Lago Maggiore International RS Aero Regatta in Maccagno, Italy
by Jon Mills 1 Jun 13:42 BST
19-21 May 2023
Beautiful Lake Maggiore delivered great sailing conditions yet again for the three day Lago Maggiore International RS Aero Regatta held over the European Bank Holiday weekend from the 19th - 21st May.
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 RS Aero 9s 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 are:
- Mark Cole from the Netherlands 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.
- The Netherlands 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 podiums!
Many thanks to Unione Velica Maccagno for another splendid event on Lago Maggiore. We look forward to returning again next year!
Find full results here