2022 Star North American Championship

Jack Jennings and Pedro Trouche captured the 2022 Star North American Championship, held June 15-18 in Annapolis, MD. Jennings and Touche got the gun in Race 2 and also counted a second place and two thirds in posting a low score of nine points – seven better than the runner-up team of Augie Diaz and Bruno Prada.

It was the first North American crown for Jennings, a 42-year-old Chicago native who has been competing in the Star class since 2008. His previous best finish at North Americans was a sixth off Marblehead, Massachusetts in 2017.

Hosted by Annapolis Yacht Club and contested on the Chesapeake Bay, Principal race officer Kevin Reeds did not send the fleet out on the first day due to lack of wind but was able to complete three races in 15-20 knot southerly winds the following day. Jennings and Trouche posted a 2-1-3 score line to take the early lead.

Day three brought 10-12 knot winds from the south and Reeds completed two more races. Jennings and Trouche placed 10th in Race 4 and that wound up being their throwout. They rebounded to take third in what proved to be the final race of the regatta.

On June 18, the Chesapeake Bay offered steady winds of 20-25 knots with gusts up to 30. After meeting with class representatives and the organizing authority, the race committee decided to cancel racing. Considering that six boats had previously sustained rig damage, that announcement was well received by most of the fleet.

Diaz, a Miami native who is 68 years old, won the third race of the series and also counted results of fourth, fifth and sixth. He was the top finisher in the Grandmasters category (60 to 70 years old).

Skipper George Szabo and crew Guy Avellon placed third overall with 17 points and were the top Masters (age 50 to 60) entry. John Dane III, sailing with Tim Ray as crew, finished sixth and took home the trophy as top Exalted Grandmasters (70 to 80) skipper.

Final Results (Top 10 of 33; 5 races, 1 discard)
1. Jack Jennings / Pedro Trouche, 2 -1 -3 -[10] -3 ; 9
2. Augie Diaz / Bruno Prada, 6 -[9] -1 -4 -5 ; 16
3. George Szabo / Guy Avellon, 1 -6 -5 -5 -[21] ; 17
4. John MacCausland / Dave Caesar, [9] -3/RDG -6/RDG -2 -7 ; 18
5. Chris Larson / Phil Trinter, 5 -4 -[34/DNF] -1 -11 ; 21
6. John Dane III / Tim Ray, 4 -[34/DNF] -8 -7 -2 ; 21
7. Jim Buckingham / Phil Toth, 3 -7 -2 -11 -[14] ; 23
8. Eric Doyle / Payson Infelise, [34/DNS] -2 -18 -3 -4 ; 27
9. Shane Zwingelberg / Samuel Goncalves, 7 -10 -4 -6 -[23] ; 27
10. Scott Barnard / Craig Moss, [16] -3 -7 -14 -6 ; 30

Event information – Race details – Results