The Star Sailors League makes a triumphant return to Nassau for a second outing with a huge showing of leading champions and even faster, sharper live

The Star Sailors League Finals returns to the Nassau Yacht Club between December 2nd and 7th for the second consecutive year, this time with a fleet of 20 boats.

This Bahaman event is about much more than just sailing, however: it promises a blistering week of high emotion, passion and dazzlingly action that will deliver a unique display of sporting prowess from a slew of champions. All in an easy-to-grasp and see format that even non-sailing folk will understand perfectly.

The now-famous international Bahaman outing will once again deliver an event that will go down in sailing history thanks to an incredible number of superstars on its entry list. Robert Scheidt (BRA), Torben Grael (BRA), Freddy Loof (SWE), Mateusz Kusznierewicz (POL) and Xavier Rohart (FRA) are probably the most famous names because of their Olympic medals, but the fleet also numbers many other equally competitive entrants.

The top three names on the Star Sailors League ranking list are, in fact, Diego Negri (ITA), who has held a solid lead since summer having missed out on the world title by a whisker last year, Augie Diaz (USA), the Miami living legend in not one but several classes, and 2014 Star World Champion and all-round sailing wunderkind Robert Stanjek (GER). The list of skippers that qualified automatically for the Final because of their position on the ranking list also includes skipper: Johannes Polgar (GER), European Champion 2010, George Szabo (USA), 1 Gold and 2 Silver Stars, Mark Mendelblatt (USA), 1 Silver Star and third in the SSL Finals 2013, Eivind Melleby (NOR), third in the Worlds 2014, Emilios Papathanasiou (GRE), and Marcelo Fuchs (BRA). But that's not the end of the sailing superstars by any means: Luke Lawrence (GBR), silver medallist in the 470 at London 2012, is also coming to Nassau and some of the world's finest Finn sailors are also in the fleet too, not least Jorge Zarif (BRA) and Giles Scott (GBR), World Champions in 2013 and 2014 respectively. Other highly-ranked, up-and-coming stars include Ivan Kljaković Gašpić (CRO), Luke Lawrence (USA) and Josh Junior (NZL).

Statistics lovers will be delighted to know that the fleet competing in the Bahamas is probably the strongest ever seen in a single competition thanks to the incredible number of medals held by the sailors making it up. The bag of medals clocked up by skippers and crew in the Olympic classes alone is astonishing: 20 in Olympic Games (6 golds, 5 silvers and 9 bronzes) and a massive 73 in World Championships (33 golds, 24 silvers and 16 bronzes).

The Star Sailors League Finals 2014 regatta takes place over the four days between December 3rd and 6th (the 2nd is the opening day and the 7th is a reserve day).

This is the second such Star event and features a new race format for all 20 boats. The action kicks off with 3 days of regatta-style racing with no more than four races per day and a maximum of nine races in all. The big news in 2014 is that the winner of the qualifying races will go forward directly to the semi-final of 7 boats. Consequently, the crews that qualified in second to 11th positions will compete in the quarter-finals but only the best 6 will go forward to the semi. Then, only 4 will make it to the grand finale that will decide the overall winners.

Once again this year, $200,000 will be awarded in prize money, to be divided between the entire fleet. This is an important step towards achieving one of the SSL's primary objectives: to make it possible for sailors to make a decent living from the sport. As happened last year to Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada, the winning team will be awarded 4,000 SSL points, the highest allowed for under the Star Sailors League Ranking rules.

Spectators from all over the world can watch the live HD streaming of the racing from any mobile device. There will be two cameras on the water and back-up from 3D Virtual Eye, which is also used in the America's Cup and Volvo Ocean Race. This makes the races easy to see and understand for everyone. The cherry on the cake is that the technical commentary will include our patron, four-time America's Cup champion Dennis Conner, one of the world's leading sports celebrities.

About the Star Sailors League

BORN FROM SAILORS FOR SAILORS (SSL'motto)

The Star Sailors League is a new sports promotion company headquartered in Lausanne, the world capital of sport. In the space of a single year, the company has supported and organised events in Italy, Switzerland, the United States and the Bahamas.

Its ultimate goal is to be able to stage SSL races using a company-owned fleet of 30 Star boats within a few years. These will not only be sent around the world for SSL events, but will also be chartered by top athletes and rookies wishing to participate in other Star Class events. The SSL will organise training camps to help integrate rookies with the existing "Legends of Sailing". Top athletes will always be present during these camps.

Communication Manager
Alex D'Agosta
Ph: +41.789275045
Email: alex.dagosta@starsailors.com