Star Europeans Draw World-Class Fleet But No Irish Boats

20th August 2026

Afloat.ie Team

Star European Championship – A 76-boat fleet from more than 20 nations will race at Medemblik from 24-29 August, but there are no Irish entries despite Ireland's Bacardi Cup presence in Miami in March Credit: 2026 ISCYRA

The 2026 Star European Championship will bring 76 teams from more than 20 nations to Medemblik, Netherlands, next week, but no Irish boats will be in the international fleet.

The absence comes despite a significant Irish presence in the Star class earlier this season, when three O’Leary family entries represented Ireland at March’s Bacardi Cup Invitational Regatta in Miami, as Afloat reported. Anthony O’Leary and his sons Peter and Robert were all entered for the Florida event, with Robert sailing Swifty with Baltimore’s Fionn Lyden, Anthony racing Antix with Steyn van Dryessel, and Peter sailing Dafne with Stephen Milne.

12 World Champions

The European Championship runs from Monday, 24 August to Saturday, 29 August and features 12 former Star World Champions, Olympic medallists and America’s Cup sailors.

Five-time Olympic medallist Robert Scheidt of Brazil heads a formidable entry at Regatta Centre Medemblik.

Former Star World Champions in the fleet include Italy’s Enrico Chieffi, Diego Negri and Sergio Lambertenghi, Germany’s Max Kohlhoff, Norway’s Eivind Melleby and American George Szabo. Also competing are Frithjof Kleen and Ole Burzinski of Germany, Austin Sperry of the USA, Pascal Rambeau of France and Brazil’s Samuel Gonçalves.

Star Returns to Medemblik

The championship returns to Medemblik 25 years after the Dutch venue staged the 2001 Star World Championship.

Star Class Holland and the International Star Class Association are hosting the event, with the Royal Netherlands Yacht Club Muiden managing the races. Six days of racing are scheduled on the IJsselmeer.

The championship is one of the final major European fixtures before the Star fleet moves towards the North American Championship in October and the World Championship in Miami in November.

Reigning World Champions Paul Cayard of the USA and Germany’s Frithjof Kleen are due to defend the Gold Star in Miami.

Ireland has a significant history in the former Olympic keelboat class. Peter O’Leary and David Burrows represented Ireland when the Star made its final Olympic appearance at London 2012, while Mark Mansfield and David O’Brien won bronze at the Star World Championship in 2000, then qualifying for the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

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The Star keelboat is a 6.9 metres (23 ft) one-design racing keelboat for two people designed by Francis Sweisguth in 1910.

The Star was an Olympic keelboat class from 1932 through to 2012, the last year keelboats appeared at the Summer Olympics at which Ireland's representatives were Peter O'Leary and David Burrows.

Ireland has performed well in the class internationally thanks to some Olympic campaigns including a bronze medal at the Star World Championships in 2000, won by Mark Mansfield and David O'Brien.

The boat is sloop-rigged, with a mainsail larger in proportional size than any other boat of its length. Unlike most modern racing boats, it does not use a spinnaker when sailing downwind. Instead, when running downwind a whisker pole is used to hold the jib out to windward for correct wind flow.

Early Stars were built from wood, but modern boats are of fibreglass and carbon construction.

The boat must weigh at least 671 kg (1,479 lb) with a maximum total sail area of 26.5 m2 (285 sq ft).

The Star class pioneered an unusual circular boom vang track, which allows the vang to effectively hold the boom down even when the boom is turned far outboard on a downwind run.

Another notable aspect of Star sailing is the extreme hiking position adopted by the crew and at times the helmsman, who normally use a harness to help hang low off the windward side of the boat with only their lower legs inside.