Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania is where it is all happening for ILCA Oceania & Nationals. At the same time experience all the activity around the Sydney Hobart race and Tasmania’s Taste of Summer in Hobart.
Get you entry and bookings in early so you don’t miss the prime travel and accommodation spots.
Scan the QR code or go to https://ryct.org.au/2026-ilca-oceania-australian-championship/ for links to NoR, entry and information on the event.
Zoe Thomson won the ILCA 6 gold medal ahead of 114 of the World’s top ILCA 6 Women sailors at the Princesa Sofía Regatta, held between 28 March and 5th April in Mallorca, Spain. Conditions were highly variable with big winds and waves on some days and light winds and flat water on others.
Zoe has had great success in this regatta having finished second in the last two years and was very pleased to go one better this year. She achieved this with consistent performance through the series and a second place in the Medal Race. Fellow Australian Sailing Team member Mara Stransky also had a good series finishing 10th while Casey Imeneo was 20th and Sylvie Stannage 29th.
The full AS ILCA 6 squad, have been training together through the Australian summer and will compete in the 2025 ILCA 6 Women’s World Championship 10-17 May in Qingdao, China.
In the ILCA 7s Australian Sailing Pathway Team sailors Zac Littlewood and Ethan McAullay both scored several top-three race finishes in the 174 boat event in Mallorca. Zac finished just one point out of the Medal Race in 11th place with Ethan 16th. They will compete in the 10 Australia sailor team in the 2025 Men’s ILCA 7 Worlds next month in China.
Olympic silver medalist and World Sailing number one ranked iQ Foilist Grae Morris also won gold in Mallorca with consistent performance in the variable conditions.
Tas ILCA have posted the 2026 ILCA Oceania & Australian Open & Youth Championship Notice of Race along with Online Entry on the Event Page below:
2026 ILCA Oceania & Australian Open & Youth Championship – Event Page
The Event Page also has charter boat contacts, transport and accommodation information, coach, and support boat registration.
In particular sailors and teams who wish to use Spirit of Tasmania should consider booking early for greater choice of sailings.
This event will be the ranking event for entry to all 2026 ILCA World Open and Youth Championships except for the 2026 Under 21 Worlds Lanzarote, Spain (17-24 Jan 2025). Full details of ILCA Australia ranking for ILCA World Championships are Here.
Along with the nationals, RYCT have their pre-Christmas Showdown regatta that sailors may be interested in. The NoR for this event is Here.
Tas ILCA and RYCT are looking forward to welcoming all down to Hobart for these Championships
The South Pacific Laser Masters is on again at Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron, Manly between 25th and 28th July.
The event will be preceded by the traditional ILCA Forum on the evening of Thursday 24th July.
RQYS, QILCA and Kerry Waraker always put on a great event and the weather is pretty well guaranteed to be better than anywhere further south.
NoR and entry will be posted and linked on RQYS web site.
ILCA International has awarded the 2027 ILCA Under-21 World Championships to ILCA Victoria.
The 2027 Performance Sailcraft ILCA Under 21 World Championships for men in ILCA 7 and women in ILCA 6 will be run 10-17 January 2027 at the Sandringham Yacht Club. Up to 200 sailors are expected to compete with many aspiring to represent their countries at the 2028 and/or 2032 Olympics.
Sandringham will also host the Victorian State and the Australian & Oceania Championships in the weeks preceding the Under 21 Worlds. Together with Sail Melbourne, this provides sailors from around the world with a program of events across the southern hemisphere summer.
ILCA Field Operations Officer, Andrus Poksi said. “The event will bring together the world’s top Under-21 sailors to compete at
one of the premier sailing destinations in the Southern Hemisphere.
The full event Press Release is Here.
Under 21 Worlds Men’s ICA 7 Portugal 2024 Start
David Whait leading Matt Faddy and Matt Blakey all enjoying the conditions at the top of the ILCA 7 Fleet
Over 100 boats lined up for the 2025 Masters at Westernport (27 ILCA 7s, 80 ILCA 6s and 6 ILCA 4s) sailed 21-24 February at Westernport YC, Victoria.
On day one no race started with the tide velocity at times exceeding the wind. Conditions after that ranged from excellent ranging up to challenging allowing PRO Col Dods to run three races per day so 9 of the scheduled 10 races were completed. WYC did a fabulous job on the water and for the several social events which were much appreciated by all the sailors.
There was great racing in all the fleets and some fabulous rides across the reaches and with some decent wind and wave waves down the runs.
The final results for the event are Here.
Lots of action photos of the event are available to free download thanks to Tom France @thomasfrancephotography.
