Brilliant events, informative shows and some new records broken by RS Sailing and RS sailors.

It was a brilliant summer of events for RS Sailing. Highlights include the RS Feva World Championships which saw 422 sailors coming with their families to enjoy an amazing week at LNI Follonica in Italy. This was the biggest RS Feva event to date and was the best-attended World Sailing Youth Class World Championships in 2023. “It’s amazing to see that the RS Feva is the fastest growing two-person youth class internationally when you look at World Sailing’s figures.”

There was a thrilling finale at the RS Feva World Championships 2023

Back home in Ireland, Kenny Rumball, RS Dealer, is equally thrilled with the RS Feva class, “ For the first year in quite a while, we have seen a growth in the RS Fevas! The first event of the year in the Royal Irish Yacht Club saw over 30 boats back competing and we were more than delighted to sponsor the event!”

RS Sailing also supported World Sailing at the Para Sailing World Championships 2023 at WV Braassemermeer, Netherlands. The RS Venture Connect was one of the three boats selected again by Para World Sailing to be part of the World Sailing World Championships together with the Olympic Classes.

The RS21 World Championship 2023 also broke records this year; 55 boats from 11 countries competed in Porto Rotondo in Sardinia, Italy. “This is such a big achievement for a relatively new class. It’s also a class that is really putting a good stamp on the sustainability side.” The RS21 Italian Class is the first sailing class in the world to achieve ISO20121 certification. Created by the International Organization for Standardization, this certification is only awarded when an event organiser adheres to a detailed set of requirements that meet the international standard for sustainable event management. Not only was this a big success at the World Championships, but the class was also invited to present a ‘Sustainability Masterclass’ as part of the World Sailing Sustainability Sessions.

Record-breaking attendance at the RS21 World Championship 2023 in Sardinia

The RS21s also saw great success in Ireland with the class choosing Dun Laoghaire Regatta to showcase themselves as the future of sportsboat sailing. Teams from all over Europe came to compete in Ireland in the thrilling one-design keelboat showcasing their speed and futuristic design.

The RS21s will be at Cork Week 2024 with charter boats now available for charter! Don’t hesitate to contact Kenny [email protected] for more info.!

“We’ve also been honoured to work with some great partners this year.” In October, RS Venture Connects were raced in SailGP’s We Foundation One Sport Race and we confirmed our preferred vendor partner agreement with Crystal Lagoons. In September, we announced our partnership with Jeddah Yacht Club & Marina; providing an extensive range of boats to their state-of-the-art JYC Academy which has already seen 1000+ children benefit from the programmes this year.

It’s been a particular good year for RS Sailing on the international stage. “Globally, we’re expanding further and wider in all corners of the world. 2023 has seen growth in many classes; from RS21 fleet building in Canada to Japan’s first-ever RS Aero National Championship in the All Japan RS Open 2023 event.”

A busy scene at Blessington Sailing Club as the inaugural RS Fest incorporating RS200 and RS400 dinghies championships gets underway in June 2023

In Ireland, we celebrated the inaugural RS Fest in Blessington Sailing Club. For the first time ever all the RS classes in the country came together for a weekend of thrilling racing combining the RS Feva, RS Aero, RS 200 and RS 400 classes.

Kenny Rumball commented, “We want all sailors of the RS classes to really feel part of the family. It was fantastic to work with Canice Keane and his team from Blessington Sailing Club for the inaugural RS Fest this year! We already have plans well established for similar in 2024. Stay tuned for a press release on this in the coming month!”

Finally, we rounded off the year with the RS Toura winning ‘Best Dinghy’ in Sailing World’s Boat of the Year Awards. “This prestigious title means a great deal to us – especially all of those behind-the-scenes in production and development. Recognition like this serves to affirm our position as the world’s leading small boat manufacturer.”

2023 was special in Ireland as the class associations website got a revamp to make it easier for sailors, and prospective members of the RS family to find out all the information on RS classes in Ireland. If you haven’t visited it yet, head on over to RSIreland.com where you can find all the information on the RS classes in Ireland.

2024 marks RS Sailing’s 30th birthday and we are celebrating it in the best way that we know how; a huge party and weekend regatta commemorating the sport that we love. We hope to see you all there at the 30th Anniversary at Hayling Island Sailing Club, 17th-19th May. In the meantime, check-out RS Sailing Club for all the events near you and internationally.

“Thanks again for being part of the RS Sailing family in 2023. I’m really looking forward to a good 2024. Our amazing team will – for another year – work hard to gain more participation in our sport, set high standards at events and build boats that are there to last.”