The first Stars were built in 1911. In 1906, there appeared in Manhasset Bay and on
Long Island Sound a little keel one-design called the Bug.The Bug lines were drawn by
Curtis D. Mabry in William Gardner's office. Another young designer working there at the
time was Francis Sweisguth, who was later to draw the lines of the Star. Photo
courtesy Peter Bentley / PPL.
After five years of racing in the Bugs, George Corry and others came to the conclusion
that these boats were too small and uncomfortable to become popular as a serious long-term
proposition. He went back to his friend William Gardner and asked him to produce a design
for a boat of the same type but a little larger The new design was at first called the Big
Bug, or "the new Bug Class of 1911."
After George A. Corry, who is considered the founder of the Star Class, the most
significant member the Class has ever had is George W. Elder, who first appeared on the
scene in 1914 as an unknown young sailor out of New Haven, Connecticut.When George Elder
first sailed a Star in 1914 there were 49 Stars in existence, including the 11 in
Massachusetts that were still unknown to the New Yorkers.
At the end of 1925 the yacht list carried 329 boats registered in 30 fleets.
The Star's rig had now gone through two changes in ten years, the first to eliminate the
gaff in 1921, the second to adopt the tall mast and shorter boom in 1929. The Class
continued to expand. The total boat roster was increased by 137 boats built in 1930 and 87
in 1931, despite the worldwide Depression.
The Olympic races were sailed off Los Angeles early in August.. The decision to include
Stars was not announced until late in 1931, leaving little time to plan qualification
races.
In 1906, Walter von Hutschler was born in Brazil of German parents. He would become
the inventor of the "flexible rig" that was to revolutionize sail control not
only in Stars but throughout the sailing world.
The big revelation came at the 1937 World's Championship. Thirty-six of them came away
reeling under the impact of the exhibition put on by Walter von Hutschler and Joachim
Weise. Although they did not win the championship, they did win four straight races by
large margins in all kinds of weather. After that, "flexible rig" was the one
topic of Star conversation everywhere.
Length Overall -- 22'8"
" Length Waterline -- 15'6" -- 4.72 m
" Beam Maximum -- 5'6" -- 1.73 m
" Draft (approx) -- 3'4" -- 1.02 m
" Displacment -- 1,480 lbs -- 671.3 kg
Keel weight -- 900 lbs - 408.2 kg (min), 870 lbs. - 394.6 kg (max)
Ballast Ratio -- 59.7% (ave)
Mast-sheave to deck -- 31'9" - 9.45 m
" Mainsail area -- 221.7 ft. sq. - 20.6 m. sq.
Jib area -- 66.0 ft. sq. - 6.1 m. sq.
Total sail area -- 287.7 ft. sq. - 26.7 m. sq.
Designer -- William Gardner / Francis Sweisguth 1911
Excepts from "A History of The Star Class, The First Eighty Years" by
C. Stanley Ogilivy, published by the International Star Class Yacht Racing
Association.
With thanks to the US
Star Class Fleet Five webmaster.