Romsey, United Kingdom, 31 January 2023 - The International RS21 Class are pleased to announce an exciting new Partnership with Vakaros. This new partnership brings two brands together who share a passion for changing the game and developing our sport. The partnership will be showcased at Charleston Race Week, where Vakaros will offer RaceSense for all teams taking part in the RS21 Class racing.

RaceSense builds on the powerful hardware inside every Atlas 2 to enhance how sailors race. It instantly creates a virtual racecourse allowing every RS21 to see the same start time, which is all synced remotely. Pinging is a thing of the past as well: RaceSense live-transmits the location of each end of the start line to competitors, so there is no need to get stuck in a parade every time the line is reset. The race committee will say goodbye to general recalls, and black flag starts thanks to centimetre-accurate, fully automatic OCS calls at the start line. Competitors will be notified immediately on their Atlas 2, whether they were over or not.

Michiel Geerling, RS Sailing Commercial Director, commented, “It is fantastic to be partnering with Vakaros to make the RS21 racecourse at Charleston Race Week truly innovative and more sustainable. The Vakaros team are incredibly passionate about our sport and together, we can support racing in a way that not only requires less volunteers, less coach boats and fewer rescue boats, which is ultimately more sustainable, but more importantly increasing the fairness of racing and engagement for teams both on the water and back on shore. The innovative tech from Vakaros compliments the RS21 so well, and we can’t wait to see where this partnership will take the RS21 Class in the future.”

With Vakaros partnering with the RS21 Class for the event, every team will receive second-by-second data through the device on board, giving them live feedback to see how they are getting on on the racecourse with the help of the inbuilt GPS, compass and starting device in one. Off the water, sailors can track and evaluate their racing from the comfort of the Yacht Club bar. Vakaros really have developed their technology around the sailor, their focus, much like RS, is making sailing more enjoyable.

“RS Sailing champion true Corinthian racing. The RS21 Class really embodies this and we have found that sailors really love post racing de-briefs with a drink in hand, learning from each other and celebrating other teams wins. We are really excited for the RS21 Class, we truly believe this will be a new racing experience created by sailors, for sailors.!” Michiel Geerling, RS Sailing Commercial Director.

There are 12 RS21 Charter Boats available for Charleston Race Week. To find out more information or to book follow this link - rs21sailing.org/rs21-events.