Local Lorain, Ohio racing was once again put on hold to allow for fleet members to attend the 2011 Michigan State Championships sailed out of Crescent Sail Yacht Club in Grosse Pointe.  Mike Phinney and Thad Brej both ventured north of the border (Ohio-Michigan border that is) to visit the Detroit River boys for two days of racing on Lake St. Clair.  The weather was absolutely perfect and a great time was had by all.  The Detroit River gang, with their distinguished leader Rollie, hosted a fantastic regatta.  Here is the link to the regatta report on the Star Class website:           2011 Michigan State Championships

After getting three boats out for four races last weekend, threatening weather and missing crew kept the fleet ashore today.  Dick, Lou, Ray and Jim worked on the fleet loaner boat to ready it for anyone interested in experiencing Star sailing first hand.  Racing next weekend is still up in the air due to the Michigan State Championships being held next weekend in Detroit.

On the Sailing Anarchy forums, I came across this article about rebedding deck hardware that is a great source of information for anyone who works on their own boat.  Check it out if you need to mount/re-mount hardware on your Star:

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/gear-maintenance/63554-bedding-deck-hardware-butyl-tape.html

The Championship of Michigan, as hosted by the Detroit River Fleet out of Crescent Sail & Yacht Club, will be held June 25th and 26th on Lake St Clair.  Original dates that were posted on this website have been corrected.

After a one week delay, the 2011 season kicked off this weekend with three Stars making it out to the racecourse in almost perfect Star weather.  The winds were 6 - 10 knots from the Northwest and the seas were relatively flat making for ideal sailing conditions.  The cobwebs were all blown out and all three boats enjoyed an uneventful first outing.  Due to boat renovations and registration issues, the fourth boat was not able to make it out to play with the others.  The race committee didn't miss a beat in getting off 4 races just to the west of the mouth of the Black River off the Lorain coastline.  If this weekend is any indication of the season to come, we are in for a great 2011.