ILCA NSW & ACT

The ILCA has begun accepting applications to compete at the 2016 Laser Masters World Championships in Mexico.

For information about the Championships and to fill out an application, please Click the ILCA events page here.

The selection policy for the Masters Worlds for Australia is set out on the ALCA web site here.

So far everyone who wants to participate in World Masters has been accommodated however late applicants are may not know for sure until January. So, as always, it is best to apply early.

The Venue: The 2016 Laser Masters World Championships will take place on the Pacific Coast of Mexico on the waters of Banderas Bay.  Sailing will be less than one kilometer off the beaches and will be based out of the Vallarta Yacht Club (VYC). VYC offers a full bar and dining facilities as well as a hot tub, bathrooms, shower and locker rooms and a private swimming pool.

Accommodations: Paradise Village Beach Resort and Spa in Nuevo Vallarta.
Paradise Village occupies a 12-acre private peninsula amidst a 440-acre beachfront community with a world-class marina, a European-style spa, a conference center, a tropical gardens, championship golf and beautiful white-sand beaches.

The World Masters is being run next year as two events. Radial Rig from 22nd April until 30 April 2016 and Standard Rig from 20th May until 28th May 2016. This is because there are limits to the number of charter boats that can be made available, a combined Standard and Radial Masters would mean that ILCA could accommodate only half as many sailors as if they are sailed as separate events. ILCA goal is to give as many sailors as possible an opportunity to compete on the water and enjoy the venue. ILCA say that you may submit applications for both events and that if there is space available you may compete at both.

Why are the two Masters Championships not scheduled back to back? ILCA needed to schedule the Olympic class World Championships around various ISAF events. The host also has scheduling issues that needed to be addressed, and this was the best schedule that could accommodate all the needs and constraints in place.

Sail Sydney this year at Woollahra Sailing Club will include 18 classes including Laser 4.7, Radial and Standard.

The Laser races will be from Thursday 17th December to Saturday 19th.

Details and entry are on the Sail Sydney web site here.

59 Laser competed in the Coasts at Port Kembla.

Conditions were light and variable on Saturday and after an overnight southerly were a little better on Sunday. RO Andrew McLachlan and the slick Port Kembla Sailing Club on water team worked hard and six races were completed for the three rigs.

It was great to see 16 4.7′s competing, eight making their way from Royal Prince Alfred  Yacht Club complete with coach. Jack Littlechild from Woollahra and Double Bay SC’s was the clear winner in the 4.7′s winning four of the six races. Cameron Whiteside and Nathan Bryant both from team RPAYC were second and third. The first female in the 4.7′s was overall fourth place Tegan Hanrahan from Canberra YC.

Ashley Stoddart Australia’s number one ranked Laser women sailor made the journey down from Royal Queensland YS to take out the Radial event registering four wins in the process. Second was Blake Selley who sails at both Woollahra and Double Bay SC’s. Third was Jordan Makin from Gosford SC.

The Standard rig event was a Skulander quinella with Zac Skulander from Woollahra SC the clear winner with four bullets and brother Nicholas second. Thomas Vincent came up from McCrae YC in Melbourne to take third place.

Photos from the event courtesy of Port Kembla Sailing Club are here.

Final results after six races are linked below;

• Standard
• Radial
• 4.7

School’s in RPAYC 4.7 team and coach crew

Youngest in the fleet Will McMillan (9)

Ashely Stoddart on the way to Radial win

Peter Stephinson – A hard day in the office

Our first regatta for the season is the Coast Championship which is on 17^th and 18^th October at Port Kembla Sailing Club.

This should be a good weekend away at a great sailing venue.

You can stay nearby or camp on the club grounds or sleep in a swag in the club. There will be meals available at the club including dinner on Saturday night and breakfast on Sunday morning. The menus are here.

The Sailing Instructions, Notice of Race and Venue information documents are linked in the Events Page of this site.

Entries using a credit card can be placed on line here or you can enter up to 11.30am at Port Kembla S.C. on Saturday 17^th October using a credit card or cash.

Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club Laser fleet races on Newcastle harbour on Friday nights during summer. Their season starts on 9th October 2015. During daylight saving the Laser races are from 5.30pm and are usually finished by 7.30pm, or sunset, at the latest.

