Wrong way at the boat ramp

Star North Americans - champions regatta

A Star at the 2011 Centennial Regatta, Larchmont, NY

No purist, I loved the outrageous speeds and athleticism of the Americas Cup catamarans - once they got the rigs under decent control.  But I strongly disapprove of the Olympic Committee's rejection of the Star Class after a hundred years.  As Paul Cayard explains, check out the lineup for this weekend's North Americans in Oxford, Maryland.  The world's best sailors races Stars. Shouldn't they be in the Olympics?

As we have come to expect of International Star Class Championships, this event will be attended by a uniquely elite and diverse group of sailors with several of the top athletes not only in the Star Class, but in each of their respective regions and in the sport of Sailing in general. Among the competitors this week are 2 WINNING Volvo Ocean Race Skippers, 3 Former Americas Cup Participants, 7 Olympic Champions in the Star including 2 Olympic Medalists, 3 International Star Class World Champions, 10 International Star Class Silver Star Champions, as well as 15 International Star Class District Champions, just to name a few although this barely covers 1/4 of the Fleet's full list of cumulative achievements.