Scheidt on top at Star Sailor League: no one beats him

For the first time ever in the sport of sailing, the first edition of the Star Sailor League ended with a grand finale: the winner of the third and final race of the day was also the overall winner of the entire regatta. And it could only be the pair formed by Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada, absolute rulers of the event. The day of the finals saw the top ten crews coming out of the previous days’ fleet races facing elimination rounds on the water. Three trials in which the last three to cross the finish line returned to land, quarterfinals in ten crews, semifinals in seven and finals in four. A formula that was able to deliver a suspense almost unknown in the racing world: whoever wins the last one wins it all. The rehearsals were short, direct, relentless, and extremely high tension-they ensured a rare spectacle broadcast live on YouTube with the aid of 3D Virtual Eye graphics.

THE FINAL: A FOUR-WAY CLASH
At the final confrontation, there were four crews left in the water: Brazilians Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada; Poles Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Dominik Zycki; Americans Mark Mendelblatt and Brian Fatih; and our tricolor crew consisting of Diego Negri and Sergio Lambertenghi. In order to make the race more equitable, the race committee chose Course 3, which featured 5 sides, instead of the 4 sides of Course 4, with an upwind finish. Scheidt had an excellent start at the buoy, and from there he continued on the left side, which immediately proved to be the favored one, coming around the first buoy into the wind by a slim margin over Kusznierewicz.

From there it was a close fight between him and the Polish helmsman throughout the stern side but Scheidt, completely uncatchable in the stern throughout the week, was able to maintain his lead. At the same time, Diego Negri and Mark Mendelblatt were competing for third place as in a match race. In the second half of the race, as soon as the wind strengthened, Scheidt found even more pressure on the left, extending his lead over Kusznierewicz and leading the race to the end. The last side was Diego Negri’s enemy: after also choosing a separation to the left of the race course, it was no longer possible for him to put his bow back in front of Mendelblatt. Scheidt thus secured the first edition of the Star Sailors League finals by 24 seconds ahead of Kusznierewicz. Mendelblatt then took the bronze medal ahead of Negri by a whisker.

STAR SAILOR LEAGUE: TOP 5
1. Robert Scheidt (BRA) / Bruno Prada (BRA) – 2,(4),1,3,1,2,2,1,1 – 13 / QF 4 / SF 1 / F
2. Mateusz Kusznierewicz (POL) / Dominik Zycki (POL) – 4,(14),4,6,12,11,3,8,9 -57 / QF 6 / SF 4 / F 2
3. Mark Mendelblatt (USA) / Brian Fatih (USA) – 6,2,3,5,3,7,(9),3,3 – 32 / QF 5 / SF 3 / F 3
4. Diego Negri (ITA) / Sergio Lambertenghi (ITA) – 1,1,6,9,2,13,6,(15),11 – 49 / QF 7 / SF 2 / F 4
5. Johannes Polgar (GER) / Markus Koy (GER) – 11,15,(17),15,5,5,1,11,4 – 67 / QF 2 / SF 5