Lord Sugar treated the winning team of BBC One’s The Apprentice (Series 18, Episode 4) to a race on RS21s at Queen Mary Sailing Club. The episode (which featured on BBC One, 22nd March 2024 at 9pm) saw the teams battle it out in a race around Jersey to be the best ‘Discount Buyers’. Introducing the RS21s, Lord Sugar told the winners “so, your treat; you’re going from negotiation to navigation.”
Lord Sugar described the adventure on RS21s as a “luxury sailing experience” and clips showed the eight Apprentice candidates whooping and cheering with delight as they blasted across the water at Queen Mary Reservoir.
Team Leader Noor Bouziane led her team to victory in the episode which finished with the treat on the RS21s. The team – Rachel Woolford, Raj Chohan, Dr. Paul Midha, Foluso Falade, Steve Darken, Tre Lowe and Flo Edwards – donned lifejackets and safety helmets as they left the dock for the ultimate racing taster session on the RS Sailing boats.
The RS21 is an un-matched one-design racing keelboat which is raced competitively. A record-breaking 55 boats attending the World Championship last year in Sardinia, and this year, the 2024 worlds will be held in L’Escala, Spain. Entries are anticipated to increase even further as the popularity of the RS21 grows.
The RS21 is not just for high-level racing campaigns, it is also used by training centres around the world to teach sailing and give novices an introduction to the exhilaration of keelboat racing. The fleet of RS21s at Queen Mary Sailing Club are used for taster events, like The Apprentice candidates experienced on the show, as well as British Keelboat League ‘rock up and race’ series all the way through to championship level racing.
The boats are designed to be handled by sailors of varying skill levels. Everyone has a role to play and ease-of-use is part of the attraction. “I feel ecstatic, it’s amazing,” beamed contestant Raj Chohan, “I just hope I sail through a few more tasks now.”
Team Leader Noor Bouziane, along with Dr. Paul Midha and Tre Lowe, commandeered one of the RS21s. Tre shouted “come on guys, let’s race!”, while the other four contestants followed closely behind in the other one-design RS21.
“Fourth win on the trot; super excited,” said contestant Flo Edwards, who was beaming from ear-to-ear after racing the RS21s; “We just had the most amazing treat as well!” 
RS21 UK and International Class Manager, Nick Redding, was watching; “It’s been a big 12 months for the RS21 class. It’s great to see the boat showcased on The Apprentice by Queen Mary Sailing Club. What a highlight to get new people involved in high performance keelboat sailing. It’s a great way to kick-start the biggest season yet in the RS21 class with this iconic TV moment.”
For RS21 taster days in the UK, reach out to Nick via email on manager@rs21ukclass.org or visit the RS21 UK and Ireland Class Association to see how you can get involved and #jointherevolution. You can watch the full episode featuring the RS21 luxury sailing experience on BBC iPlayer. Search for the The Apprentice, Series 18, Episode 4.
