RS Aero European Championships at Yacht Club de Carnac
by RS Aero International Class Association 1 Jul 02:03 NZST
21-24 June 2024
112 RS Aeros from 14 nations contested the RS Aero European Championships in Carnac, France, from 21-24 June. As ever Carnac proved to be a wonderful venue with its fine Brittany beaches, bustling seaside town and an excellent race course on the Bay of Quiberon.
Competitors enjoyed a good mix of conditions to produce worthy overall champions.
Day 1 was super fresh 'BIG FRIDAY' with winds gusting over 25kns creating white horses across the bay. The downwinds were exciting with max power planing blast reaches bouncing over the wave tops. The runs ware a case of 'who dares wins', weaving through the waves to catch some awesome surfs whilst always striving for control and balance!
Day 2 saw four races contested and with a fresh 15-18kn breeze under blue skies racing was both exciting and physical with many tired but happy sailors at the end of a tough day!
Day 3 offered a welcome rest with lighter winds, providing good variety to the Championship and allowing those who prefer softer winds to excel. Two races were held in 5-8kn of wind.
Day 4 the breeze failed to materialise adequately and the Championship ended with 8 races already completed.
RS Aero 5
After British sailor George Lenney (Restronguet, GBR) took race 1 it was the Italian sailors who dominated the RS Aero 5 Class with Enrico Loi (Cagliari, ITA), Mattia Monti (Rimini, ITA) and Andrea Manconi (Cagliari, ITA) taking the top three in that order. Enrico was also top Youth and Florence Le Brun (Quiberon, FRA) finished top female. Other notable achievements were from the smaller sailors Vittoria Cartelli (Rimini, ITA) and Felix Dion (National YC, IRL) taking a 1,2 each on the final day.
RS Aero 6
In the RS Aero 6s Ukrainian Sofiia Naumenko (OSHVSM, UKR) dominated day 2 with three 1sts to take a solid hold of the champs and went on to win, improving on her 3rd at the World Champs in Italy last year. Andrew Frost (Sutton Bingham, GBR) played a consistent series to earn a solid 2nd overall. Dan Venables (Sutton, GBR) took 3rd from defending champ Chris Hatton (Bowmoor, GBR) in 4th. Top Youth was Toby Banbrook (Bowmoor, GBR) with Sofiia top female.
RS Aero 7
The RS Aero 7s were the largest Class with 45 entries. New recruit Pim van Vugt (WSHV, NED) took no time in transferring his skills to the RS Aero Class and after a dominant day with four 1sts on day 2 did just enough to win with a tie break from Noah Rees (Torpoint, GBR) after a tense final two races. With a consistent series Jack Millar (Felpham, GBR) took 3rd. Top female was Juliane Barthel (Dummer, GER) in 10th and top Youth was Mark Ripley (Paignton, GBR) in 5th.
RS Aero 9
In the RS Aero 9 Class the athletes were stretched to their limits contending with the strong winds early in the series, however the Class had the best race finish rate of all the rig sizes! Ben Flower (Paignton, CAN/GBR) took five 1sts to win from defending champion Peter Barton (Lymington, GBR) with three 1sts. In 3rd overall was Madhavan Thirumalai (Cedar Point, USA) with Erik Wahlberg (Gefle, SWE) 3rd European and 4th overall, just 1 point further behind.
The YC Carnac were the perfect hosts and laid on fantastic socials with a wonderful spread of local cuisine at the opening and closing ceremonies, a regatta dinner and an incredible 150 person birthday cake to celebrate the RS Aero's 10th anniversary since its launch!
Thanks to Rooster for their support with a generous spread of awards at the prize-giving! Thanks to Brittany Ferries for providing a discount for the 40 British athletes crossing the English Channel. Thanks to both RS Sailing France & UK for enabling a charter fleet for distant travellers to compete, together with comprehensive regatta support.
Full Gallery and Results at www.yccarnac.com/regates-morbihan/eurocup-rs100-rs200-rs700-european-rs-aero
In August the RS Aero Class will compete for its Youth World Championship in Marstrand, Sweden, from 12-16th and our main World Championship in Hayling Island, UK, from 26-30th.
RS Aero Events List at www.rsaerosailing.org/index.asp?p=events