Star Worlds - New Zealand takes the lead

2:54 AM Thu 6 Aug 2009 GMT

Hamish Pepper and Craig Monk have been teamed up since the Delta Lloyd Regatta earlier this spring and much of the time Pepper has been under the weather and Monk has been in wonderment about being back on the Olympic sailing circuit since competing in the Finn for New Zealand in the 1996 Olympics.

Yesterday's day off from sailing meant rest and relaxation and they resuscitated the Kiwi Magic of 2006 and 2007 when Pepper won the San Francisco Star World Championship and was in the hunt at every regatta.

Pepper and Monk not only won today's first race, they also came out of the day atop the leaderboard following the completion of four races. They popped off the boat end of the starting line and took the express lane up the right hand side of the course with the current propelling them forward in flat (and shallower) water. Others, in the middle of the course, struggled against the current in the light air. The Kiwis followed Mark Mendelblatt and Mark Strube (USA) around the weather mark and overcame the Americans' 40-second lead on the run after Mendelblatt and Strube gybed toward the inside for what looked like more pressure. It was just the break that the Kiwis needed to take the lead and stay in a controlling position for the remainder of the race.

Following the race, Pepper said, 'We sailed pretty conservatively today. It's easy to lose boats in this fleet and in these conditions.'

The American team was quite pleased with their performance during the first race. Mendelblatt/Strube took second. George Szabo and Rick Peters were third and Andrew Campbell and Magnus Liljedahl were fourth.

The Germans had their day in the sunshine too. During the second race of the day, Race 4 of the series, the Germans had four boats in the top ten. Johannes Polgar and Tim Kroeger were fourth, Alex Schlonski and Frihjof Kleen were fifth, Matthias Miller and Benedikt Wenk were seventh and Johannes Babandererde and Timo Jacobs pulled out a ninth place finish in a race in which the pressure was up and down and the current continued to be a factor, albeit the breeze had filled to 8-10 knots in the afternoon sun.

Polgar/Kroeger were low point for the day with a 7, 4. Said Polgar, 'We had a clear picture in our minds before we went out today. We also had two good starts.' Polgar, who spent years sailing Tornados at an Olympic level and transferred into the Star this spring, said, 'it is nice to finally be sailing with the leaders after being in another class for so long. I hope that Tim and I and the rest of the Germans can keep the good sailing alive through the remainder of the week.'

The lead in Race 4 was passed from Xavier Rohart and Pierre Alexis Ponsot (FRA) to Flavio Marazzi and Enrico De Maria (SUI) during the second beat, and Marazzi/De Maria held on for the bullet. Marazzi/De Maria are in fourth place overall after four races, but are likely to be sitting pretty when teams are able to discard their worst race following the completion of five races. The Swiss have three finishes in the top three and one deep score.

Despite ending the day on a low note, Mendelblatt/Strube are in second overall and Andrew Campbell and Magnus Liljedahl are in third. Campbell, a rookie in the Star Class, is sailing with Liljedahl, an Olympic Gold Medalist and Star World Champion. Said Liljedahl earlier in the week, 'I've sailed with fifteen Olympic medalists and I've already learned things from Andrew. He is incredibly calm and level-headed in a boat.' Campbell agreed saying, 'We're learning a lot from each other and every race is an improvement. It's a pleasure to sail with someone with so much experience and enthusiasm.'

Race 5 of the 2009 Star World Championship in Varberg, Sweden is scheduled for Thursday, August 6, 2009