The fleet has grown from three boats five years ago to more than 20 each race. With the races being at the end of the week, there’s a casual but competitive atmosphere with everyone heading over to NCYC bar afterwards for a beer or “Laser burger”.

The club has built a launch pontoon off the end of one of its piers to give easy access into the harbour. The fleet has experienced phenomenal growth over the past three seasons due to the relaxed atmosphere, location and timing of the races. During daylight saving the NCYC races are from 5.30pm and are usually finished by 7.30pm, or sunset, at the latest.

Come along and enjoy the sailing and the après-sail scene and find out how to construct a “Laser burger”.

The ILCA has just issued a press release on the new radial cut Mark II Standard rig sail. The sail features a wide screen window.

The press release is here.

What they are saying is;

Nearly 10 years in the making, the new sail has a bi-radial construction and is made from slightly heavier (4.5Oz) Dacron cloth that better reorients the stress loads along the cloth, giving it a much better flying shape overall.  

Those that have tested the sail during the development phase have been quoted: “When you see the sail out sailing, all the distortions that you see in the current Laser sail are gone, there is no flutter in the leech and it looks like a really beautiful sail for the boat.”

The class legal sails according to the ILCA press release will be available from 1^st November. Sailors would be able to use them as soon as they are available except for Olympic competition and selection for Rio 2016.  This means they are class legal and available for all NSW/ACT Laser events after the Coasts at Port Kembla and for the National Open and Masters Events this season.

The new sail is nominally available from 1^st November 2015. NB Sailsports have pre-order here and PSA have an option to pre-order on their web site here.

The NB Sailsports Winter Sprint Series concluded in very Spring like conditions at Double Bay Sailing Club on Saturday 29th August.

Results for the day are below:

• Standard and Radial
• 4.7

The final series results are here for Standard and Radial and here for 4.7′s.

The final three races of the NB Sailsports Sprint Series will be at Double Bay Sailing Club on 29th August. The first race will be 1.00pm.

After racing we will draw for the winner of the fabulous NB Sailsports  prizes which include a new Laser upgrade.

Entry is $20 and you can enter using a credit card on the NB Sailsports web site here or using cash on the day at DBSC.

The results for the series to date are here and the Sailing Instructions for DBSC are here.

DBSC Commodore Luke Parker extends the following invitation to all Laser sailors.

On behalf of all at DBSC, I’d encourage Laser sailors from far and wide to join us for the final leg of the 2015 NB Sprint Series.  

We’ll be racing on Sydney Harbour, not far from the Bridge, the City, the Harbour Islands and Fort Denison.  Its a spectacular and challenging place to race.  Of course, we won’t have the harbour to ourselves, but we’ll be positioning courses to make the most of the prevailing winds with consideration of other traffic.

There’s an abundance of grassed rigging area, arrangements have been made for parking, our change rooms have ample hot water and the canteen will be stocked.  What more could you want?

We look forward to racing with you on 29 August.

More information on  the schedule, catering and parking arrangements are on the DBSC web site here.

We have been given generous support for the National Masters event from the Port Stephens Council. The National Masters will run from 12th to 15th February 2016 at Port Stephens Sailing and Aquatic Club Salamander Bay.

The Port Stephens Council have been supportive of many sporting events and especially sailing in the past and we thank them for their help to us for this event.

Bruce Taylor from Belmont 16′s won the Avalon Sailing Club raffle of a new Laser sail.

The raffle was initiated by Avalon Sailing Club to help with the costs of the replacement for the deck at the club.

The sail was generously donated by NB Sailsports. The draw was delayed to Gosford to allow Avalon to sell more tickets.

Pictured with the lucky winner is Avalon Sailing Club Commodore Jan Scholten.

33 boats raced in the Gosford leg of the NB Sailsports Sprint Series on Sunday 2nd August. The NW breeze which was over 20 knots before the start moderated and sailors had a pleasant if tricky 6 to 12 knot wind to contend with for the three races.

On the day each of the fleets saw clean sheet wins for Jack Littlechild in 4.7′s, Finn Alaxander in Radials and, fresh from his second in the World Masters in Canada, Zac Skulander in the Standards. The full results for the day are at here.

The five venue series will conclude at Double Bay on Saturday 29th August. On that day the draw will be made for the NB Sailsports prizes including a new Laser trade (your old boat for a brand new Laser). Tickets for the draw are won by participating and performance in the series. The results for the series to date are at here.

