Event report by the RS Aero International Class Association
An impressive 60 young RS Aero sailors from seven countries gathered at the fortress island of Marstrand, Sweden, to compete in the third RS Aero Youth World Championships, supported by Rooster.
A good crowd of local athletes represented Sweden, with other European entries coming from Estonia, Italy, Denmark, Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. There were even some state-side competitors who travelled from the USA. There were 39 boats in the RS Aero 5 fleet, nine in the RS Aero 6 fleet, and 12 in the RS Aero 7 fleet.
The ones to watch included 2024 RS Aero 5 European Champion (and 2023 RS Aero Italian Youth Champion), Enrico Loi (from LNI Cagliari, ITA) and his teammate, Andrea De Matteis (of CV Nox Oceani, ITA), a bronze medallist at the 2023 RS Aero Youth Team Racing European Championship. Among the local fleet, Aron Warnberg (Ljungskile SS, SWE), was a favourite among the RS Aero 7s as the 2022 Swedish RS Aero National Champion.
Day 1
Brought beautiful blue skies and warm sun with a light breeze of 2-5m/s (4-9kn) after the gales over the weekend had passed. Race 1 was completed with shortened courses. Race 2 saw a late wind shift which left the course quite skewed. For Race 3 the wind increased with full hiking at times. It was great to get all three races in on such a gloriously hot and sunny day in Sweden!
After Day 1 Estonia lead the RS Aero 5s with the top 3, Italy lead the RS Aero 6s with the top 2 ahead of Estonia in 3rd and Sweden lead the RS Aero 7s with a 1st and 3rd, split by Great Britain in 2nd.
Day 2 & 3
Sunshine, spectacular scenery and fair-weather sailing! After Day 1 saw tactical racing in light wind conditions, a stronger breeze of 10-12 knots from the south-southwest came in for Day 2 and Day 3.
At the mid-week point, Sweden’s Hugo Sköld Orr (Royal Swedish YaC, SWE) and Estonia’s Mia Marin Lilienthal (Kalevi JK, EST) were tied in first position in the RS Aero 5 fleet. Andrea De Matteis (CV Nox Oceani, ITA) was leading the RS Aero 6 fleet, and Sweden’s Erik Rahm (Royal Gothenburg YC, SWE) was at the top of the RS Aero 7 fleet.
Tired but happy young sailors went on to enjoy their big regatta dinner.
Day 4
Only one race was possible for all fleets after ‘sea smoke’ (fog) for caused a delay early on and the wind was set to die later on. With Race 10 the second discard came into play, giving some small shuffles to the overall standings that was also impacted by 13 of the 39 RS Aero 5s being Black Flagged as over eager at the start! 15 RS Aero 5 sailors sought redress from the Race Committee relating to the start of Race 10, but redress was not granted.
Last year’s champion, Elliot Hellstrom (Linkopings JS, SWE) won Race 10 in the RS Aero 5s and stepped up to 4th overall. Hugo Skoll Orr (Royal Swedish YC, SWE) now topped the overall standings going into the final day after being able to discard a 19th.
The RS Aero 6 had become a closely fought Italian battle with Francesco Columbano now within a point of Andrea De Matteis (both CV Nox Oceani, ITA).
In the RS Aero 7s Erik Rahm (Royal Gothenburg, SWE) had a nice lead after a 2nd place to Mark Ripley (Paignton SC, GBR) who was 1st in Race 10.
Day 5
Two races finished off the championship with a wind of 5-8m/s (10-15kn) and the biggest waves the week had seen.
In the RS Aero 5s Hugo Skol Orr (SWE) finished with two 1sts to lift the trophy from Mia Martin Lithenthal (EST) who scored two 2nds to take 2nd overall and first female. Elliot Hellstrom (SWE) had a strong finish to the regatta to take 3rd overall. Top Junior Male (U17) was Ott Richard Haal (EST) in 5th and top Junior Female was Kirke Kulmsaar (EST).
The RS Aero 6s Italian showdown went to Andrea De Matteis (ITA) who scored two wins to secure the title from his compatriot Francesco Columbano (ITA). Meribel Vahstein (EST) finished well to be top female and 3rd overall. Top Junior (U17) was Ida Kayser (SWE).
The clearest victory was that of Erik Rahm (SWE) in the RS Aero 7s with 8 wins from 12 races. Second overall was compatriot Aron Warnberg (SWE) with Dieter Creitz (USA) stepping up to 3rd overall on the final day. Top Junior (U17) was Axel Ekerstig (SWE) in 6th.
The week provided a fantastic variety of testing conditions and plenty of glorious sunshine in Sweden. Many thanks to Marstrand SS for running a fantastic championship with their expertise and enthusiasm. The International Jury helped to ensure racing was fair and enjoyable. RS Sailing and RS Sailing Sweden provided charter boats and event support. Thank you to Rooster for their assistance with prizes and support.
The next RS Aero Youth Worlds will take place within the main RS Aero World Championship at Quiberon, France, from 28th July – 2nd August 2025.
