The ILCA Handbook is updated each year. The Handbook has all you need to know about the boat and the class with a report from the President, class rules, World Championship winners, sailing tips and more.

 
 
The 2023 version of the Handbook is now available online Here.

There is a big season coming up with 23 interclub, national, regional and world championship in the next 12 months.
 
The major events include the Oceania & Australian Open & Youth Championships, the ILCA 7 Men’s World Championship (which is a 7 place World Olympic qualification  event) and the ILCA 6 & 7 Masters Worlds all at Adelaide Sailing Club Glenelg SA.

Sail Sydney this year will be a 2 Men and 2 Women Oceania Region Olympic qualification event. If you are wondering how the Olympic country qualification works there is a post on the ILCA Australia web site Here.
These big championships will have lead up events and there will be the normal district, and Australian Sailing open, youth and masters events.
 
The list of the events of interest on the east coast and in Adelaide in chronological order is copied below. We will keep the Event Page on this site updated with information and links to the event web site.

In 2019 the ILCA was forced to change the name and trademark for the Laser in order to retain the class’ Olympic status. If you need reminding, or are curious, there is a good explanation of the reasons and the strategy which lead to the change to ILCA naming in a 2019 letter from ILCA Chair Tracy Usher Here.

The majority of ILCA districts and regions worldwide have changed their names from Laser to ILCA and now we would like to make this change from NSW & ACT District Laser Association to ILCA NSW & ACT.
 

When we change the organisation’s name we are required to change the constitution to match. Our current constitution Here dates from 1986 and is out of date. We have decided to update the document while incorporating the naming changes. The proposed new constitution is Here.

To make these changes our regulator NSW Fair Trading requires that we have a majority of members voting to approve the change in our name and to be in favour of a special resolution to replace our constitution. This voting will be online.

 
All members can vote via a link which we will email to members. Current financial members are all sailors at MHASC and all ILCA sailing members of LC12ftSSC and all sailors on our online membership list Here.
Voting will be open until the end of June 2023.

The Bay Sailing Centre at Salamander Bay, Port Stephens is hosting its Bay Series regatta for sports boats, trailer sailers and off-the-beach classes including Lasers. The dinghy events are on the weekend of 20/21 May 2023 with 3 races a day.
 

Have a weekend away, rig on the beach, sail on great open water with no power boat tsunamis or ferries.
 

Saturday, 20th May 2023, at 6 pm – Welcome Drinks and Canapes will be on at the Cheeky Dog, Bannisters. The daily winners will be announced, lucky door prizes and $500 gift vouchers for Bannisters.
 

On Sunday, 21st May 2023, the final prize giving will be at the Cheeky Dog after racing. Various merchandise for all place getters.
 

Throughout the weekend, there will be a total of $5,000 worth of lucky door prizes. The bar at the Bay Sailing Centre will be open from 3-5 pm on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and food and beverages 100 metres up the road at Bannisters at 6pm.
 

The Notice of Race is Here and entries can be placed Here

Australian Sailing has launched the “NEXTLEVEL” coaching program for year 2, aimed at further empowering coaches to become advanced coaches and enhance the quality of coaching in the Olympic and pathway classes.

This is a great opportunity for coaches to develop their skills further and contribute to the development of high-quality coaching.

Coaches selected for the “NEXTLEVEL” program will be required to attend a face-to-face workshop in Brisbane from May 8-10, 2023, and the Advance Workshop from May 22-24 in Adelaide. AS will arrange for travel and accommodation for the selected coaches.

If coaches are interested in being considered for the program, they should register Here by close of business April 20.

QLA have a big State Championship event coming up 29-30 April at Humpybong YC.

They are expecting a big roll-up so why not join them and enjoy some beautiful Queensland autumn weather.

 
All entries will go into the draw for a new sail.

 
Entries are on the QLA web site Here.

Alexander Bijkerk a Clear Winner in ILCA 7s – photo by Rob Barnes

The 2023 NSW & ACT Metropolitan Championships were run over the 25-26 March at Double Bay Sailing Club.

