ILCA NSW & ACT

Our NSW & ACT State Championships will be held 14-15 November at Double Bay Sailing Club. This will be a cube event for Open, Youth and Masters sailors. The event will be run from the largest ILCA club in Australia, and sailed on the iconic waters of Sydney Harbour.

The event will provide a great opportunity to prepare for the upcoming World, Regional and National Championships in January and the National Masters in February.

$20 parking will be available at the Double Bay Public School adjacent to Steyne Park on William Street. Boats on dollies can be left overnight in the rigging area – no security is provided.

You can enter online Here or at the club until 11:30am on Saturday 14 November. Online sign on/off is provided Here so sailors who have pre-entered online can deploy from other Harbour clubs for the event.

The Notice of Race is Here and the Sailing Instructions are Here.

There is more information on land navigation, parking, rigging catering and sausage sizzle on the event web page of DBSC web site Here.

This will be the largest dinghy event in Sydney and NSW this year so don’t miss it.

Our ILCA NSW & ACT Annual General Meeting will be held at 9.00am on Sunday 25 November at Double Bay Sailing Club coincident with the State Championships.

The meeting agenda and reports are posted on our Archive page Here.

All positions are are up for election so if you want to get involved or just have your say about our affairs do come along.

Sylvie Stannage ILCA 6 Winner at Coasts – Photo by Paul Bellamy

The Coast Championships regatta was held over the weekend at Speers Point Amateur Sailing Club SPASC on the northern end of Lake Macquarie. 57 boats competed with three fleets ILCA 4, 6 and 7 in very good but at times testing conditions. Our PRO Andrew McLachlan ran the scheduled three races  on both days using our traditional three lap trapezoidal courses. Saturday saw mostly ENE winds at 12 to 18 knots and on Sunday WNW 13 to 18 so by the end of the weekend all the sailors had had a good workout.

SPASC and their mighty army of volunteers did a fabulous job both on the water and around the club in running this event for us. It is a great little club with uncrowded waters great for small dinghy racing.

There were amazing performances in each fleet with the respective winners Harper Spacey ILCA 4, Sylvie Stannage ILCA 6 and Campbell Patten ILCA 7 posting minimum scores of 5 points. Despite the variability of the wind especially on Sunday these sailors were able to work their way to the front and stay there.

The final results for the event are Here.

There are many photos of the racing taken by SPASC member Paul Bellamy Here.

Harper Spacey Clear ILCA 4 Winner – Paul Bellamy Photo

Campbell Patten ILCA 7 Winner – Paul Bellamy Photo

Our Coast Championships are on 24-25 October at Speers Point Amateur Sailing Club at the northern end of  Lake Macquarie.

The Notice of Race is Here and entries can be placed up until 24 October online Here. The Sailing Instructions are Here.

Support boats can be registered at the link [Here]

Speers Point ASC is a great small sailing club originating 120 years ago and 70 plus years at its current site. It has a growing fleet of junior ILCA sailors and other dinghy classes.

Surrounded by the green spaces of Speers Point Park the club has ample parking, a large, grassed rigging area and two wide launching ramps. The sailing area on Cockle and Warners Bays offers uncongested water and usually good breezes.  There is ample accommodation in the area with caravan park, short term cottage and apartment rental, hotel and motel Air B&B  all available. The legendary Pipi’s Pub is just up the road.

The club has twilight sailing on Friday so on the day before the Coasts ILCA sailors are welcome to join in.  They also have dinner at the club on the Friday night after sailing and regatta entrants are welcome to attend.

Come along and enjoy two great days of ILCA competition.

Australian Sailing Youth Sail ACT is on Canberra Yacht Club and YMCA of Canberra Sailing Club 9-11 October.

Sailed on Lake Burley Griffin it will have daily on-water coaching led by qualified Australian Sailing coaches, skill development, and championship racing. There will also be a Green Fleet non-competitive participation program for newer sailors.

Young sailors have opportunities to hear stories and tips from Australian sailing Olympians.

The event site with links to register and all documents and information is Here. 

The ILCA Class Rules change ballot has been passed by the necessary two-thirds majority members vote. The new rules some into effect from 10th August 2026. The complete new rules are published Here  and are available in a single pdf Here.

Most of the changes are structural and the rules are now transposed into the World Sailing Standard Class Rules format. If you want to trace the changes in detail then there is a table showing old and new Here.

Lily Zahab has been selected as the ILCA NSW & ACT sailor for the ILCA Oceania Solidarity Program  She will join eight other 13-16 y.o. ILCA 4 female sailors one from each Australia state, New Zealand and Fiji in a squad competing in the 2027 PSA ILCA Australian & Oceania Championships at Sandringham YC, Victoria 1-8 January.

Lily is an active member of the Australian sailing community. She has competed in ILCA 4, Optimist, Pacer, FEVA, 420′s and Elliot 7 all helping to develop her versatility, resilience and a love of sailing.

Lily currently sails her ILCA 4 Eclipse at Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron (RSYS) and competes in ILCA interclub events and sailed in the 2026 ILCA Oceania & Australian Championships in Hobart.

Lily is passionate about giving back to the sport and helping younger sailors build confidence and skills on the water. She recently completed Assistant Dinghy Sailing Instructor qualification and volunteers as an Assistant Instructor at RSYS. She has also completed Green Fleet Coaching training, allowing her to support and mentor even younger sailors as they begin their sailing journeys.

We wish Lily and the other 2027 Solidarity Program sailors all the best for participation in the Program and the Sandringham Championships.