Star Worlds - Fried Elliott

Place	Boat	Skipper	Crew	Sail #:	Fleet	1	2	3	4	Total
1	NZL 8187	Hamish Pepper	Craig Monk	8187	Isol	11.0	9.0	1.0	11.0	32
2	USA 8267	Mark Mendelblatt	Mark Strube	8267	TaB	8.0	4.0	2.0	26.0	40
3	USA 8241	Andrew Campbell	Magnus Liljedahl	8241	SDB	14.0	14.0	4.0	8.0	40.0001
4	SUI 8364	Flavio Marazzi	Enrico De Maria	8364	TB	3.0	3.0	35.0	1.0	42
5	GER 8140	Alexander Schlonski	Frithjof Kleen	8140	Lub	9.0	17.0	11.0	5.0	42.0001
6	SWE 8387	Fredrik Loof	Johan Tillander	8387	BK	2.0	5.0	15.0	23.0	45
7	ITA 8384	Nicola Celon	Edoardo Natucci	8384	SG	7.0	21.0	8.0	25.0	61
8	GER 8109	Johannes Polgar	Tim Kroeger	8109	Ess	31.0	22.0	7.0	4.0	64
9	BRA 8392	Lars Schmidt Grael	Ronald Seifert	8392	Par	30.0	6.0	14.0	14.0	64.0001
10	POR 8309	Afonso Domingos	Frederico Melo	8309	CP	38.0	7.0	10.0	10.0	65
11	GER 8299	Matthias Miller	Benedikt Wenk	8299	UB	5.0	24.0	31.0	7.0	67
12	BRA 8255	Robert Scheidt	Bruno Prada	8255	Gua	26.0	2.0	33.0	13.0	74
13	ITA 8266	Diego Negri	Valerio Chinca	8266	VE	22.0	11.0	19.0	22.0	74.0001
14	SWE 8338	Mats Johansson	Leif Moller	8338	Kat	10.0	20.0	44.0	2.0	76
15	CRO 8339	Marin Lovrovic Jr	Sinisa Mikulicic	8339	KV	18.0	26.0	27.0	6.0	77
16	USA 8273	George Szabo	Rick Peters	8273	SDB	54.0	1.0	3.0	20.0	78
17	GBR 8025	John Gimson	Ed Greig	8025	SOL	19.0	27.0	12.0	21.0	79
18	IRL 8385	Max Treacy	Anthony Shanks	8385	Isol	12.0	32.0	24.0	12.0	80
19	POL 8209	Mateusz Kusznierewicz	Dominik Zycki	8209	Isol	1.0	12.0	50.0	18.0	81
20	GER 8378	Johannes Babandererde	Timo Jacobs	8378	Moh	4.0	34.0	34.0	9.0	81.0001
21	ARG 8211	Alejo Rigoni	Juan Pablo Percossi	8211	BA	16.0	16.0	38.0	15.0	85
22	DEN 8380	Benny Andersen	Mogens Just	8380	DF	32.0	25.0	6.0	28.0	91
23	BRA 8393	Horacio Carabelli	Ubiratan Matos	8393	RdJ	20.0	30.0	9.0	37.0	96
24	IRL 8261	Peter O Leary	Tim Goodbody	8261	Isol	15.0	10.0	22.0	54.0	101
25	GER 8340	Robert Stanjek	Markus Koy	8340	BF	35.0	19.0	13.0	39.0	106
26	FRA 8237	Xavier Rohart	Pierre Alexis Ponsot	8237	NI	43.0	15.0	46.0	3.0	107
27	USA 8250	Andrew Macdonald	Brian Fatih	8250	NH	17.0	13.0	64.0	17.0	111
28	ITA 8290	Silvio Santoni	Fabio Toccoli	8290	NG	6.0	54.0	26.0	27.0	113
29	SWE 8108	Erik Dahlen	Krister Carlsson	8108	Bk	13.0	46.0	25.0	33.0	117
30	ITA 8390	ALBERTO BAROVIER	Nando Colaninno	8390	SG	21.0	42.0	20.0	40.0	123
31	GER 7991	Manuel Voigt	Paul Sradnick	7991	BF	24.0	39.0	16.0	46.0	125
32	GBR 8316	Ante Razmilovic	Brian Hammersley	8316	NFB	28.0	38.0	23.0	41.0	130
33	ARG 8381	Juan Kouyoumdjian	Steven Erickson	8381	LAR	29.0	43.0	29.0	29.0	130
34	HUN 8386	Tibor Tenke	Miklos Berezeti	8386	Ore	25.0	37.0	18.0	53.0	133
35	CRO 8280	Dan Lovrovic	Antonio Arapovic	8280	KV	59.0	8.0	45.0	30.0	142
36	JPN 8144	Kunio Suzuki	Daichi Wada	8144	Isol	41.0	59.0	21.0	24.0	145
37	AUS 8107	Paul McKenzie	Philip Toth	8107	Isol	45.0	18.0	32.0	61.0	156
38	GER 8149	Alexander Hagen	Kai Falkentahl	8149	KF	47.0	31.0	40.0	44.0	162
39	DEN 7575	Herluf Joergensen	Lars Wegener	7575	DF	39.0	49.0	30.0	51.0	169
40	AUS 8121	Andrew Landenberger	Beat Stegmeier	8121	Isol	33.0	87.0 [DSQ]	5.0	47.0	172
41	SWE 8352	Lars Edwall	Henrik Ljungdahl	8352	Kat	48.0	52.0	36.0	36.0	172
42	SUI 8232	Henrik Dannesboe	Vincent Hagin	8232	H	34.0	65.0	43.0	38.0	180
43	DEN 8225	Flemming Sorensen	Niels Trysoe Hansen	8225	DF	23.0	82.0	58.0	19.0	182
