The first British Isles RS21 Cup will see events in Scotland, Ireland and England as teams compete for the first ever RS21 British Isles Cup.
The season will kick off with a coached training weekend at Rutland Sailing Club over the Easter Weekend. As a relatively new class, there are opportunities for new sailors to come in and compete at the top level. To ensure sailors, new and old, get the chance to get up to speed as quickly as possible, our first regatta will see the usual high quality RS21 racing paired with high level coaching to provide direct feedback on the water as well as ensure that all of the learning is bedded with analytical briefing and debriefing sessions.
From Rutland, teams will travel to the West Coast of Scotland for the legendary Scottish Series in Tarbert Loch Fyne held over the second May bank holiday weekend. Renowned for tricky conditions and variable weather along with parties that go on to the wee hours, teams will get great racing and great socials set in some stunning scenery. Duncan Heppelwhite from local RS Dealer from SailingFast will be on hand with spares and hints on how to deal with the challenging race course.
July will see a trip across the Irish Sea to compete in Volvo Dun Laoghaire regatta just outside of Dublin. Home of “the Craic”, a warm welcome awaits all teams on shore and competitive racing on Dublin Bay. Local RS Sailing dealer, Kenny Rumball, will be on hand with inside knowledge to ensure that teams get the most enjoyment possible from the event.
August will see the UK Nationals hosted on the Solent for the first time since 2019. Timed to coincide with Cowes Week, teams have the option for 8 days of racing over a week, with a day off in between to recover. With around 20 boats expected on the start line and interest from foreign teams, this will be a not to miss event.
The final event of the season will see a trip to the beautiful seaside town of Dartmouth. Second only to Cowes week in size in the UK, this event is perfect for the whole family with Dartmouth Royal Regatta being a whole town affair with a fun fair, gig racing, face painting and a whole lot more going on, there’s almost more fun to be had on shore than on the water, almost.
With four events in the British Isles RS21 Cup, teams will have to count their best three results including the National Championship to stand a chance of lifting the trophy.
UK & Ireland class president, Nigel Coles, said “We’ve only been racing the RS21 for a year, having raced Aero’s for a long time before that but we love the simplicity of the boats which has allowed us to get up to speed with the top teams in Europe really quickly. We have such a great group of sailors in this class already so when planning the season for this year it was important to us to have events that gave us time ashore to catch up with friends new and old. RS21 racing is so much more than time on the water and with these events we are looking forward to an amazing season”
Now is the perfect time to get involved with the UK & Ireland RS21 Class. For new and second hand boats sales, contact Oscar Cordon, oscar.corden@rssailing.com or 01794 526760 or for charter options, contact Class Activity Manager, Jack Fenwick, jack@rssailing.com
