By Julius Hornung
The Dutch RS Aero and RS500 National Championship in Bruinisse were dominated by light and patchy winds on both days. Patience, skillful boat handling saw an international set of winners crowned in both classes after 8 close races.
In the RS Aero class Dutchman Shivam Ramdas took the title for the third time in a row after a hard fought battle with Germany’s Julius Hornung, with 6 race wins. Belgian Anouck de Ripainsel completed the podium, having climbed from an overnight ranking of fourth.
Remarkably, of the 22 competitors in the class, twelve managed a top-5 finish in at least one of their races, showing how tight the competition really was.
In the RS500s, the 43-boat fleet from 6 countries sailed equally hard, starting both days with a general recall, some really tight squeezes at mark roundings and a sea of colours as the fleet spread out under their gennakers downwind with a lot of variety in course strategy and tactical options. In the end, it was Czech Jakub that took the top spot in the competition with five bullets, ahead of Jesper Overbeeke and Bruno Goris, both from the Netherlands.
A massive thank you goes to the race committee, who managed to run eight fair and exciting races in the most challenging conditions light conditions, with next to no waiting time. Finally, thank you also to the team at Aquavitesse for hosting the championship, providing charter boats and accommodation to further travelled sailors, and for hosting a cracking burger and musses social on Saturday night.
Photo Credit: Aquavitesse
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