44	NED 8263	Sander Jorissen	Erik Veldhuizen	8263	Med	56.0	36.0	82.0	16.0	190
45	SWE 7647	Henrik Jorhov	Karl Kristensen	7647	Kat	44.0	35.0	61.0	50.0	190
46	SWE 8207	Calle Schroder	Stefan Hemlin	8207	Kat	27.0	87.0 [DNF]	42.0	35.0	191
47	BRA 6475	Andre Mirsky	Marcelo Jordao	6475	RdJ	60.0	23.0	51.0	64.0	198
48	CRO 8360	Mate Arapov	Ivan Misura	8360	Dal	37.0	72.0	59.0	31.0	199
49	CAN 8143	Brian Cramer	Matt Johnston	8143	WLOC	51.0	28.0	63.0	63.0	205
50	SUI 7969	Kurt Scheidegger	Markus Scheidegger	7969	TB	46.0	66.0	54.0	45.0	211
51	SWE 7661	Fredrik Ljungkvist	Daniel Alm	7661	BK	40.0	79.0	37.0	59.0	215
52	UKR 8343	Konstantin Datsenko	Bazurin Ilya	8343	Ukr	36.0	57.0	80.0	43.0	216
53	SWE 7712	Philip Carlson	Benjamin Peterson	7712	Kat	70.0	63.0	17.0	71.0	221
54	SWE 8275	Sune Carlsson	Dan Anders Carlsson	8275	RS	74.0	44.0	28.0	77.0	223
55	SWE 7489	Hans Oskarsson	Hakn Lundgren	7489	PN	69.0	67.0	39.0	48.0	223
56	ITA 7556	Andrea Fornaro	Riccardo Capociuchi	7556	LdB	65.0	60.0	65.0	34.0	224
57	FIN 8004	Joni Leeve	Asko Salminen	8004	Fin	58.0	64.0	55.0	49.0	226
58	SWE 7917	Tomas Franzen	Pontus Gabel	7917	Kat	78.0	45.0	41.0	65.0	229
59	AUT 7846	GERHARD WEINREICH	Alexander Kagl	7846	H	82.0	40.0	53.0	57.0	232
60	SWE 5300	Pelle Petterson	Anders Ekstrom	5300	Kat	50.0	29.0	75.0	79.0	233
61	USA 8279	Claude Bonanni	Richard Burgess	8279	TaB	52.0	62.0	62.0	60.0	236
62	SWE 8126	Jan Stromeck	Stefan Jacobsson	8126	Kat	75.0	61.0	69.0	32.0	237
63	UKR 8247	Vasyl Gureyev	Volodymyr Korotkov	8247	Ukr	53.0	74.0	70.0	42.0	239
64	SWE 7978	Ingvar Krook	Henrik Hasselgren	7978	AR	62.0	47.0	72.0	58.0	239
65	DEN 8066	Johnny Jensen	Claus Lauritsen	8066	DF	55.0	55.0	78.0	56.0	244
66	SWE 7019	Olle Johansson	Dag Hansson	7019	Kat	73.0	33.0	71.0	68.0	245
67	SUI 7854	Roman Juchli	Philipp Juchli	7854	Bod	77.0	51.0	52.0	67.0	247
68	NED 7541	Peter Van Veen	Paul Goeist	7541	Hol	57.0	68.0	48.0	75.0	248
69	SUI 8329	Daniel Wyss	Urs Joss	8329	ZU	68.0	58.0	74.0	52.0	252
70	FRA 8075	Regis Berenguier	Laurent Bernaz	8075	FdeM	76.0	53.0	57.0	74.0	260
71	AUT 8368	Roberto Tomasini Grinover	Gunnar Bahr	8368	AU	71.0	69.0	67.0	55.0	262
72	GER 8016	Hubert Rauch	Chris Conrads	8016	And	49.0	87.0 [BFD]	49.0	78.0	263
73	SUI 8257	Juerg Wittich	Christian Trachsel	8257	Bod	72.0	50.0	68.0	73.0	263
74	GER 8355	Christian Paucksch	Christian Knoll	8355	Sta	63.0	73.0	60.0	69.0	265
75	GER 8160	Florian Von Linde	Tobias Steffens	8160	ZuW	42.0	76.0	76.0	80.0	274
76	SWE 8331	Anders Hoagland	Gunnar Faernert	8331	SwB	79.0	41.0	81.0	76.0	277
77	GER 8055	Jochen Diercks	Herbert Braasch	8055	Lub	64.0	81.0	66.0	66.0	277
78	GBR 8254	David Tabb	Tom Peyton	8254	Isol	66.0	70.0	73.0	70.0	279
79	SWE 7872	Fredrik Fransson	Tomas Akerman	7872	SwB	81.0	77.0	56.0	72.0	286
80	POL 7858	Arkadiusz Wierzbicki	Krzysztof Pawlowski	7858	Isol	61.0	80.0	84.0	62.0	287
81	SWE 7338	Benny Nilsson	Stefan Fagerlund Nilsson	7338	RS	83.0	78.0	47.0	81.0	289
82	SWE 8031	Boje Larsson	Carl Redrik Larsson	8031	RS	85.0	48.0	79.0	82.0	294
83	SWE 7513	Gota Eriksson	Bjon Beskow	7513	Kat	84.0	56.0	77.0	87.0 [DNF]	304
84	RUS 8359	Andrey Berezhnoy	Sergey Masalov	8359	Vol	67.0	71.0	85.0	83.0	306
85	GER 7866	Dierk Thomsen	Philip Behn	7866	KF	80.0	75.0	83.0	84.0	322
86	POL 8170	Mariusz Modrzynski	Sebastian Moras	8170	Isol	87.0 [DNF]	83.0	86.0	85.0	341