Photo right is of Lily at NSW & ACT Metropolitan Championships in her ILCA 4 Eclipse.

ILCA Victoria will welcome sailors from Australia and around the world for an exceptional summer of racing from Sandringham Yacht Club on Port Phillip Bay.

Major Championship Events – Hosted by ILCA Victoria:

2026 Performance Sailcraft ILCA Victorian State Championships 21–22 November 2026
2027 Performance Sailcraft ILCA Oceania & Australian Open & Youth Championships 1–8 January 2027
2027 Performance Sailcraft ILCA Under-21 World Championships 10–17 January 2027

Local and overseas sailors can build a full Australian summer campaign by including regattas in multiple states:

2026 ILCA NSW & ACT State Championships 14-15 November 2026 – Double Bay SC
2026 Sail Melbourne – 26–29 November 2026 – Brighton, Melbourne
2026 Sail Brisbane – 15–19 December 2026 – RQYS, Brisbane

Together, these events create a structured pathway of competition from November 2026 through January 2027, allowing sailors to maximise travel value and race days.

For further information about ILCA Victoria events please contact:
James Mitchell
Chair, ILCAVIC 26–27 Regatta Organising Committee

Applications open 14 July 2026 for the 2027 Performance Sailcraft ILCA Under-21 World Championships, to be held 10–17 January 2027 at Sandringham, Melbourne.

As the host nation, Australia has been allocated additional places for this championship, with the final number depending on demand from other countries.

Australian applicants will be offered places in ranking order, based on results from the 2026 Australian Championships in Hobart, as outlined in our June 2025 ILCA Australia post.

Didn’t sail in Hobart? You can still apply! Sailors who didn’t compete at the 2026 Australian Championships will be ranked after those who did, in the order applications are received.

This is a once-in-a-career opportunity to race an Under-21 World Championship on home waters. Don’t miss it!

Applications open at 00:01 US Central Time on 14 July 2026.

See ILCA Australian ranking policy here: Worlds Ranking

Regatta entries here from 14 July:  Laser World Championships – International Laser Class Association

As an Olympic class ILCA is required to change its Class Rules to align with World Sailing’s Standard Class Rules (SCR) format.

The majority of changes are clerical only with a few needing to be made to address rules that were either legacy provisions carried forward without revision or rules whose interpretation was unclear. This second group has been revised to reflect the class’s considered position to maintain current practices.

In short there in no intention to change the current class rules arrangements. You can see the changes in detail Here.

There is a more detailed description Here of the motivation and mechanism of these rules changes along with a link to the proposed new Class Rules with the changes incorporated.

The rules changes need to voted as a job lot (Yes/No) by a simple majority of district members.

Voting is open here until 24th July 2026

Applications for the 2027 ILCA Oceania Solidarity Program are now open.

With support from PSA and Australian Sailing one ILCA 4 female sailor (aged between 13 & 16 years on Jan 1st, 2027) from each Australian state, plus representatives from New Zealand and Pacific Island nations will receive free entry to the 2027 Oceania & Australian Open & Youth Championships 1-8 January at Sandringham Yacht Club. plus, a race-ready ILCA 4, a dedicated coach, and team gear. A flyer for the program is Here.

This is the fifth running of this program which since 2023 has seen 28 girls participate, fostering growth, friendships, and success, including international competition and positive community impact.

Applications can be placed before 1st August 2026 Here.

The program web site is Here and an information brief is Here.

NSWIODA the Optis are running an East Coast Championships over the June long weekend 6-8 June at Woollahra Sailing Club.

They are inviting all ILCA, 9′er and 420 classes to join the Optis for this event.

The Notice of Race is Here. Entries can be placed Here.

Manly Yacht Club MYC have one of the largest youth fleets in NSW and a development plan that includes helping sailors move into ILCA4s.

They have a strong vision to continue to grow their very successful youth programme over the next 3 years. As part of this plan MYC are looking for a new Juniors Head Coach.

MYC’s Youth Vision and Program are explained along with details of the new professional Head Coach position in the flyer Here.

If you are, or know someone who may be, interested in the position please contact the MYC manager by 31 May via the email listed in the flyer.

This isa great club and initiative.

Some great Autumn dinghy sailing is to be enjoyed at Week 3 of Sail Sport Stephens (SPS) 2-3 May from the Bay Sailing Centre at Soldiers Point. We know and appreciate the venue and the waters from running many of our own events there.

The Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club has run Sail Port Stephens  since 2008 with competitors growing from 25 then to over 300 across all fleets.

The Off the Beach section of the event caters for most classes including ILCAs.

Entry, Notices and other links and information is on the SPS Off the Beach web page at https://www.sailportstephens.com.au/off-the-beach/

Can’t promise as many sailors or as much wind as for our National Masters but SPS is a great event and venue

The Lake Mac Open Skiff & ILCA Champs are on 28 & 29 March at Speers Point SC Lake Macquarie.

This event is for sailors up to age 20 in ILCA 4 and ILCA 6 and Open Skiff (ex Bic) class. A good roll up of sailors is expected to enjoy the fun and racing.

Podium finishers in the ILCA will take home trophies and PSA vouchers, and there’s a great fun element alongside the racing — a couple of adventure races including the now-legendary Bridge of Doom, where ILCA sailors team up and race on Open Skiffs. Holding 45 degrees through the Bridge is harder than it sounds!

The Notice of Race is Here and you can enter the event Here.