ILCA NSW & ACT

ILCA have announced that they have acquired royalty and legacy builder rights owned by Spencer family companies Global Sailing (GS) and class builder Performance Sailcraft Australia (PSA). This will give the class greater ownership and control over the design rights and building specifications of ILCAs as well as a greater share of the income from hull & equipment manufacture.

The two acquisitions from the Spencers are the design rights for the class which GS purchased from Bruce Kirby in the early 2000s and the royalty payment rights issued to PSA in 2019 to compensate them as one of the then two legacy builders for the agreement to, and effect of, the introduction of multiple new class builders. See Here for details of these royalty payments.

The ILCA web site post Here has more on this positive move by the class to secure its future.

The 2025 Oceania & Australian Open & Youth Championships will be held at the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron Manly Queensland  between 1-8 January 2025.

The Notice of Race for this event is Here.

Entries prior to 30 November $450 can be placed Here.

The Regatta Competitor Page with links to race documents, entry, venue information and WhatsApp Chat Group for notifications of new information is Here.

Charters may be available from NB Sailsports and Performance Sailcraft Australia.

This event is the qualifying event for Australian sailors applying for entry to any 2025 ILCA World Open and Youth Championships.

Following on from the changes in ILCA boats & equipment supply with now nine approved licensed builders around the world  we are advised that PSA has reviewed its operations here and plans to move to a smaller factory where they will deploy new world standard moulds and hull/deck joining jig.

In the interim they have reduced staff and staffing to three days per week.

PSA say they are looking forward to the future in their overhead reduced form.

We are running a Youth 3 day training camp from 29 June leading up to coaching during the four day Queensland Youth Week Regatta 4-7 July at Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron Manly Queensland.

The program will have top coaches including Brett Beyer and will cost $350. You can register here.

Sailors will be responsible for their own:

• Regatta Entry 
• Travel
• Accommodation
• Food & personal costs

Chris Stannage has put this program together and in it we will be combining coaching forces with the RQYS coaches, led by Olympic Coach Adrian Finglas. There are opportunities for young NSW Coaches to donate their time and come along and learn from Brett and Adrian as part of a regatta set up.

There will be an information session about the camp and the NSW & ACT ILCA Youth Program for 2024-25 season at the NSW & ACT Youth Training Day event at GRSC on Sunday 2 June. The program there is.

• Training from 10-12 noon for sailors
• Parent briefing and Q&A from 10:30-11:45
• Session for sailors over lunch including designing the NSW & ACT team shirt and bib for Nationals Queensland 1-8 January 2025.

Two great days on the water at Vaucluse for  the 2024 Metros.

8-12 knots N-NE breezes and two lovely sunny days – what’s not to like.

Jon West has captured tons of photos of the action which you can see and purchase on his web site Here.

Updated results for the series are Here

The ILCA NSW & ACT Metropolitan Championships are on at Vaucluse Yacht Club 9-10 March.

VYC will have people to manage parking and trailers on the Saturday from 1000.Rigging will be on the beach north of the club and on Robertson Park behind.
The local council will permit competitors to leave boats over Saturday night in the grassed area of Robertson Park immediately adjacent to the Club. However, no security is provided and boats and equipment are left there entirely at owners’ risk.

Venue Information and map is Here.

We  have arrangements for sailors  to rig at other harbour clubs and sign on and off online.

The Notice of Race is Here.

The Sailing Instructions are Here. Note the first warning will be at 1200 on Sunday 10 March as per SI 6.1.

You can enter online Here up until 1130  on Saturday 9 March.

The 2024 Oceania & Australian Masters Championship is on at RQYS 12-15 April.

The event is being staged after Easter – later this year to allow the excitement and sore limbs experienced in the ILCA World Masters in Adelaide to settle.

This year ILCA Queensland are making a special effort to encourage ILCA 4 sailors to compete. We have included ILCA 4s in the National Masters for some years and we have been lobbying ILCA International to re-instate them in the World Masters. ILCA indicated that they would support the inclusion only if the districts could demonstrate stronger interest.

