The 51st Star South American Championship starts in Ilhabela, Brazil

12/11/2021

The 51st edition of the Star South American Championship brings together big names of the Brazilian sport, such as the greatest Olympic medalist Robert Scheidt

The first two races of the Star South American Championship will take place from November the 12th at the Yacht Club de Ilhabela (YCI), on the northern coast of São Paulo, Brazil. The competition counts on 32 athletes, 16 teams, and the races will be held until November the 15th, a national Brazilian holiday. The Continental event will have big names such as the greatest Olympic medalist Robert Scheidt, Star World Champion Jorge Zarif and other national legends of the sport.

The Star South American Championship has been held since 1952, and this is the 51st edition of the traditional competition. The last edition was held in 2019, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the title went to the duo Tomás Hornos (USA) and Pedro Trouche (BRA), here as crew for Marco Szili. Pedro also won the SSL Finals in 2018 with Olympic Finn sailor Jorge Zarif.

Robert Scheidt, who won the 2006 and 2018 editions of the South American will be joined for the first time by Ubiratan Matos. “We’ve never sailed together before but we had a few days before the event starts tomorrow to get used to each other, get the maneuvers right, and regulate the boat. I enter the competition without any great expectations and I hope to make the most of the competition,” said the Olympic medalist in Star in Beijing 2008 and London 2012.
Robert Scheidt, a Brazilian Olympic sports idol, will face high level opponents like Jorge Zarif, who, in this edition, will race alongside Arthur Lopes. The constellation of sailors will also have World Champion sailors such as Guilherme de Almeida and Samuel Gonçalves, who will race alongside Juninho de Jesus and Pedro Lodovici, respectively.

The sailors have been in Ilhabela since last week. The time here was useful to get the teams acquainted, since many of them are racing together for the first time. The Paulista Championship was held during the weekend at the BL3 headquarters, also on the island, Jorge Zarif and Arthur Lopes were the winners.

Today and tomorrow morning will be used for the final measurements and weighing of the sailors. The initial regatta is scheduled for 12 on Friday, and the forecast is for weak to medium winds with a high chance of rain.

The athletes are very motivated and excited for this traditional Star class competition. We have Olympic, Pan-American, South American, and world champions competing in Ilhabela, the sailing capital of the country. “Each year, more sailors seek to compete in the Star, a very high level category, with technical and tight races, very important for the growth of each sailor,” said Arthur Lopes, Star class director in the country – and crewing here for Jorge Zarif.

The Yacht Club de Ilhabela (YCI) hosted the event in 2014, in parallel with the Ilhabela Sailing Week, and the title went to the duo Lars Grael and Samuel Gonçalves. The club is not new to hosting major events like this, such as the yearly Ilhabela International Sailing Week and the Mitsubishi Cup.

Besides organizing these championships, the YCI has given support to Ilhabela’s sailing athletes by admitting as members sailors Mário Sergio Jesus Jr, Juninho, Alexandre Kuhl, Brazil’s first Optimist world champion, and Douglas Said, another promising national sailor.

Juninho de Jesus recently joined the Brazilian team composed by renowned Brazilian sailors such as Robert Scheidt (skipper) and the double Olympic champion Martina Grael and Kahena Kunze, recently conquering second place in the SSL Gold Cup test event in Switzerland. Other names who were at the regattas on Lake Neuchatel and have confirmed their presence at the South American championship are Henry Boening and Henrique Haddad.

“With this support, the YCI consolidates its importance for national sailing. And we are very proud of it. Hosting the South American Star Championship is one more step in the consolidation of the club’s leadership in sailing, a sport that has brought so much joy and medals to Brazil. May the Star Class have an excellent Championship”, said Mauro Dottori, Ilhabela Yacht Club’s sailing director.

Teams confirmed in Ilhabela (SP)

The 2021 Star Class South American Championship is organized by the Yacht Club de Ilhabela in partnership with the Ilhabela City Hall. The official sponsorship is by Mitsubishi and the support of Madalena Brewery and Regatta.