August 8, 2023
1 minute reading time
Allianz Sailing World Championships 2023: Ones to Watch - RS Venture
It is important to time your manoeuvres carefully in the RS Venture Connect. Accurate starting is also at a premium, and timing your run and acceleration towards the line will be a critical skill at the Worlds.
As defending champions, Malik Alqartoobi and Ghalia Al Jabri have already proven they have the ability to master a tricky venue and unpredictable weather on their home waters of Oman. Now they came to The Netherlands to see if they can show the same level of mastery at a Worlds in the cooler climes of Northern Europe.
Former Sonar sailors John McRoberts and Scott Lutes have come together to compete for Canada in the RS Venture Connect.
McRoberts was a bronze medallist in the SKUD doublehander at Rio 2016 so has the campaign knowledge for a podium performance at the Worlds.
Another former Sonar competitor is Vasileios Christoforou who is sailing with fellow Greek competitor Theodoros Alexas. As a quadriplegic sailor, Christoforou is racing with one of the highest levels of disability classification and has been permitted some adaptations to the boat in order to level the playing field.
The only all-female team from Norway, Henriette Smith and Solfrid Kvinnesland, are very good in light winds and are well used to difficult wind shifts from training at home in a small and tricky bay.