Thanks to Madhavan Thirumalai for his report;
The Fabbrica 2023 RS Aero North American Championships were held at Cedar Point Yacht Club in Westport, CT from October 5-8.  This was the final event of the RS Aero North Eastern Race Week that began on September 30th with CPYC's annual One Design Fontelieu Regatta.

The North Americans had a total of 41 registered entries across the four rig sizes, and each rig size was treated as its own fleet. There were racers from Ireland, Canada and all over the USA; most of the big RS Aero US fleets were well represented including; Seattle, California, Indiana, Texas, Louisiana, and Alabama.

The conditions were epic. The forecast called for wind in the teens with gusts to 20+ knots and the weather gods delivered. The first two days were classic New England Fall conditions, with the wind out of the ENE and big, fast moving waves that had had many hours and half the length of Long Island Sound to build up. A front came through at the end of the second day, and the third day was sunny, with shifty and gusty offshore Northwesterly winds and big swells running West to East.

Each fleet got 9 races in on trapezoid courses that minimized interference between fleets and gave competitors two screaming reaches to reward the tough upwind and downwind legs

The RS Aero 7s were the biggest fleet with 20 boats. Many sailors who had registered for a RS Aero 9 switched to a RS Aero 7 given the forecast. Competition was fierce with 4 different boats winning bullets and the regatta was decided on the last race with Madhavan Thirumalai of CPYC beating Keith Hammer of Seattle Yacht Club.

Boris Mezhibovskiy of CPYC and 15 year old Dylan Williams of Bellport Bay YC slogged it out in the RS Aero 9s till the very end with Boris prevailing.  Hank Saurage from Pontchartrain YC in New Orleans dominated the RS Aero 6s, and Sally Sharp from Mascoma SC in New Hampshire in control of the RS Aero 5s.

CPYC, a volunteer-driven club with the mission of promoting sailboat racing, did a wonderful job organizing the regatta. The race committee work was superb - square lines with just the right length, square legs, and minimal waiting between the races. This was no easy feat given the shifty winds of the second and third days, and the total of 9 marks that were necessary to support both inner and outer trapeziod courses and separate start and finish lines. Shore support with dollys was excellent and the fleets got off and on the ramp without fuss. Coffee and breakfast were served every morning, and refreshments and beverages were served after each racing each day.  Regatta dinner on Saturday night was fabulous with a lot of vegetarian and vegan options, and many of the visiting competitors stayed with member host families. Finally, there was a tremendous sense of camaraderie that built up throughout the regatta, and we were all genuinely sad to say goodbye to each other at the end of the event.