George Meikle from RQYS is leading the charge to increase interest in ILCA 4 Masters participation. For its part ILCA Queensland is halving the entry fee for the Masters Championship for ILCA 4s.

Entry is available online Here for $300 (half for ILCA 4) if placed by 15 March and $350 after that.

The event NoR is Here.

RQYS is always a great venue for sailing and this National and Regional cube event will provide a great wind down (or wind up) for the season.

Brett Beyer on His Way to His 16th World Masters Title

The 2024 ILCA World Masters wound up at Adelaide Sailing Club on Saturday 10th January with the presentation dinner attended by over 300 filling every area of the large club. This event concluded the massive summer of ILCA sailing in Adelaide.

The Masters event will be remembered for strong winds and big swells, some absolutely textbook Adelaide conditions that stuck around for the entirety of the event and gave sailors some tough days, as well as some glamour sailing. The dominant view around the boat park was that the Adelaide Sailing Club and the 100 or so volunteers who made it all happen each day did a great job which was much appreciated by all the sailors.

There were nine World Masters Divisions contested. Some were stitched up convincingly, while a handful of them came right down to the wire, with some tense moments out on the course in the last few races.

Of the nine divisions Australia won five, with New Zealand, Argentina, USA and Great Britain one each.

ILCA 6 Apprentices Franco Riquelme Antonetti BRA
ILCA 6 Masters Simon Small AUS
ILCA 6 GM Andrew Holdsworth GBR
ILCA 6 GGM James Mitchell AUS
ILCA 6 Legends Bill Symes USA
ILCA 7 Apprentices Luke Deegan NZL
ILCA 7 Masters Brendan Casey AUS
ILCA 7 GM Brett Beyer AUS
ILCA 7 GGM Steve Gunther AUS

The run down on the final places from Sail Down Under’s Harry Fisher is Here.

The full results for the event are Here.

The 2024 ILCA 7 World Championship concluded on 31st January at Adelaide Sailing Club with a bang for the top 10 double points Medal Race and a fizz for the other 142 sailors in the final fleet race which could not be started for various reasons.

Still a total of six qualifying and four finals races were completed in good to excellent through to character building conditions on St Vincents Gulf. With the dominant breeze at 210 degrees providing a 100 KM fetch from Kangaroo Island the sailors enjoyed some classic downwind surfing conditions as the waves approached two metres on the stronger wind days.

 
Going into the Medal Race any of the top three could take the title. Matt Wearn was then 8 points ahead of Norway’s Hermann Tomasgaard with Micky Beckett (GBR) a point further back. Matt lead for almost all of the medal race to take his second ILCA 7 World Championship. Hermann Tomasgaard retained his second place with a second in the medal race with Micky Beckett finished fifth keeping his third overall.

Full results for the event are Here.

Tracks of the medal race can be accessed HERE.

Brett Beyer Current ILCA 7 GM World Champion and winner of 15 ILCA World Masters Titles

The ILCA 6 and ILCA 7 World Masters gets underway at Adelaide Sailing Club this weekend with the practice race on Saturday 3 February. The series will run for the a week concluding on 10 February.

There are 231 sailors from 20 countries competing including 136 Australians.

The event web site is Here.

The Event Welcome Pack of information about the venue in Here.

Charlotte Rose (USA), Anne-Marie Rindom (DEN) and  Emma Plasschaert (BEL) podium in Mar del Plata

The 2024 Women’s world championship from Yacht Club Argentino in Mar del Plata, Argentina concluded on 10 January with three Australians finishing in the top 20 in the 100 boat event. Elyse Ainsworth, WA was best of the Australians at 13th, Mara Stransky, QLD, 17th; Casey Imeneo, VIC, 19th followed by Zoe Thompson, WA, 30th & Sylvie Stannage, NSW, 64th.