Thanks to R.O. Brian Baker, starter Bill Bollard and the GSC volunteers who ran the event and the after race sausage sizzle.

There are photos below of the clear winners at Gosford and some more on the water pictures here.

The next round of the NB Sailsports Sprint Series will be Sunday 2^nd August at Gosford Sailing Club. There are three races scheduled the first of which is 1.00pm.

There is a new coffee shop at the club which also serves hot food and there will be a free sausage sizzle at the club after the event.

You can enter online on the NB Sailsports web site here or using cash at the venue on Sunday. Entry fee is $20.

You still have lots of chances to get tickets for the draw for fabulous prizes from NB including a new Laser upgrade. The more races you compete in as well as how well you do will determine how many tickets you get for the prize draw which will occur at the final NB event at Double Bay Sailing Club on 29th August.

Results for the NB Sailsports Sprint Series to date are here.

Congratulations to the Australian Laser sailors who participated in the Open Men’s and Masters Worlds at Kingston Ontario Canada.

Tom Burton was third in a challenging open series which saw all six Australians in the 158 fleet qualify for the top 53 gold fleet.   Full results are here.

In the Masters 28 Australians competed in the fleets totalling some 260. Brett Beyer (SM), Mark Bethwaite (SGGM) and Rob Lowndes (RGGM) were winners in their divisions while Zac Skulander (RM) and Jeff Loosemore (RGM) were additional cube winners. Full results are below;

Standard Masters

Radial Masters

Photos from the events are here

Good luck and and good sailing to the Australians who will compete in the Youth Worlds at the same Kingston venue between 15-20th August. You can follow their results from the regatta web site here.

Australian Masters at Kingston

Tom Burton at Laser Worlds Photo by Sailingshot

H₂O Sports Academy have a number of training and coaching session planned. Of particular interest are the following.

H₂O Laser 4.7 Race Team – Applications open to any keen U19 Laser 4.7 sailor. Team coach is Laura Baldwin, Olympian and Coach. The program kicks off at the NSW Youth Sailing Championship 3-5 Oct at George’s River and continues through to the completion of the Australian Youth Championships. Team members will get uniform including t-shirts, caps, bibs and boat stickers. More info link

H₂O Laser Class Training – with World # 1 Tom Burton, Ryan Palk who recently finished 11th at the Laser World Championships and Laura Baldwin, Olympian and Coach. A series of training days have been set with a newly developed H2O Laser Training Program almost ready to launch. This program is mapped out in a logbook, with the coaches signing off skills you demonstrate correctly in the training session, leaving the areas to work on next clearly listed. More info link

H₂O Kids Race Training Camps – September 21-23 and 28-30, H2O are offering two 3-days, 2-nights fully catered residential race training camps with world-class coaches, Karyn Gojnich, Ryan Palk, Laura Baldwin and Haylee Outteridge for Lasers, Optimists, Sabots and 29ers sailors 8-17 years. More info link

Masters Sailors Tom Burton Coaching at the NSW States - World number  one ranked Tom Burton will be coaching a team of 6 sailors at the NSW Laser States at Wangi Wangi 14-15th November. $350 includes a weekend of coaching, t-shirt, boat and sail stickers and use of a race bib. Email  info@h2o-sports-academy.com to book a place.

The Belmont leg of the NB Sailsports Sprint Series saw a continuation of the light conditions experienced at Georges River and Avalon. Three races were completed in light westerly winds with 35 boats competing.

Thanks to Belmont 16′s for running this event. The winds were not kind but the management on the water and the facilities were first rate. The rain stayed away and despite the lack of wind it was a pleasant day on the water.

Lorenzo Cerretelli won the Standards convincingly with two first and a second place from Ric Longbottom on a countback from Ian Alexander. Lorenzo continues to lead the series overall.

The Alexanders also had a win in the Radials with series leader Finn the winner from Jordan Makin and Chris Meech. Finn’s two wins and a second on the day keep him firmly at the top of the overall series leader board.

Jack Littlechild also had a 1,1,2 result in the 4.7′s  winning from Mark Lewis and Jack Moran. Tom Farley leads the series overall.

The full results for the day are here and the series results overall to date are here.

The next leg of the event will be on Sunday 2nd August at Gosford Sailing Club with the first start at 1.00pm.