There were 84 boats competing with a great roll up of 24 ILCA 4 and 38 ILCA 6s and 22 ILCA 7s and boats from Queensland and Tasmania competing with NSW & ACT locals. The ILCA 7 numbers were down somewhat as a result of the busy program of interclub events so far in 2023 including Australian & Oceania Open, A&O Masters and ILCA World Masters.

Six races were completed over the two days in oscillating generally easterly breezes from 10 -13 knots. The triangle and windward and return courses were set between between Shark and Clark Islands convenient to the club and away from the main harbour traffic except for the Etchells a few of which on Saturday managed the suicide path on a port run through the starting fleet of ILCAs all on starboard.

Healy Ryan (HHSC/DBSC) was the fleet winner in the ILCA 4s with very consistent performances including two heat wins and two seconds. Second was Tasmanian Harry Pilkington (RYCT) closely followed by Queenslander Breanne Wadley (Tinaroo SC).

In the ILCA 6s Evie Saunders (Manly ILCAs) and Brooke Wilson (RSYS/DBSC) put their great skills and Sydney Harbour sailing knowledge to good effect at the front of the fleet. Evie finished a few points in front of Brooke counting three heat wins and two seconds. Local Connor Kellett (DBSC) was third just one point in front of current World GGM Masters Champion Jeff Loosemore.

Alexander Bijkerk (RPAYC/DBSC) won every race except the last to record a convincing win in the ILCA 7s. Otto Henry ((WSC/RSYS/DBSC) who won the final race and was consistently well placed in the others was second with Under 21 sailor Julian Taylor (WSC/RSYS/DBSC) third just ahead of Tom Farley (B16s/NCYC).

The full results for the series are Here.

DBSC did a great job running this event for us with many of their sailors volunteering on the water giving up their weekend sailing to make the event a great success.

Thanks also to our RO Andrew McLachlan. Andrew is Commodore of Georges River Sailing Club which runs a large number of big events (including this year our ILCA Oceania & Australian Championships. Andrew some how finds the time also to RO our NSW & ACT events.

Evie Saunders and Healy Ryan ILCA 6 and ILCA 4 Winners with DBSC Rear Commodore Rod Barnes – photo by Steve London

The Metropolitan Championships are on 25-26 March at Double Bay Sailing Club.

The Notice of Race is Here.

You can enter online Here or until 1200 hours on Saturday at the club.

The Sailing Instructions are Here. Please check the Attachments B & C relevant to harbour marine traffic.

While there is great rigging area on Steyne Park parking nearby can be difficult. Because 25 March is NSW Election Day we will not have access to parking at the public school. The best parking is at the public carpark 1-13 Cross St Double Bay which is 5 minutes walk from the club. The map and details are Here.

We will have online sign on/off online use the link https://tinyurl.com/lasersignonoff or scan the bar code below. We will use the Australian Laser App for any updates to SIs, notifications and results links.

Metros 2020 at Double Bay Sailing Club

Vanessa Dudley in action on Day 3 – Photo by John West
The 2023 Oceania & Australian Masters Championships 10-13 March were run from the Bay Sailing Centre Port Stephens.

There were 147 boats sailing in three fleets. There were sailors from all Australian mainland states and territories with the most travelled competitor was GGM Helio Araujo from Rio de Janeiro Yacht Club.  It was pleasing to see keen competition in the ILCA 4s. We are keen to promote this rig for Masters as well as Youth age categories going forward.

Many of the sailors backed up from the ILCA World Masters Championships in Pattaya, Thailand in February.

Weather for the event varied from character building to excellent and from NE to SW.

The first days racing was tough with ENE winds 22 gusting to 29 knots. The waves were challenging, building over the 11Km fetch from the headland of Port Stephens to Soldiers Point. There were a large number of sailors who didn’t make it around the course and even more who were glad that they didn’t try. Well done to the sailors especially in the ILCA 7s most of whom made it all look easy on the day.

