David Starck, sailing with his wife Jody, finished 4th in the U.S. Sailing C. of C. regatta in October 2022, held on Barnegat Bay. The event was held in MC Scows, a boat which they had never sailed before. Considering that they were in the mix with two top scow sailors, this is a remarkable achievement for them and also for the third-place boat skippered by Ched Proctor.
We thought it would be interesting to get insights from a non-scow sailor competing in MCs against other scow and non-scow sailors.
We summarized a few points in this post, but the video provides many more insights. To watch the video, click below.
About David Starck (and Jody) (00:00:12 in the video)
David and Jody have an incredible resume of victories in the Lightning class, sailing both separately and together, and almost always with family. Jody is a Rolex Yachtswoman of the year and Dave is a two-time finalist. See more about them in the related content links below.
Interview Topics and Brief Summary
Sailing with Family (00:02:19)
Dave and Jody have a strong commitment to sailing with their two children. Dave describes the benefits for the family, the development of their children’s skills, and how the children (now teenagers) have become assets as crew.
Learning to Sail the MC Scow (00:05:42)
Dave had minimal practice time to sail an MC before the event. He got lots of advice about angle of heel, not pinching, and control settings, which gradually came together as regatta went on.
Strategy (00:09:48)
The courses were short, and the racing was tight. This favors boat speed, but Dave talks about being sure to have wide lanes, and the pros and cons of sailing the edges of the course.
Crew Weight (00:18:57)
Teams were forced to declare single- or double-handed before the regatta began. Most teams, including Dave and Jody, chose double-handed. Dave talks about the velocity threshold for crew and his view of the pros and cons of sailing too heavy vs. too light.
SailZing.com thanks David Starck for his willingness to share insights!
Related Content
David Starck Archives (Sailing Scuttlebutt)
Family Sailing – the Starcks’ Commitment (U.S. Sailing)
Sail in Clear Air (SailZing)
Sailing with Crew in the MC Scow (Matt Fisher for SailZing)
Windward Mark Laylines – Get Them Right (Sailzing)
Understand Leeway to Improve Upwind Performance (SailZing)
