At Quantum Sails, we believe that accessible expertise and ongoing support is just as important to the overall result as the designs and materials that make up a sail. Whether you need to dial in tuning, tackle tricky conditions, test new sails or compare race strategy, we are here to help every customer feel confident when they hit the water. A great example of this recipe for success is the journey to the top of the podium for the 2024 Star Worlds Champions, John Kostecki and Austin Sperry. Here's how Quantum Sails' San Diego-based expert George Szabo delivered on our promise and helped the pair cinch the win.
Kostecki and Sperry entered the 2024 Star Worlds with four standard Quantum Sails, a standard Folli boat, a competent partnership, and the expertise of their team, including Szabo, behind them. These ingredients came together and resulted in a World Championship win.
Let's take a closer look at the winning team's full Quantum Inventory for this race:
Star Mainsail 46
The 46 is our straight down the middle, all-purpose mainsail. It gives crews an outstanding level of control, balance, and power in every condition. Constructed of premium Dimension Polyant cloth, this design is durable, providing power and shape retention across the conditions of the day.
Star Jib P-16
This is our fullest jib, and is also our all-around go-to jib for every condition. All of our Star jibs are optimized for a larger wind range cross-over. Designed for depth and power, the P-16 is a top performer.
Stock Sails, Stock Boat
As a Star sailor himself, sailing in the same races, Szabo first joined up with Kostecki, Sperry, and the rest of their team, Marc Pickel and Rodney Hagebols, in July of 2024. In the months leading up to the Worlds, Szabo worked closely with the team to equip their Folli boat with the best possible inventory for San Diego. In that time, the team tested multiple different sails, including a Q-1 light air mainsail, a P-20 jib that was fuller down low, and a light cloth 46 mainsail. Ultimately, due to a combination of the conditions on the racecourse, sailor preferences, and Szabo's input, the inventory for the Worlds was decided: two P-16 jibs and two 46 mainsails.
Quantum sat down with Kostecki and Sperry at the end of 2024 to discuss their experience at the Worlds. When discussing trial and error in choosing a sail setup, Sperry said, "You only have a finite amount of time. So, you have to start cutting things off quickly. Try it for 30 minutes. If it works, great. If it doesn't, it's off the list. We are moving on. We are not second-guessing ourselves."
The overall takeaways:
The high level of performance that can be achieved with the sail designs that Quantum experts conceive and create. Any Quantum sail, whether it is specially designed by customer request, or pulled directly from our warehouse can take you to the winner's podium. Our sail designers are constantly at work optimizing our inventory for each class, building upon existing designs, and creating new ones.
The importance of each aspect of a crew's program leading up to a big race. If any building block of a program wavers, the result may change. The performance of a great sail is only as good as the sailors directing it, and those sailors rely on their support system onshore and in the water.
The partnership of John Kostecki and Austin Sperry
Photo: Matias Capizzano
Kostecki and Sperry first joined forces in April of 2024. Sperry had been planning his program with another sailor and long-term friend that fell through. He brought the idea to Kostecki while in Miami for an Etchells event. The two embarked on a six-month program with four events leading up to the Worlds. They started the season with Sperry's C-Star, a boat with a great race record, and ended it with a Folli that Sperry had already on order from Italy.
Support Team
Kostecki and Sperry worked with a core team of Star experts throughout their six-month program leading up to the Worlds. Marc Pickel and Rodney Hagebols were instrumental in the pair's championship win by providing a strong foundation despite limited time.
Hagebols' ability to sub in as crew to practice with Kostecki, who was making a return to the class after some time away, and his overall relaxed approach to coaching made for a smooth dynamic that benefitted the entire team. Pickel's trained eye in boat building made him very selective in the customizable inputs of the standard Folli boat that Sperry purchased for the season.
Quantum's Role
Being a California sailor for many years and an expert in the Star Class made Szabo an ideal partner for Kostecki and Sperry in their program for the Worlds. Szabo was onsite in San Diego, racing with his own Star crew, allowing for an open communication line to test sails, practice out on the water, and act as tuning partners to determine optimal settings. Szabo's expertise and coaching were not singular to the Kostecki/Sperry partnership. All summer, he provided Quantum customers with tips and tweaks to help them compete at the highest level possible. In San Diego, Szabo held a local knowledge weather and tuning seminar at local Quantum loft for all Quantum-equipped boats. He shared all of Quantum's latest tuning modifications for San Diego sailing.
In our interview, Kostecki had this to say about being able to collaborate with Szabo on the water: "It was great how we just stuck to the same plan, and we would do the same thing. We would raise our sails and find each other and get tuning straight away. And when we could, pretty much every day, we would do a split to get the favored side of the course. And I think that was an advantage we had over all our competitors because I honestly did not see any other teams doing a split like what we did."
Every Quantum Sails loft is dedicated to providing support to the customer beyond the sale, no matter how you sail. Whether you need a consultation on sails and inventory or a more customized approach, reach out to your local Loft to find out more about what resources we have onsite at your next big regatta.
If you are interested in reading more about the Worlds win and all of the events leading up to it, check out George Szabo's full Q&A with John Kostecki and Austin Sperry.