Day 2 saw ideal conditions from ENE. The run out tide proved a challenge with several OCSs and Black Flags. On Day 3 the breeze went around to the SW so the waves were down and presented excellent sailing conditions especially for sailors skilled in picking the shifts which were numerous. Day 4 saw a steadier 16 knot southerly and very good sailing conditions. [br]

The fleet winners were GM Brett Beyer Woollahra SC in the ILCA 7s,  GM  Mark Tonner-Joyce from Royal Geelong YC in the ILCA 6 Green (Masters & GMs) and GGM Michael Pitt from Royal Queensland YS in the ILCA 6 Yellow (GGM and Legends). Sandy Kiernan from Northbridge SC won the ILCA 4s. The full final results are Here.

There are very many fabulous action shots taken by Jon West which are linked on the Photos tab on the ILCA Nationals web site. You can view the watermarked images and buy from Jon’s web site. There are photos by Rod Barnes of the presentation which are free to download Here.

Thanks to the Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club (NCYC) who manage the Bay Sailing Centre (BSC) for hosting this event for us. The BSC is only a small club on some of the best dinghy sailing water on the east coast so the NCYC did a great job recruiting the 30 on water volunteers needed to run this event. These folks were flat out with rescues on day one with some sailors also rescued by a few good samaritan sailors – thanks to them.

The next ILCA Australian Masters will be held 12-15 April 2024 at RQYS Brisbane.

Brett Beyer – First GM in ILCA 7s – Inaction on Day 1 – Photo by John West

The 2023 Oceania & Australian Masters Championships will be held at the Bay Sailing Centre Soldiers Point on Port Stephens 10-13 March 2023.

This event is a little later in the year than normal and was re-scheduled to avoid clashing with the ILCA World Masters Pattaya, Thailand 8-16 (ILCA 6) and 18-26 (ILCA 7) February 2023.

Port Stephens is our favourite venue for Masters events with great sailing winds and water and lots of accommodation in all price ranges.

Results and information are on the event web site https://www.auslasernationals.com.au/

Jeff Loosemore ILCA 6 GGM and Brett Beyer ILCA 7 GM Current World Masters Champions – Photos Jon West

All Australian Podium in the ILCA 6 GGM World Championship

The 60 Australian Masters sailors competing in the just concluded World Masters in Pattaya, Thailand achieved some memorable results.

With 112 boats in the ILCA 6s and 86 in the ILCA 7s there was lots of good close racing over the two weeks of the two back to back series.

The conditions were mostly very good but but with periods of very light conditions. Strong tides confounded some sailors and resulted in a greater than usual (for a Masters) number of U and black flags. The organisation of the event by ILCA and the Royal Varuna Yacht Club was excellent.

In the ILCA 6 GGM 32 boat fleet Australians filled the first four places lead by Jeff Loosemore followed by Lyndall Patterson, Steve Gunther and Martin White. David Early was third in the 42 boat ILCA 6 GMs fleet.

In the ILCA 7s GMs Brett Beyer took out his 15th Laser/ILCA World Masters series winning 9 of the 12 races. Jan Scholten was second and Gavin Dagley 4th in the 38 boat fleet. Steve Gunther and Jeff Loosemore backed up to compete in the ILCA 7 GGMs with Steve finishing second and Jeff third to GBR’s Tim Law. Colin Dibb was 4th in the GGMs. Now sailing for Australia Gold Coast orthodontist Christoph Bottoni had a remarkably consistent series to finish second in the ILCA 7 Masters to the almost unbeatable Greek sailor Adonis Bougiouris who posted 10 wins from 12 starts.

The event web site with news, video and pictures is ILCA 6 Here & ILCA 7 Here. The results for ILCA 6 and ILCA 7 are as linked.

The next ILCA World Masters will be from Adelaide Sailing Club 2-10th February 2024 so hopefully we will be able to achieve similar success there.

Lyndall Patterson Dicing With Martin Linsley in Pattaya Thailand – Photo Matias Capizzano

ALCA is compiling a candidate list of coaches for Australian Teams at a Youth & U21 World Championship events.

The EoI closes on 10 February so a tight time line. Details are on the ALCA web site at http://www.lasersdownunder.com/request-for-alca-coaching-expressions-of-interest/

The next Oceanian and Australian Open & Youth Championships will be at Adelaide Sailing Club 1-8 January 2024. Following these championships will be the ILCA 7 Men’s and ILCA Masters Worlds. There is a YouTube video promo for the big events Here and the the full list of event dates is below.

