Five Royal Hospital School pupils represent their country at International Sailing Competitions

Five elite sailing pupils from The Royal Hospital School (RHS) in Holbrook, Ipswich, have represented their country at International Sailing Competitions in the Netherlands and the USA this summer.

Sebastian Kempe, who was last year’s winner of the World Sailing Youth World Championships race in Oman, came in second place this year representing Bermuda in The Hague, Netherlands. Nicole Stovell, secured 23rd position for Bermuda, Thommie Grit came in 28th for Great Britain, and Boris Hirsch came in 32nd representing Switzerland. All sailors competed in the One Person Dinghy Male and Female fleets (ILCA 6 Class).

RHS pupil Sebastian Kempe, said: “Thank you to everyone who supported me in the lead-up to this event. I will not stop pushing my trajectory onwards and upwards.”

RHS pupil Nicole Stovell, who joined RHS last year, said: “The racing was intense and required high focus, but those are some of the things I love about sailing. I'm proud of my result, 23rd overall, and I think it is a big step up for me from the 2021 event six months ago in Oman where I placed 32nd.”

Audrey Foley from Florida, who joins the school as a full boarder in Year 12 from September, sailed to success at the USA 2022 ILCA Nationals securing 1st Female in the ILCA 6 class.

Held at Brant Beach Yacht Club, in the state of Philadelphia, Audrey said: "The USA Nationals was a great event for me. I was happy to have sailed one of my most consistent score lines to date, finishing 1st Female and 10th overall out of 150 sailors. I am excited to be attending RHS and sailing for the school in the autumn!"

These pupils also represented their country at the ILCA 6 Youth World Championship in Texas at the end of July. Sebastian claimed 5th, Thommie 36th, Boris 54th in the Male Fleet, and Audrey 8th and Nicole 17th in the Women’s Fleet.

RHS will host a Sailing Taster Event on Saturday 24th September, to give those of all levels and ages from 10 to 15 the opportunity to find out more about our Royal Hospital School Sailing Academy, based at Alton Water. People can sign up for a place here: https://bit.ly/RHSSailingTaster