star class yacht

2024 Star World Championship September 4 - 13, 2024 San Diego, CA, USA

JOHN KOSTECKI AND AUSTIN SPERRY ARE THE 2024 STAR WORLD CHAMPIONS

A hard-fought battle on the water among the top six teams, the Americans finished third in the last race, overall one point ahead of Will Stout with Danny Cayard and Leandro and Lucas Altolaguirre

2024 STAR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, GAMES WIDE OPEN GOING INTO THE LAST DAY TOMORROW

Will Stout and Danny Cayard win Race Five, their second bullet in the series, and are the provisional overall leaders, tied on points with John Kosteki and Austin Sperry.

2024 STAR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL DAY IN SAN DIEGO

Paul Cayard and Frithjof Kleen win third race out of four and are the provisional leaders

2024 STAR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, A FAMILY AFFAIR

Paul Cayard and Frithjof Kleen win Race Three, their second bullet in the series

Page 1 of 22 pages   1   2   3   >    Last ›

Quick Links

Important dates.

Photo Credit: FRIED ELLIOTT / friedbits.com

• ISCYRA Rules Preamble

Rules of the ISCYRA (updated January 2020) Summary

The Star is a two person one-design sailboat and was designed by William Gardner/Francis Sweisguth in 1910/1911. 

In its old history the International Star Class Yacht Racing Association (ISCYRA), founded in 1922 by George A. Corry, has not only maintained the rules, but has constantly advanced the technical development of the boat and sailing in general. The Star founded the first Sailing World Championship ever in 1923. Since 1932 the Star has become the oldest Olympic class and is the king discipline of keelboat sailing. In the decades until now the Star has further developed to a high tech boat without losing any of its charm and elegance. 

CLASS RULES

• Index of Class Rules
• Rules of the ISCYRA Part 1
• Rules of the ISCYRA Part 2 Championship Rules
• Rules of the ISCYRA Complete
• 2018 Specifications
• Measuring the Star Class Boat
• Notice to Builders and Sailmakers
• Log into Membership Section
• About the Star
• Class Rules
• ISCYRA Minutes & Documents
• Fleet Tools
• International Star Class Legacy Foundation
• Life Members
• Technical News
• Weight Chart
• Member Privacy Policy
• E-Starlights

Browse by Category

• Coach of the Year
• High School Sailing Team of the Year
• Optimist Sailor of the Year
• Sailing Fitness
• Regatta News/Results
• Boat Speed/Tuning/Sailtrim Articles
• General Sailing News
• Coaches Locker Room
• From the Experts
• Profiles in Pro Sailing
• Featured Jobs
• Marketplace Ads
• Skip to primary navigation
• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar
• Skip to footer

Sail1Design

First Name*

Email Address*

One Design Profile: Star Class

April 27, 2013 by Sail1Design Editor Leave a Comment

“The class of champions”

In the past one hundred years, the Star has established itself at the forefront of the international sailing community. The first one-design class and core Olympic racing yacht since 1932, the Star attracts sailors of varying ages and skill levels from all over the world. With nearly 2,000 boats competing annually and over 170 active fleets world-wide, the development of the class is not likely to slow down in the foreseeable future.

Designed in 1911 by naval architect Francis Sweisguth, the Star was born to replace the 17-foot “Bug,” which was one of the most popular keelboats at the time. By May 1911, the first Star class regatta was held on Long Island Sound and featured five of Sweisguth’s new boats. By 1922, the Stars already numbered in the hundreds, thus leading to the foundation of the International Star Class Yacht Racing Association (ISCYRA).

Just under twenty-three feet in length, the hull is long and narrow and features an integrated bulb keel positioned just aft of the mast. In adherence to strict class rules, the Star weighs 1,479 pounds and is typically constructed of fiberglass. Older wooden hulls can still be found from time to time, but rarely in competition. The hull has gentle, sweeping chines leading toward the water line that not only provide a speed advantage, but attribute to the yacht’s aesthetically pleasing appearance.

During the yacht’s one hundred year history, new features have been incorporated into the design in an effort to maintain the class’ position as the pinnacle of the international racing community. The class association began asserting a control over new refinements, not to stifle progress, but to maintain a level of competition based more on the skill of the sailor than the technological advancements of the yacht. Some of the features include:

• Adjustable jib leads
• Crew hiking vest
• Suction bailers
• Unique, circular boom vang
• Whisker pole
• Strict class association sail measurements

One of the interesting features of the Star is the hiking vest. The vest is worn by the crew and allows him or her to adopt a unique hiking position by “drooping” their body over the side of the hull. In addition to the vest, the Star also features a circular vang system. Designed for the star, but eventually adopted other classes, the circular vang system provides a safe means to deal with the enormous loads of the yacht’s large sail plan.

Numerous champions of the sailing world spent time sailing the Star and hold prestigious international titles. A Star Class World Championship is often considered on the most coveting trophies in all of sailing. Despite the high level of competition at top tier events, the Star also offers opportunities to local and amateur sailors. The depth of skill level and opportunity is unrivaled by any other racing class. Sailors looking to compete at the local level can often gain experience with the boat and progress up through the levels of competition, not to mention enjoy the thrill of sailing such an incredible boat.

Get involved with the Star Class! If you want to begin racing there are plenty of Stars out there looking for a good home. Thanks to the regulation in design features, many older Stars perform just as well as their newer counterparts and run at affordable prices. If you are a former college sailor or young professional looking to stay active at the highest level of competition or looking for a fast boat to sail at the local level perhaps a Star should be your next boat…

Sadly, in 2011, it was decided that the keelboats would be removed as an Olympic class following the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Recently rumors began to circulate of comeback for the 2016 Games; however these were quashed almost immediately by the ISCYRA. Despite being struck from the Olympic books the Star class has showed no signs of losing momentum. Huge turnouts for Barcardi Race Week and the 2012 Star Winter Series appear to have breathed new life into the yacht. With hundreds of local regattas scheduled this year and dozens at the internationals and championship level, the Star class remains strong

Draft: 3.3’

Sail Area: 285 sq. ft.

# Boats Built: 8,400

Active Fleets: MD, FL, CA, NY, CT, MA, RI, VA

Website: http://www.starclass.org/index.shtml

Reader Interactions

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

By submitting this form, you accept the Mollom privacy policy .

One Design Classes

Browse the airwaves.

• Sailing News Articles
• High School & College News Articles
• One-Design Class Profiles
• Tactics & Strategy
• Sailing & Education
• ICSA Rankings
• Sailing/Yacht Club Profiles
• Youth Sailor of the Year
• Sail1Design Annual Awards

Helpful Links

• Join the S1D Team
• Accessibility Help
• Privacy Policy