Two Irish dinghy sailors travelled to Malcesine, Lake Garda, Italy for the RS AeroCup in late September. Thirty eight competitors from twelve countries raced in superb conditions of a steady 12-16 knots, enjoying this exciting new single hander design. As reported by Afloat.ie in 2014, the RS Aero hull is about the same length and width as a Laser but weighs just 30 kgs, lighter than an Optimist. The carbon rig also weighs virtually nothing and considerably aids performance and ease of handling. The boat is car-toppable by one person and has recently recorded a top speed of 23.9 knots! Racing was very close in the famous afternoon Ora wind with virtually no windshifts and a high premium on downwind technique. By far the best racing was in the Aero 7 rig with 25 entries (the mid-sized 7 rig actually has a larger sail area than the Laser full rig at 7.4 metres).
After his win in the inaugural AeroCup in Barcelona last year, ex Laser and Europe dinghy supremo Per Christian Bordal from Norway retained his Aero 7 title winning six of the nine races, with an awesome display of offwind speed. RS Brand Manager Peter Barton, a seasoned asymmetric double hander and Moth campaigner, took second overall with young Estonian Kristo Uunap completing the podium. The Irish sailors were stepping into the boats for the first time and took some time to adapt but they gradually improved throughout the series. Dun Laoghaire sailor Sean Craig placed eighth overall, ending with two fifths on the final day. This placed him just behind GBR’s well-known multi-class Champion Geoff Carveth who won Race three and claimed the overall Masters category prize. Roy Van Maanen from Greystones SC, quite new to singlehanders apart from his recreational Moth sailing, also improved through the regatta with a best race of sixth to finish up 13th overall.
