Olympians John Kostecki, a San Anselmo resident, and Austin Sperry put their skills to the test at Star Worlds 2024. (Photo by Matias Capizzano)

Danny Cayard, a former Marin Catholic, and Will Stout will place second at Star Worlds 2024. (Photo by Matias Capizzano)

A jubilant John Kostecki and Austin Sperry win the 2024 All-Star World Cup. (Photo by Matias Capizzano)

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Olympians John Kostecki, a San Anselmo resident, and Austin Sperry put their skills to the test at Star Worlds 2024. (Photo by Matias Capizzano)

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It’s been around twenty years since John Kostecki last set foot aboard a Star, a 23-foot one-design racing keelboat that was the Olympic class from 1932 to 2012. Nevertheless, he still has what It takes to bring the hardware home, recently winning at the 2024 World Stars by a single point with his crew Austin Sperry.

Danny Cayard, who sailed for Marin Catholic in high school, took second place with 19 points while his accomplished father, Paul, an Olympian with numerous sailing accolades to his credit, finished the regatta fourth with 25 points. The regatta took place outside the San Diego Yacht Club.

Heading into the final day of the Worlds, the hotly contested world-class fleet of sixty-four teams had six top boats, all within five points. It was a challenge, admitted Kostecki, a highly accomplished sailor and the only one to ever achieve the sailing grand slam by winning an Olympic medal (silver in Korea, 1988), the Volvo Ocean Race and the World Cup. ‘America.

Although he and Sperry never won a single race in six regattas (Danny Cayard won two races), four third-place finishes proved that consistency rewards sailors who race the Star.

“It was a really tough race and it seemed like a lot of other teams also had strengths and weaknesses like us,” noted Kostecki, a San Anselmo resident. “To win in Star, you have to be consistent at the top and not have a really bad race, something Austin and I relearned this summer during other regattas we organized in preparation for the Worlds. We were consistent, quite fast, we put everything together and peaked at the right time. We really focused on simplicity and didn’t take huge risks.

Looking back at the results of the Worlds, Danny Cayard feels the pain of having missed the first by a single point.

“The best sailors in the world race in the Star class and to be there for victory is something pretty special in itself,” commented Cayard. “We had a few mistakes throughout the regatta; There were times in the first and third race where we were on the podium for most of the race and then in the last race we just didn’t do the best fleet management and lost a few places. Before the last race we were tied with John and Austin; we felt the left was going to be strong, but it wasn’t as strong as we had hoped, so we managed to come back throughout that race. It just didn’t go our way that time.

Kostecki mainly sailed on the Star in the 1990s; he competed in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic trials finishing second in both, and he also competed in three world championships during this period. His last effort on the boat before this year’s Worlds came when he sailed with Sperry in 2003 to campaign with the Star for the 2004 Olympics. Kostecki ended up receiving a nice job offer for the America’s Cup and therefore left the Star campaign. Sperry, like Kostecki, grew up sailing in San Francisco Bay. Sperry later reunited with his stepfather John Dane and the pair competed in the All-Star at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Kostecki reconnected with Sperry earlier this year and the duo raced Sperry’s Etchells 22 in the Miami series last winter. At the same time, Sperry was sailing the Star and he needed a pilot whose weight was right for the boat. Sperry and Kostecki had sailed well together in the past, so it made sense to team up. Before the Worlds, they participated in four other regattas this summer, which served as valuable preparation for the big show.

“We had some good results this summer, but we didn’t manage to put everything together; Fortunately, at Worlds we were able to do it,” Kostecki said. “San Diego offered a variety of conditions which made things even better, the racing was great. It was great; I love sailing the Star boat, I hadn’t really ridden a circuit in a regatta since 2004, so it was a lot of fun to get back into it.

Next year’s Worlds will take place in Split, Croatia, and both men plan to defend their titles.

“It may be light out there, but the Star is a really powerful boat and it’s a pleasure to sail in the light air,” smiles Kostecki. “We’ve had a lot of them this year in Southern California, but it’s still fun in the Star regardless.”

The 2024 star world champions will be honored at a Celebration of Sailors event Wednesday evening at the St Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco, welcoming home Parisian sailing Olympians Markus Edegran, Hans Hencken and Daniela Moroz and applauding world champions Kostecki and Sperry.

Originally published: November 5, 2024 at 3:31 p.m. PST