There will be a number of lead up events at ASC which will be a good opportunity to familiarise sailors with the conditions for the big championships. The full program of ASC events  and the 2023 Masters is below.

The 2023 Oceania & Australian Laser Open & Youth Championships was sailed on Botany Bay from Georges River Sailing Club. These championships were completed on Sunday 8th January.

The 180-boat event was sailed in four fleets with three ILCA class rigs. There were 150 Australian and 30 international sailors from 12 countries competing.

Sailing was scheduled between 3rd and 8th January however on days 3 & 4 (5-6 January) with the wind at 27 gusting to 35 knots no sailing was possible . Two race per day were sailed on days 1 and 2 in very good conditions followed by three races on day 5 in testing 18-20 knot southerly winds while the final three races on day 6 were sailed in ideal 15 knot southerly conditions.

The 83 boat ILCA 6 gold fleet saw some great racing with the last race determining the top four places. These were contested between Tokyo 2020 Olympic Women’s ILCA Laser sailors from Belgium, Switzerland, Hungary, and Australia. Emma Plaschaert from Belgium finished second in the final race to take a narrow win from Maud Jaynet (SUI) and Maria Erdi (HUN). Maria just pipped Queenslander Mara Stransky by a single point. Maria just pipped Queenslander Mara Stransky by a single point. Mara Stransky was the Australian Women’s Champion and the overall ILCA 6 Australian Champion. Casey Imeneo from Victoria topped some consistent results with two wins on the last day to finish fifth overall.

The under 19 ILCA 6 division was won by Australian Sailing Youth Sailor of the Year and silver medallist in the World Sailing Youth Championships Evie Saunders from Manly Yacht Club in NSW.

Cube Winners – Some of the Best ILCA 6 Sailors in the World – Photo by Jon West

The ILCA 7 fleet was hotly contested with four Australians, four from Great Britain and two from New Zealand finishing in the top ten.

In a drama packed final race Michael Beckett (GBR) needed to win to take the title after Australia’s Matt Wearn had some issues and was a DNF. Michael finished second and so Matt Wearn won his fifth Australian Laser/ILCA Championship on a close countback. Elliot Hanson (GBR) was third in front of popular WA sailor Swifto Elliott and leading Kiwi George Gautrey.

The leading youth sailors (under 21) was Stefan Elliott-Shircore from Western Australia.

The ILCA 4 (aka Laser 4.7) fleet of 55 boats consisted of up-and-coming youth sailors under 18 and under 16 years of age. The first three placegetters were young sailors from Victoria. Aidan Simmons and Angus McIntyre both won four of the ten heats, with Aidan the overall ILCA 4 champion by two points. Riley Cantwell finished third overall and was the under 16 junior ILCA 4 champion. It was pleasing to see 40% of the ILCA 4 fleet were women and the first woman Sara Bruce from DBSC and RSYS was 4th overall.

Based on strong performances particularly in the ILCA 4 fleet the Battens Trophy for the best performed State went to Victoria. Victoria showed the benefit of strong state training programs and racing in ILCA 4 and the feed in junior classes, in particular the Optimist class.

Victorious Victorian Team – Battens Trophy Winners –  Photo by Jon West

Full results can be found Here and on mobile devices using the free Australian Laser App under the National & District Events tab.

The next ILCA class National & Oceania Championship will be for masters sailors at Port Stephens, Australia on 10-13 March 2023 were nearly 200 boats are expected to compete.

The next Oceania & Australian Open & Youth Championships will be at Adelaide Sailing Club 1-8 January 2024. There is a 4 minute promotion video for the 2024 Adelaide event and the following ILCA 7 and ILCA Masters World Championship events on YouTube Here.

Jon West has been braving the weather and his valuable equipment to capture some great action photos. You can view and purchase photos from the event Here.

Note that the photo albums are numbered from the Practice Race as Day 1.

Check Jon’s photos on Instagram Here

ILCA 4 Fleet Action – Photo by Jon West