The RS 21 World Championships have been a mixed bag for the MarineServices.ie racing team. Very light and fickle winds on day 1 saw two very light shifty races after a postponement onshore.

The crew are new to the boat and the four sailors, Kenny Rumball, Jonathan Sargent, Sean Donnelly, and Andrew Smith have never even sailed together before, so it’s a constant learning process.

Race 1 saw the team choose the extreme left of the first beat, strong boatspeed and solid decision-making in sub-8 knot wind conditions saw the team up to 12th on the water.

In race 2, the team were the victim of an infringement on the line in a dying breeze that never rose above 6 knots. Although battling hard, the Irish team could not take as many places as they liked and really struggled.

Day 2, and with a very windy forecast, the team were off the pontoon at 8 am into very strong wind conditions! Some work the night before on extra battens and improved setups on the mast were keenly awaited to be verified.

With 25 knots on leaving the pontoon, quickly building, the team had some fun on the way out to the race course…

Unfortunately, the wind built too much, and there was not to be any racing today. However, as with all RS events, there is a very strong element on the social and entertainment side of the event. There was a fantastic opening ceremony on day 0. Tonight the team will enjoy a crew party, AGM and dinner tomorrow night, the list goes on!

Day one of the RS21 World Championship at Biograd Na Moru, Croatia, saw a mid-fleet position for Ireland's sole entry Skippered by Kenny Rumball of Dun Laoghaire. 

Having scored a 13 and then a 34 in the two races sailed, Rumball sailing with Jonathan Sargent, Andrew Smith, and Sean Donnelly are lying 24th overall in the 41-boat fleet. Scroll down for results.

The day was filled with sunshine, light wind conditions, close racing and lively debate on tactics and tales of what might have been shared on shore. Competitors were challenged with tricky conditions, which meant that success came down to focus and fine-tuning to be able to stay at the front of the fleet.

The RS21 fleet continues to be a friendly and inclusive class, welcoming family team combinations and bringing together friends to enjoy a seriously good time on the water, as well as the opportunity to mix with like-minded sailors in a relaxed, enjoyable environment.

The epic day on the water didn’t stop there. Competitors gathered together in the sailors hub to talk about tactics and strategy and think about how they will go into day two; supported by a coached debrief from Niall Myant. A notable and rather fun addition to the racing was the opportunity to use the amazing MarkSetBots, meaning the racecourse was made up entirely of remote-control electric marks. The friendly mark layers on the course were missed but using the electric marks significantly reduced the environmental impact and saved time in between racing.

The downwind legs on day one of the RS21 World Championship were equally as challenging, with small variances in pressure making a big difference to the speeds and angles that the teams could achieve Photo: Phil Jackson

With racing in the Vrgadski Kanal, the first beat in the first race was set at one mile, sailors had plenty of opportunities to make gains in their journey to the windward mark. While getting a clean start was important, the light and shifty conditions allowed everyone to make gains. The downwind legs were equally as challenging, with small variances in pressure making a big difference to the speeds and angles that the teams could achieve. Caipirinha, Martin Reintjes, second at the recent Italian Nationals, took a commanding lead in the first race at the first mark, but the other places were far from secure looking down the leaderboard.

With the pressure dropping on the course, PRO Marko Misura had faith that the wind would return and indeed, after a short delay, racing was once again underway. The second race was right-hand favoured as the breeze trended right towards the end of the day. Beyond Freedom, Gianluca Grisoli, current Italian National Champion, took an early lead at the windward mark that they would never let go. The top Corinthian from race one, Hugh Watson, UK National Champion, had dug his way back towards the front throughout the first beat and did a great job to spot the right-hand shift on the run, jumping forward to second place. Both Grisoli and Watson held onto first and second until the end, with Martin Reintjes and his Caipirinha team taking third, to finish the day tied with Grisoli for the overnight lead.

Hugh Watson, helm of team GBR 211 and Corinthian Boat of the Day says, “Perfect conditions for our team today, so we are pleased to have got some solid results. The next two days look very different with big winds, but we will enjoy it whilst we can!”

Today’s light winds will give way to a big breeze for day two, ensuring sailors will get to compete in a variety of conditions to truly celebrate the skill and ability of the crews.

The inaugural RS21 World Championship begins today in Biograd Na Moru, Croatia. Hosted by the Ilirija Resorts, the eagerly awaited four-day championship promises fierce competition, stunning scenery, marvellous socials and memories for life.

There are over 40 boats registered from 13 nations, (including an Irish boat) and more than 160 RS21 sailors coming together to battle it out on the water with the aspiration to be crowned the first-ever RS21 World Champion.