Anne-Marie Rindom was the star of the show with four wins from 11 races needing only to sail in the final medal race to win. Fast improving American sailor Charlotte Rose was second and Belgian Emma Plasschaert third. The event web site is Here and full results are Here.

There were seven Olympic places awarded based on this event. See the Wiki Here for full information on qualification for all 2024 Olympic sailing events.

Mara Stransky had already qualified Australia for an Olympic place with a 10th in the 2023 Worlds in the Hague. We now eagerly await the announcement by Australian Sailing, which of the top Australian women will be our representative in the Paris Olympics in Marseilles 1-6 August 2024.

Brooke Wilson giving her all in the close final race – Photo Jack Fletcher Down Under Sail

The Oceania & Australian Open & Youth Championships which started with light and difficult conditions finished with a bang at Adelaide Sailing Club. A cracking 18-22 knot southerly with a big steep swell meant it was a physical day on the water.

In the ILCA 6 class Brooke Wilson (NSW) led the regatta for the first few days before Frances Beebe (QLD) really threw down the challenge, leading going into the final race.

Brooke was able to take the final race win, with Frances right on her heals. This gave Brooke the championship win by a single point. Frances was first Under 21. Victorian under 19 sailor Patrick Cummin was third. Healy Ryan (NSW) was first under 17 in 4th place.

Tom Saunders NZL close second in ILCA 7 – Photo Jack Fletcher

It also went down to the wire in the ILCA 7 with Tom Saunders (NZ) leading by two points from Matt Wearn with the second drop and the final race to go.

In the final race Matt finished with 8th to Tom’s 18th resulting in Matt’s two point win. Germany’s Philipp Buhl scored three bullets but having to count an 11 and 13 saw him six points off in third. Michael Beckett (GBR) and Swifto Elliott (WA) completed the cube podium.

Aiden Simmons all the way winner in the ILCA 4 – Photo Jack Fletcher

Aidan Simmons (VIC) lead throughout the ILCA 4 series with consistent places in all conditions. Aiden scored five wins and no place worse than 3rd.  Jasper Stay (VIC) scored three wins but was a little less consistent finishing four points behind Aiden.

Chase Taylor (QLD) was third. He was one of the very successful Queensland ILCA 4 squad which posted five of the top ten ILCA 4 places.

The event was voted a great success despite some ordinary conditions causing lost races and no sailing on Day 5. Like the sailors the Adelaide Sailing Club volunteers, PRO Col Dods, the race committee and jury did a terrific job in the sometimes testing conditions.

Full results are linked below.

ILCA 7

ILCA 6

ILCA 4

The event web site in Here and there are interviews and more information on Facebook page Here.

The next Oceania & Australian Championships will be held at Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron Manly QLD 1-8 January 2025.

Beginning with our Oceania & Australian Open and Youth Championships 1-8 January Adelaide Sailing Club ASC will be hosting three major championships across January and February 2024. The Oceania event will be followed by the ILCA 7 Men’s and ILCA 7 and ILCA 6 Masters World Championships. These will be the culmination of three years of work and planning by ASC working with ILCA International, Oceania, Australia and ILCA South Australia to deliver three international-level regattas.

All up there will be more than 600 boats competing which will be the largest sailing event in South Australia’s history.

The ILCA 7 Men’s World Championship will be an Olympic Qualifying event results which will offer seven Olympic places for Paris 2024 (sailed in Marseilles).

ASC Commodore Peter Royle said “We are estimating in the region of 18,000 people to pass through the club during the six-week period of the three events. Our visitor numbers to SA and expected times indicate a $16M boost to the local economy.” He explained “Each event will have opening and closing ceremonies which will be open to the public and ticketed. We also expect to have some spectator craft available for closer on-water viewing too.”

Web sites to watch to follow the events are.

Oceania & Australian Open & Youth 
ILCA 7 Men’s Worlds 
ILCA 7 & ILCA 6 World Masters