Commitment, Balance, and Growth 

I am writing to respectfully request that you consider me for President of ISCYRA.  Before you vote, let me introduce myself and share with you my perspectives on our beloved Class.

My father taught himself to sail on a Star in 1967, the year I was born. Our family has sailed Stars for 55 years.  We have all levels of racing in our family, from a World Champion to young club racers, men and women, boys and girls, skippers and crews (over 15 family members over the years).  We have had four Londrigan boats on the same World Championship starting line (1997 Marblehead) and we still race every week at our local club.

I have volunteered at all levels of Star Class governance, serving as Fleet Captain, District Secretary, Class VP, and Chair of the International Governing Committee.  I helped with the development of the Boat Loaner program and the creation of the Legacy Foundation.  Serving our Class has been a labor of love and it is why I became a life member when I was 30 years old.

Over the years, we have seen growth and contraction, the influence of the Olympics and the SSL, and the transition to the Class we are today.  All of these influences are important elements for our Class. We are partners and supporters of each other.  I believe we must continue to strive to be partners with our complementary supporters and industry while also safeguarding our independence.  As a Class we’ve remained independent from our manufacturers/industry and successfully avoided the pitfalls we all have seen in Classes that are created and controlled by the builders.   We need them and they need us; a true partnership.  I plan to promote innovative financing options for the purchase of new boats and or leasing of new boats.

I believe in order to preserve the Star Class the most important issue is growth of our membership. We need to encourage participation at all levels and include new members all around the world.  We must grow within all demographics: young and old; male and female; big and small; and, most importantly, feed all regions of our international footprint to keep the Class vibrant.

As Chair of the IGC, this principle has guided our decision to award World Championships to

Sardinia (2019), Kiel (2021), Marblehead (2022), Scarlino (2023), and, hopefully, San Diego (2024), and South America (2025).  In fact, I have traveled and raced in six World Championships in all parts of the world, including Argentina, Italy, and Germany as well as the United States.  Sailing at Kiel this year was truly a highlight.  I witnessed 85 boats show up to race during a pandemic.  The Kiel event clearly underscored the growth and passion for sailing on the Baltic.

My crew asked me, “what is your favorite part of the trip to Kiel?”

I said, “I am amazed to see the fjord and bay filled with thousands of sailboats… and zero power boats (opposite of home), and the surge of young sailors which was the direct result of our members stepping up and helping them put a program together.”

As Class President, I will focus on growth.  I believe that with cooperative effort we can put more than 100 boats on our starting line in both Marblehead and Scarlino.  I was part of the discussions creating the Legacy Foundation and they have done much to assist our young sailors. I want to expand the cooperation with our partners in the Legacy Foundation and encourage more communication and coordination with our fleets and districts.  Like the effort in Germany, I want to challenge all of our Districts and Fleets to send U-30 teams to these next World Championships.

We can modernize our dues payment structure to be automatic and also appeal to our sailors that may have missed their dues in the past.  I want to market our World Championships and Continental events as a package for multi-year sponsorship for our events.  The cost of sailing can be made more manageable and I am aware of efforts for more creative boat financing.  As President, I plan to publicize and encourage new sailors and current sailors to get into new Star boats to take advantage of these opportunities.

Growth must come from all regions of our international footprint, all ages and skills levels, and all shapes and sizes.  Positive movement on these fronts will create the momentum needed to propel our Class forward and keep it vibrant.

Finally, our Class needs to be more transparent and communicate more effectively directly to our members.  Leadership doesn’t always have the answers. Many times, solutions come from within the Class.  The more leadership communicates directly to the members, the more we will receive important feedback in return.  I promise to do my best and keep all informed and listen to the ideas and guidance from our membership.

In summary: I will work to grow our Class, strengthen our financial stability, lower cost barriers to international events, maintain our independence, provide transparency, communicate effectively and prioritize our worldwide footprint.

You will be receiving a ballot in a couple weeks.  The ballot is for you to personally vote on many issues which affect our Class and your membership.  One of those issues is who will be entrusted with the Presidency of our International Class.  I would be honored to have you vote for me.

Thank you for your careful consideration.  If you have any questions or comments, please contact me at the email address, tlondrigan@gmail.com

Tom Londrigan