Thirty four RS Aeros from six different countries (Switzerland, Holland, Germany, Italy, France and the UK) entered with all rigs sizes represented including a large fleet of 9’s with 14 entries. Three days of excellent training had kindly been organised by Jorn Domres from Germany in advance of the regatta. Twenty one RS Aero sailors from three different countries were put through their paces by top Italian sailing coach Raffaele Ravaglia.

 

With winds ranging from a moderate Southerly on the Friday afternoon to a strong Northerly on Saturday morning, which was stronger still on Sunday morning, the race committee did an excellent job of running back to back races quickly and efficiently on a trapezoid course. The social side was as good as the sailing, with a group meal at a local hotel on Friday night and pasta with wine at the organising club Unione Velica Maccagno on the Saturday.

 

With everyone helping each other with rigging tips, launching and recovery and sailing hints, the beach atmosphere helped make this years event one to remember with promises to return next year. The event has consistently grown over the years thanks to the hard work of organiser Ulli Scheu from nearby Switzerland, as evidenced by the number of different nations represented. Without going into the detail of all four fleets, a few standout points worth mentioning:

• Mark Cole from Holland won the RS Aero 7 fleet and was matched by his daughter Aimi Cole who won the RS Aero 5 fleet.

• Eric Rieve dominated the RS Aero 9 fleet winning all nine races though the competition immediately behind him was both very close and very enjoyable.

• Vincent Viool from Holland spread his family across three fleets with Vincent sailing a 9, Noa sailing a 5 and Thirza sailing a 7.

• Holland made a clean sweep of the RS Aero 5 fleet podium.

• The sole UK entrant Jeff Jackson won the RS Aero 6 fleet.

• With six nations present, all of them were represented on the podium in some way or another.

The date of next year’s event will be decided shortly and will inevitably see an increase in numbers for such a great event in a spectacular setting. Thanks to Unione Velica Maccagno for another splendid event on Lago Maggiore!