The Star was designed in 1910 by Francis Sweisguth - draftsman for William Gardner's Naval Architect office - and the first 22 were built in Port Washington, New York by Ike Smith during the winter of 1910-11.

Since that time, over 8,400 boats have been built. The Star has been an Olympic class since 1932. Although far from a modern design, the class remains popular today, with about 2,000 boats in active racing fleets in North America and Europe.

As a result of the 2011 Mid-Year Meeting in St. Petersburg, keelboats were removed from Sailing at the 2016 Summer Olympics, and therefore the Star class will not be in competition in Rio de Janeiro. It 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.

The best UK Olympic result was Gold in 2008, China - Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson – who also won Silver in 2012 at Weymouth.

Photos: Class association.

Link: www.starclass.org