Jack Fenwick, RS21 Class Manager, commented, “We have been working up towards this event for a year. RS21 activity around Europe, and the UK has taken off, and we are pleased to welcome over 40 boats from 13 nations”.

The RS21 World Championship will kick off with the Practice Race on Wednesday 2nd of November followed by the Opening Ceremony. The Opening Ceremony is proudly hosted by the local council in partnership with the Ilirija Resort Hotel. 

This inaugural RS21 World Championship will use MarkSetBots with the vision to support fully remote regattas in the future.

As this is the first RS21 World Championship, teams are coming together from different nations worldwide. Everyone is trying to find out what the best set-up and tuning for their boat is, but also practising the most effective ways to complete manoeuvres. The RS21 International Class encourage this and has partnered with Niall Myant, a high-performance racing coach from the UK to deliver two days of race practice and coaching for interested RS21 teams. Niall is on-site until the end of the event to provide coaching and support to bring performance to the next level.

Irish National Sailing & Powerboat School Instructor Ciara Moore joined colleagues onboard the RS21 for the recent Irish Sailing Women At Helm Regatta.

The team was led by Irish National Marine Services RS Sailing Rep Heather Wright and sailed on board the RS21, RS Sailing’s modern keelboat designed with corinthian racing at its heart.

It was a new experience for Ciara in more than one way, having not competed in competitive event racing as well as having to master the RS21 with the rest of her crew. Ciara is exactly the type of sailor that Irish Sailing’s event facilitates becoming more involved in a new aspect of the sport and shared here experience of the RS21 and the event.

“As well as learning a new boat, the social aspect meant bonding between people who hadn’t really spoken before. Thanks to Heather's enthusiasm and encouragement, the school entered a 1720 and RS21 in the event. It was such an incredible opportunity to see the other side of the sport, having been heavily involved in teaching. I can imagine it is the same for all the other women competing who maybe haven’t given it a go before or have been doing it for years with a primarily male team.

The varying conditions over the two days meant that both moderate speed and almost no movement were encountered. However, seeing the amount of women on the water from all levels of experience was inspiring. The variety of ages and boat classes and different clubs made it even more significant. It is so important to bring more and more female crew onto racing teams so they have the same chance to participate in regattas and learn on the go. I encourage anyone to take part during the coming years as I certainly will be!”

RS21 racing in the women at the helm regatta

Heather Wright spearheaded the school’s initiative to get young female instructors racing as well as securing the RS21 in time for the event, including a few late night rigging sessions to get the boat prepared, tuned and splashed in time for the event. This combined Heather’s previous experience as Junior Co-ordinator at the school with her current day job as Irish National Marine Services RS Sailing lead.

“Overall we managed to get 19 young female sailors who had never raced before out on the water giving them an opportunity that wasn't there when I was their age. We couldn’t be prouder of the girls and their commitment to the team, Well done ladies.”

The RS21 is now back out of the water and will be back afloat for demo events and test sails over the winter. Prior to the winter DBSC series, the RS21 will be heading to the World Championships in Croatia where RS Sailing are laying on a charter fleet. We cant wait to see where this new venture takes us and the development of the RS21 fleet in Ireland.

The Greystones test sail of the new RS21 keelboat planned for tomorrow is cancelled due to the approaching Storm Hannah.

"With the incoming storm Hannah tomorrow we have decided to cancel any test sails of the RS21 from Greystones tomorrow 27th April 2019", RS promoter Kenny Rumball told Afloat. 

Sunday saw the first time that the brand new RS21 keelboat hit the water in Ireland with opportunities this month to get sailing on this exciting design.

The Northern Ireland RS agent - Bosun Bob's brought the asymmetric keelboat over from Southampton last week and there will be demo sails for the next few weeks out of Bangor Marina 

As Afloat.ie regulars will know The RS21 will be sailing on Dublin Bay later this month too. Irish National Marine Services have announced a demonstration day of RS Sailing craft on Sunday 28th April at the Irish National Sailing & Powerboat School in Dun Laoghaire. 

The first two sailors afloat in the new keelboat on Belfast Lough were Jeff Harrison and Colin Kevelighan, according to Bosun Bob's Robert Hastings. The conditions were great for the first sail as it was blowing around 12–knots from the east and they were able to put the boat through its paces. After coming ashore Jeff said that the RS21 "ticked a lot of boxes." Colin was suitably impressed and couldn't believe how light the tiller was and how easily sailed the boat was.

Thumbs up for the new RS21 on her maiden sail on Belfast Lough