The RS Aero Sprint series returned to Swords Sailing Club for the third time on 3-4 October, and the club wasted no daylight doing it, squeezing thirteen races into two days of light, shifty breeze on the Broadmeadow estuary. With the European Championships set for the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire in 2027, this RS Aero Sprint event functioned as a working rehearsal for a fleet keen to bank start-line reps rather than drift through a leisurely weekend regatta.
Twelve boats lined up across three rig sizes — the 6.3 square metre Aero 6, the 7.4 square metre Aero 7, and the biggest 8.9 square metre Aero 9 — all racing together on handicap. Race officer Siobhan Broers kept the format tight: short windward-leeward courses with a gated bottom mark, two laps per race, and finishes targeted around the fifteen-minute mark so another start could follow almost immediately. In a five-to-eight knot southwesterly, that discipline mattered, and starts across the fleet were notably clean, bar one general recall that briefly reset the third race.
Sharp Racing Across the RS Aero Sprint Fleet
Consistency up front came from Noel Butler of the National Yacht Club, a Fireball sailor with championship pedigree who took multiple bullets over the two days, with Sophie Crosby of Royal Cork a persistent threat behind him. Sarah Dwyer of Royal St George and Paul Whelan of Howth also featured regularly in the top finishers, while Roy Van Mannen cracked the podium as conditions eased and a predicted wind shift forced a brief pause to reset the course.
Coverage Beyond the Results Sheet
The on-water footage, including drone passes from Alan Proctor and an onboard 360-degree camera rig, captures just how composed this fleet looks sailing light-air downwind legs — Dwyer’s stillness downwind stands out in particular. Viewers can follow the full two-day account of the RS Aero Sprint series on YouTube, and it’s worth a watch for anyone plotting their own route into the 2027 Europeans. None of it happens without the Swords committee and safety boat crew, whose support kept racing moving all weekend.
Video courtesy of Steel eye Guy — watch the full video on YouTube.
