The Star is a one-design racing

keelboat A keelboat is a riverine cargo-capable working boat, or a small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yacht. The boats in the first category have shallow structural keels, and are nearly flat-bottomed and often used leeboards if forced in open w ...

for two people designed by Francis Sweisguth in 1910. The Star was an Olympic keelboat class from 1932 through to 2012, the last year keelboats appeared at the Summer Olympics. It is sloop-rigged, with a

mainsail A mainsail is a sail rigged on the main mast (sailing), mast of a sailing vessel. * On a square rigged vessel, it is the lowest and largest sail on the main mast. * On a fore-and-aft rigged vessel, it is the sail rigged aft of the main mast. T ...

larger in proportional size than any other boat of its length. Unlike most modern racing boats, it does not use a

spinnaker A spinnaker is a sail designed specifically for sailing off the wind on courses between a Point of sail#Reaching, reach (wind at 90° to the course) to Point of sail#Running downwind, downwind (course in the same direction as the wind). Spinna ...

when sailing downwind. Instead, when running downwind a

whisker pole A spinnaker pole is a spar used in sailboats (both dinghies and yachts) to help support and control a variety of headsails, particularly the spinnaker. It is also used with other sails, such as genoas and jibs, when sailing downwind with no spin ...

is used to hold the

jib A jib is a triangular sail that sets ahead of the foremast of a sailing vessel. Its forward corner (tack) is fixed to the bowsprit, to the bows, or to the deck between the bowsprit and the foremost mast. Jibs and spinnakers are the two main ty ...

out to windward for correct wind flow. Early Stars were built from wood, but modern boats are generally made of

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...

. The boat must weigh at least with a maximum total sail area of . The Star class pioneered an unusual circular

boom vang A boom vang (US) or kicking strap (UK) (often shortened to "vang" or "kicker") is a line or piston system on a sailboat used to exert downward force on the boom and thus control the shape of the sail. The Collins English Dictionary defines it a ...

track, which allows the vang to effectively hold the boom down even when the boom is turned far outboard on a downwind run. Another notable aspect of Star sailing is the extreme

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

position adopted by the crew and at times the helmsman, who normally use a harness to help hang low off the windward side of the boat with only their lower legs inside.

History

The Star was designed in 1910 by Francis Sweisguth, a draftsman at the William Gardner Marine Architect office. Over the course of his career Sweisguth designed a variety of yachts. A more traditional example of his work is Silent Maid, a Barnegat Bay B-class catboat designed shortly after the Star. The first 22 stars were built in

Port Washington, New York Port Washington is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) on the Cow Neck Peninsula in the North Hempstead, New York, Town of North Hempstead, in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on the North Shore (Long Island), No ...

by Ike Smith during the winter of 1910–11. Since that time, over 8,600 boats have been built, with more than 2,000 actively racing in 170 fleets. The hull is a hard

chine A chine () is a steep-sided coastal gorge where a river flows to the sea through, typically, soft eroding cliffs of sandstone or clays. The word is still in use in central Southern England—notably in East Devon, Dorset, Hampshire and the Is ...

design with a slight curve to the bottom section, and a

bulb keel 200px, Flat Keel bulb A bulb keel is a keel, usually made with a high aspect ratio foil, that contains a ballast-filled bulb at the bottom, usually teardrop shaped. The purpose of the bulb keel is to place the ballast as low as possible, therefor ...

. The Star was originally rigged with a large, low-aspect-ratio gunter mainsail and jib, which was replaced by a short

bermuda rig Bermuda rig, Bermudian rig, or Marconi rig is a type of sailing rig that uses a triangular sail set abaft (behind) the mast. It is the typical configuration for most modern sailboats. Whilst commonly seen in sloop-rigged vessels, Bermuda rig is ...

gradually during the early 1920s, before the current tall bermuda sail plan was adopted in 1930. In 1965,

replaced wood as the primary hull material. Other changes to the strict design rules for the Star class, include adding flexible

spars SPARS was the authorized nickname for the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Women's Reserve. The nickname was derived from the USCG's motto, "—"Always Ready" (''SPAR''). The Women's Reserve was established by law in November 1942 during Wor ...

, an innovative circular-track

, and self-bailers.

Events

Star Boats NHYC June 2013 photo D Ramey Logan

Star Boats 3 NHYC June 2013 photo D Ramey Logan

Olympics

The Star was added to the Olympic roster for the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, there were no Olympic games held in 1940 or 1944, and for

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

, the Star was replaced by the Tempest for keelboat competition. In 2011 keelboats were removed from

sailing at the 2016 Summer Olympics Sailing at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro was held from 8–18 August at Marina da Gloria in Guanabara Bay. The sailing classes had two changes from the 2012 Summer Olympics events. There were 10 events. Overview Equipment and ev ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. The last keelboat Olympics competition was at the 2012 London Summer Olympics.

