RS Tera NA Championship Sees Incredible Competition and Turnout

The 2025 RS Tera North American Championship was sailed on October 25 and 26 at St. Francis Yacht Club, drawing a massive turnout of competitive and talented young sailors. The regatta was made up of two fleets (Tera PRO and Tera SPORT divisions), with 43 boats between them. The turnout of 43 competitors is more than double the participation in the last major Tera event on San Francisco Bay (Tera Pacific Coast Championships at Sausalito Yacht Club in July 2024).

Fourteen of the more experienced youngsters competed in the Tera PRO division, with 29 sailors in the Tera SPORT division. The regatta was run in conjunction with StFYC’s annual Fall Dinghy event. Eleven races were sailed in the Tera PRO division, with eight being sailed by the Tera SPORT competitors.

Nat Kreamer, whose son Sebastian competed in the Tera PRO division and finished fourth, was a driving force behind the high participation levels of the regatta, helping to fund the event and make sure things ran smoothly.

“The event was a catalyst for local yacht clubs’ junior programs and kids to raise their game,” Kreamer tells Latitude. “Specifically, Richmond Yacht Club and St. Francis launched RS Tera race teams in 2025 that attracted about 25 kids who have pushed each other to improve in practices and regattas. The event attracted the best sailors in the fleet nationally, including teams from Southern California and Park City.”

One of the greatest reflections on the growth of the Tera fleet in California in the past few years has been an increase in the level of competition, which has led to a rotating cast of characters at the top of the podium across various events.

“In the past, one or two good sailors dominated the fleet,” Kreamer continues. “Now there are a half-dozen kids at the top of the PRO and SPORT divisions (about 12 total). That’s a [massive] improvement in competency. For example, all of the top five finishers — Kaelin Baggeroer, Hailey Andersen, Skylar Duboc, Sebby Kreamer, and Tucker Cook — have won at least one Tera regatta in the last 12 months while competing against each other.”

For so long, the Optimist (Opti for short) class has been the go-to learn-to-race dinghy in the United States, including on San Francisco Bay. Optis, however, present a particular challenge to youngsters still learning to handle them when sailing on the Bay. The Bay’s infamous wind and swell don’t lend themselves well to the bathtub-shaped boats.

“For perspective, the UK, which is producing some of the world’s best dinghy sailors today, largely uses the RS Tera as their introductory racing dinghy,” Kreamer tells us. “It’s fun to sail, safer (i.e. self-bailing and virtually unsinkable), fast to rig and get sailing, durable as well as low-maintenance, and easy to transition into more advanced boats because it’s a mini-ILCA. … It’s not the boat type that makes a great sailor; it’s time on the water, coaching, and competition. We’re seeing that happen in the Tera fleet, which is largely focused on the West Coast.”

The PRO division of 2025 North Americans was won by Kalin Baggeroer (RYC), who recorded a net total of 18 points from 11 races. Jack Brodsky (ABYC/LBYC) dominated the Tera SPORT division with a net total of seven points from eight races. Brodsky had a picket fence for most of the regatta, but finished second in the final race (a score that would be his drop for the regatta).

While the results are important, and it’s always exciting to crown a continental champion, what’s truly exciting about an event such as the 2025 Tera North American Championship is the massive turnout and high level of competition from so many young sailors, as the future of the sport is in their hands.

You can find the full scores from the 2025 RS Tera North American Championship here.