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Jan 6, 2009, 11:23 AM
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STAR CLASS ADOPTS NEW RESULUTIONS
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From Beat Stegmeier:
The annual Star Class membership votation on changes of the Star Class Rules brought two major improvements that will probably have an impact on other Olympic classes too.
While the sea state evocated by Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) waves became an usual part of the meteorological descriptions of racing conditions by athletes in all Olympic classes, and the organizers of major Grade1 events needed a special organization for coach boats (up to 350 RIB's at Kiel Week), a large majority of the Star Class voted to limit coaching for all future regattas by adopting the rule of the Farr 40 Class which prohibits all contacts between athletes and coaches after leaving the harbour till the end of the last day race of the day.
[Rule states: "For Gold and Silver events a yacht shall receive no outside assistance from support boats or otherwise once she has left the dock for the day until the finish of the last race of the day, except in the case of emergency and/or towing supplied by the organizer and available to all participants."]
This means that in the future there will be no need in having a coach to know currents and wind directions around the race course, no possibility to change sails during the day, and also that each team will have to carry their tools, spare equipment, clothing, and even food and drinks with them.
Coach boats still will be allowed to watch the race. It will be interesting to see how judges will handle the well known long-distance-communication of positioning the coach boat at the preferred end of the starting line or leeward gate, and the signals given by wearing certain colored hats while sitting or standing. Anyway the new rule will help to achieve more fairness and equality in Olympic sailing.
This new rule also helps limiting the costs of an Olympic campaign: transports of coach boats, salaries and living costs makes about one third of all the money athletes have to raise.
A second resolution accepted by the worldwide Star sailors is the elimination of Rule 42 on all reaching courses. The Stars are using the classic Olympic triangle race course only in more than 15 knots, and while keeping a Star permanently surfing on a reaching course is a lot of work for the team, to ban rule 42 will make Star sailing more athletic, faster and more spectacular.
Additional info: http://www.starclass.org/...sh/article_378.shtml
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