Bruce Paine and the Boat of Pain found the waves a fair bit bigger than on Lake Burly Griffin
Entries are now open Here for the 2025 Oceania & Australian Masters Championships 21–24 February at Westernport Yacht Club Balnarring Beach, Victoria.
To encourage growth in the ILCA 4 division, a special entry fee of AUD120 is provided.
The Notice of Race is Here.
Charter boats are available through Martin Sly (contact Martin at info@slyboatbuilding.com.au) and NB Sailsports order online Here.
This is the Australian ranking event for the 2025 ILCA World Masters 19-28 September Formia, Italy. Unfortunately ILCA International is not as advanced as us and does not currently offer ILCA 4 in Masters Worlds however ILCA 4 Masters sailors can gain a ranking for ILCA 6 World Masters in Formia sailing ILCA 4 in Westernport.
A pre-regatta coaching clinic with lead Olympic winning coach Jon Emmett will be held at Westernport Yacht Club on the Tuesday and Wednesday before the Australian Masters championship on the 21 February. Click Here to register.
For additional information on Jon please visit Jon Emmett Sailing Here.
The fabulous 2025 Women’s Regatta will be held on 22 March at Vaucluse Yacht Club (VYC) on Sydney Harbour.
The Regatta is being run by VYC with support from ILCA NSW & ACT and major sponsors Zhik and Performance Sailcraft.
There will be a full day of activities kicking off at 8.30 with yoga on the deck, followed by a breakfast, sailing workshops at 10:00. Racing will be from 13:00 with the prizegiving at 17:30 and concluding with a cocktail reception with a guest panel from 18:00.
The event is open to all women ILCA sailors and there will be prizes for age categories.
This event is run in conjunction with the Helly Hansen Women’s Challenge and the Manly Yacht Club. The Green Fleet will race as a part of the Helly Hansen Women’s Challenge (HHWC) organised by Manly Yacht Club.
Entries Here are $75 and $50 for U18 and students.
20 ILCA Master sailors will be offered the opportunity to be coached by Jon Emmett, former world champion & Olympic gold medalist coach of the 2012 Laser Radial winner ‘Golden Lily’.
Jon is running a pre-regatta coaching clinic at Westernport Yacht Club on the Tuesday and Wednesday 18-19 February before the Australian Masters championship on the 21 February.
For additional information click Here. For more about Jon please visit Jon Emmett Sailing Here.
Click Here to register.
The ILCA Handbook which contains all you want to know about the class. It is online Here.
It is updated annually and contains Class Rules, Constitution, Organisation and Contacts, Age Policy, Measurement Information, Technical Tips and World Championships Results Archive.
This 2025 edition contains an informative column by ILCA President Tracy Usher on the state of the class and how it has achieved full control over the class’ design rights and builders manual to ensure its future.
ILCA 6 Action Mara Stransky Leads Evie Saunders & Hugo Ralph Photo by Spikey Mikey
The Oceania & Australian Youth & Open Championships was held at Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron Manly Queensland 1-8 January 2025. The event saw 223 boats in the three ILCA classes sail in five fleets competing all 12 scheduled races in mostly variable sea breeze conditions. The first day saw very strong SE winds with the second race of the day abandoned when a 35 knot front moved over the course. There races were scheduled on the second day with PRO Col Dods keen to get back onto the regatta schedule. This day proved to be the toughest of the regatta.
Days 3 to 6 were sailed in predictable moderate seas breeze conditions allowing the event to proceed like clockwork give or take a few general recalls.
Almost all the top Australian ILCA sailors were competing along with sailors from 10 other countries in Oceania, North America, Europe and Asia regions. In particular It was great to see eight sailors from New Zealand and representatives from Samoa and Fiji competing. The story of two special Pacific Island Olympic sailors is outlined in an ILCA Oceania press release Here.
Action a Plenty in the ILCA 4s at RQYS
It was great to see the large number of ILCA 4 sailors. ILCA 4s were the largest class with 92 entries (47 females) sailing for the first time in two fleets. In a close contest they were lead home by Tinaroo Queenslander Breanne Wadley RQYS/TSC from Victorian Callum Simmons SSCBC/IHYC who was first Under 18 and Singaporean Ian Goh. First Under 16 was overall 4th placed WA sailors Thomas Cooper RFBYC/FSC.
The ILCA 6s had 85 entries sailing in two fleets. They were dominated by the top women sailors with 8 of the top 10 and all of the top 6 places filled by women. The clear winner was RQYS and Tokyo Olympic representative Mara Stransky. Mara overcame a F3 race retirement due to a second Rule 42 infringement with a strong finish to win from Marseille Olympic representative WA’s Zoe Thomson RFBYC. NSW Manly YC sailor Evie Saunders won three races to finish 3rd and was first Under 21. NSW sailors Healy Ryan DBSC/HHSC was first Under 17 and first male at 7th place. First Under 19 was WA’s Jasper Stay RFBYC/FSC.
