fleet which allowed for tight racing. The fleet size also allowed the race committee to set the course not so far out in the bay, resulting in much flatter water and thereby more manageable puffs.

Winners of the three races on day one were Kevin McNeil/ Jake Doyle and Diaz/ Baltins.

The wind all but disappeared for day two. From the start, it looked as though the teams would never finish within the time limit. Larry Whipple and Brian Fatih lead most of the first lap, but opted to head to shore rather than slog-out the race to the finish. Teams changed positions several times and small pockets of wind arrived and died in different spots around the race course.

“Today’s race was a tricky because there was no wind,” Diaz said. “Jim Buckingham sailed very well and ended up winning the race, but there were two young guys that stood out, each of them leading for a large part of the race. Nick Pro and Bobby Lippincott had great races.”

Race information – Results – Star Winter Series

The Star Winter Series schedule is made up of four winter weekend regattas and a 4-day Midwinter Championship, all sailed in Miami, FL.

2020-21 Schedule
SWS Event 1 – Schoonmaker Cup – November 14-15, 2020
SWS Event 2 – Commodore’s Cup – December 5-6, 2020
SWS Event 3 – Levin Memorial Cup – January 9-10, 2021
SWS Event 4 – Walker Cup – February 18-19, 2021
SWS Event 5 – Star Midwinters – February 18-21, 2021

Scoring: Only the best three Winter Series weekend regattas will count toward the SWS Championship. The Star Winter Series Champion will be the skipper with the lowest total score to be calculated as follows: The sum of the overall place in the Star Midwinters multiplied by 2, plus the lowest three scores from the four SWS weekend regattas. Series Championship ties will be decided by the finish position in Midwinters.

Source: Kathleen Tocke