Historic Star Class World Championship – Spring 1990
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The Great Lakes… 84% of the continent’s fresh water… a different story in every drop.
By Samuel A. Jaeger
Lake Erie will be the site of 1990 Star Class World Championship Stouffer Cup to be held September 19th-28th, 1990 in Cleveland. The event which is brought to us by Stouffer Hotels and Resorts and McDonald & Company, Securities, Inc., is expected to attract up to 100 world class entries from the United States, Canada, The Bahamas, Australia, South America and Europe. The Star Class World Championship is one of the world’s premier yachting events, comparable with Olympic Games and the America’s Cup.
Cleveland was unanimously selected as venue for the races after a two-year selection process marked by competition from San Francisco and Newport Harbor, California. Hosting the event will be the Central Lake Erie Star Fleet and the Cleveland Yachting Club.
Competition for the 1990 venue began in 1987 when Cleveland Yachting Club trustee George Benson, along with fellow member Stanley Stone, Jr., representing the City of Cleveland, first presented the area’s qualifications to the International Governing Committee (JGC) of the International Star Class Yacht Racing Association (JSYRA). At the 1988 JGC meeting in early November, 1988, a final vote was taken.
In announcing its decision, the JGC noted that Lake Erie offers outstanding conditions for a championship sailing event, particularly in the month of September. Favorable environmental factors include freshwater, steady winds, freedom from tidal affects, close proximity to the race course and distance from major shipping lanes.
Cleveland Yacht Club Clubhouse grand opening ceremony in Rocky River. Image provided by the Cleveland Yacht Club.
The Cleveland Yachting Club (CYC), based at the mouth of Rocky River, offers an ideal island location and the world class facilities, equipment and personnel necessary to support a world championship event. The club has the ability to accommodate the I00 boat competitive fleet and host the 400 plus skippers, crews, families, coaches and support personnel arriving for the event.
The International Star Class is the oldest and most competitive one-design racing class in sailing. Dennis Conner, America’s premier 12-meter skipper and himself a world championship Star Class sailor, says of the Star: “It’s the most competitive and most demanding class in sailing.” Olympic gold medalist Bill Buchan says, “Of all the racing I’ve done, it’s the best.” The Star, an Olympic Class, is a two person keelboat still within the parameters laid down by its designers in 1911: 22’8″ long 5’8″ beam, and equipped with a heavy keel hanging 3’11” below the surface. The boat has a minimum weight of 1480 pounds with a main and jib sail area of 318 square feet. lt moves very well in light airs and is an exhilarating challenge in heavy winds.
The Star is Launched – 1911
…Star Class was the first class organized “One Design” Class. Forerunners of The Star included J. Howard Perrin’s Sneakbox in 1900, featuring a slipper shaped hull. It was originally used as a gunning boat. With its foredeck covered with leafy branches it was able to “sneak up” on wild fowl. George (Pop) Cory fathered The Star class in 1911 with an adaptation of the Sneakbox hull concept.
The Star Class Association was fonned in 1915 with Cory as Commodore. His contention: “A good sailor need not be a rich man.” The rest is history – and we all benefit! George Cory not only fathered The Star fleet, he fathered the One Design concept which made possible the organization of one design fleets. People in more modest circumstances could now enjoy the pleasures of yachting through racing of smaller, less expensive boats. Examples include Lightnings, Thistles, Arcoms, (Ariels, Commanders), Norwegian Folkboats, Dragons, etc.
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