World Championships

The

Star World Championships The Star World Championship are international sailing regattas in the Star class organized by the International Star Class Yacht Racing Association and sanctioned by World Sailing. American sailor Lowell North has won the most titles, with fi ...

has been held annually since 1923. Most titles has American sailor

Lowell North Lowell Orton North (December 2, 1929 – June 2, 2019) was an American competitive sailor and Olympic gold medalist. He competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, where he received a gold medal in the Star class with the boat ''Nort ...

won, with five titles between 1945 and 1973 and another seven podiums. The most crowned skipper-crew combination is Italian duo

Agostino Straulino Agostino Straulino (10 October 1914 – 14 December 2004) was an Italian sailor and sailboat racer, who won one Olympic gold medal and one silver medal in the Star class, and eight consecutive European championships and two world championships ...

and

Nicolò Rode Nicolò "Nico" Rode (1 January 1912 – 4 May 1998) was an Italian sailor. He competed at the 1948, 1952 and 1956 Olympics in the Star class with skipper Agostino Straulino on ''Merope''. They won a gold medal in 1952 and a silver in 1956 and fi ...

and Brazilian duo

Robert Scheidt Robert Scheidt (born 15 April 1973) is a Brazilian sailor who has won two gold medals, two silver medals and a bronze from five Olympic Games and a Star Sailors League Final. He is one of the most successful sailors at Olympic Games and one of t ...

and Bruno Prada with three titles each. Also, American Mark Reynolds has three titles, but with different crew.

Star Sailors League

The Star Sailors League was created in 2013 by athletes to establish a sustainable sailing circuit.

Famous Star sailors

Ralph Craig Ralph Cook Craig (June 21, 1889 – July 21, 1972) was an American track and field athlete. He was the winner of the sprint double at the 1912 Summer Olympics.(Olympic 100 and 200 meter Champion: 1912) * Duarte Bello (Championship competitor, 1947–1970s. Invented auto-bailers and circular boom-vang track) *

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

(Nantucket Sound Star Class Championship: 1936) *

(Olympic Champion: 1952; World Champion: 1952, 1953, 1956; Olympic Silver: 1956) *

Robert Halperin Robert Sherman "Bob" Halperin (January 26, 1908 – May 8, 1985), nicknamed "Buck", was an American business executive, decorated WWII naval officer and Star class yacht racer, who became an Olympic bronze medalist and Pan American Games gold me ...

(Olympic Bronze: 1960; Pan American Games Gold: 1963) *

Paul Elvstrøm Paul Bert Elvstrøm (25 February 1928 – 7 December 2016) was a Danish yachtsman and the founder of Elvstrøm Sails. He won four Olympic gold medals and thirteen world titles in a range of classes including Snipe, Soling, Star, Flying Du ...

(World Champion: 1966, 1967) *

Dennis Conner Dennis Walter Conner (born September 16, 1942) is an American yachtsman. He is noted for winning a bronze medal at the 1976 Olympics, two Star World Championships, and three wins in the America's Cup. Sailing career Conner was born September ...

(World Champion: 1971, 1977) *

Buddy Melges Harry C. "Buddy" Melges Jr. (January 26, 1930 – May 18, 2023) was an American competitive sailing (sport), sailor. He earned national and international championships in several classes in conventional sailing and ice-boating and is widely rega ...

(World Champion: 1978, 1979) *

Iain Percy Iain Bryden Percy (born 21 March 1976) is an English sailor and double Olympic champion for Great Britain. Olympics Percy competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where he won a gold medal in the Finn class.

(Olympic Champion: 2008; World Champion: 2010; Olympic Silver: 2012) *

(Olympic Silver: 2008; Olympic Bronze: 2012; World Champion: 2008, 2011, 2012; SSL Finals: 2013) *

Fredrik Lööf Max Emil Fredrik Lööf (born 13 December 1969 in Kristinehamn, Sweden) is a Swedish professional sailor who has participated in six Summer Olympics, winning one gold and two bronze medals. He won the gold medal in Star with Max Salminen at t ...

(World Champion: 2001, 2004; Olympic Champion: 2012)

References

External links

International Star Class Yacht Racing Association (ISCYRA)

International Star Class
at the ''International Sailing Federation'' (ISAF)
International Star Class
in "Classic Classes" at ''

Classic Boat ''Classic Boat'' is a British traditional boating magazine published by the Chelsea Magazine Company. It was first published in 1987 and defines classic boats as "boats which endure". It was the first magazine in the UK dedicated to traditional ...

'' magazine
THe Star 45 Class
at the ''American Model Yachting Association'' (AMYA) {{Authority control Keelboats Olympic sailing classes 1910s sailboat type designs Sailboat type designs by Francis Sweisguth Sailboat types built by Clark Boat Company One-design sailing classes