Star Western Hemisphere Championship in Miami starts today

The Star Western Hemisphere Championship has lifted the curtains on  April 22nd, in Miami, hosted by the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club and organized by Diaz Marine and the International Star Class. It is the first Championship of the year 2021 and the first one in North America since COVID-19 shuffled the regatta schedule worldwide. Much anticipation lies in the boat park these days in Miami, all of the 21 teams are eager to start racing today, some of them have attended the Bacardi Cup a month ago in these same waters, but others are just starved for true action on the water.
 
It will mostly be an all-American Star Western Hemisphere, given the global travel restrictions still in place, with the exception of the Danish/German duo Jørgen Shönherr and Markus Koy, who finished 7th overall at the Europeans on Lake Garda last October; as well as German, Brazilian and Argentinian teams.
 
Among the American fleet we are not short of Gold Stars. Augie Diaz is here with his five-time World Champion crew Bruno Prada (and double Olympic medalist) in the very same bay that saw them winning Augie’s Gold Star back in 2016; John McCausland, winner of the World title in 2013, and more recently fifth at the 2021 Bacardi Cup, sails this weekend with Guy Avellon. John’s World Champion crew Phil Trinter, is sailing here with Peter Vessella. The third Gold Star on the race course is Paul Cayard, with crew Luke Lawrence with whom he finished third at the Midwinter Series in Miami in February.
 
Racing will begin today, April 23rd, on Biscayne Bay, and will resume on Sunday the 25th. It is a shorter Star Western Hemisphere Championship this year, but with a skilled skipper Augie Diaz in charge of the event and Carl Schellbach as PRO, the level of competition will be surely high and the Championship a success.