Hamish Gilsenan Leads Mike Wilson in ILCA 7
The ILCA 7s fleet of 46 podium was dominated by WA sailors with four of the top six from that state. Zac Littlewood RFBYC won after a first place in the final heat. Zac received a second yellow flag in the first race of the final day setting the scene for a nail biting finish with Netherlands Olympic sailor Duko Bos. Zac’s win in Race 12 got him across the line on a countback. Ethan McAulay RPYC who had beaten Zac and Duko in the lead up event Sail Melbourne was well placed until a second yellow flag in Race 9 forced him to withdraw from that race. Ethan finished 3rd. WA sailors Stefan Elliott-Shircore FSC and Michael Compton SoPYC/FSC completed the WA domination with NSW sailor Finn Alexander RSYS/DBSC completing the podium places. First Under 21 in the ILCA 7s was Isaac Schotte RQYS.
The Battens Trophy for the best performing state returned to WA where it has resided for most of its life since 1975. Victoria in 2023 and Queensland in 2024 interrupted the line however the fabulous strength of the WA ICLA 7 team carried the day in 2025.
Winners are Grinners – Battens Winning Team
The next ILCA Australian & Oceania Open & Youth Championships will be held at the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania 1-8 January 2026. Information on this event is in a post on our web site Here.
The full results of the event are Here.
All the event details are on the competitors page on the RQYS web site Here.
RQYS event photos are Here.
There is a more detailed wrap on he event by Andrew Stransky Here.
Seven selected ILCA 4 female sailors one from each Australian state and one from New Zealand gained a transformative experience for their young sailing careers through participation in the ILCA Oceania Solidarity program at the Oceania and Australian Open and Youth Championships 1-8 January at RQYS Manly Queensland.
The girls were selected from many applicants by their ILCA district and provided free entry by Queensland ILCA, a new ILCA 4 boat for the series and merchandise by PSA, two top coaches and support equipment provided by Australian Sailing.
As with previous years Solidarity Program participants they formed a tight knit group and gained maximum advantage of the opportunity to transition and advance in the ILCA 4 class and gain additional skills, experience, and confidence to pursue their passion for sailing.
You can read Amelia Thorne NSW & ACT Solidarity sailor’s review of the the 2025 program Here.
Thanks to the donners of logistics for this program and to John d’Helin (President of ILCA Victoria) for bringing this initiative to life and work to make it thrive.
The seven sailors from the 2025 program pictured above were;
Lucy Luxford, Charteris Bay Yacht Club (NZ)
Evie McGuire, Southport Yacht Club/ Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron (QLD)
Amelia Thorne, Hunters Hill Sailing Club (NSW & ACT)
Alexandria Ewart, Davey’s Bay Yacht Club (VIC)
Genivieve Strutton, Royal Yacht Club Of Tasmania (TAS)
Sophia Homes, Brighton & Seacliff Yacht Club (SA)
Robin Mary Tutty, Hillary’s Yacht Club/Royal Perth Yacht Club (WA)
For longer term planning the 2026 Oceania & Australian and Open & Youth Championships will be 1-8 January 2026 at the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania in Hobart.
As always sailors will be made very welcome and experience great sailing conditions. Sailors and their supporters can also enjoy some of Australia’s best tourist venues before or after the event. You can get the picture in the short promo video Here.
It is best to plan well ahead for events in Tassie as it is a very popular destination especially around Christmas and New Year. ILCA Tasmania have set up a special page on the RTCT web site Here which will have all the information on the event.
The 2025 Oceania & Australian Open & Youth Championships will be held at the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron Manly Queensland between 1-8 January 2025.
Racing will start on Thursday 2nd January with the practice race. From Friday 3rd until Wednesday 8th January two races back to back are scheduled 12 races in all. The ILCA 4 (91 entries) and the ILCA 6 (87 entries) will both be sailed with split fleets. The ILCA 7s (44 entries) will sail as a single fleet.
The Regatta Competitor Page with links to all information is Here
You can joint the Whatsapp Group Here to receive notification on your mobile when a notice is posted
Competitor List is Here
Sailing Instructions are Here
Notice of Race is Here
RQYS Video will be posted Here
RQYS Weather and rigging area webcam are Here
BoM MetEye (Peel Island) 7 day 3 hourly forecasts are Here
AusILCA AGM will be held at 0900 on 5 January at RQYS Agenda is Here
At the AIS Awards Ceremony Casey Imeneo, Alistair Murray, Grae Morris, Matt Wearn and Emma Plasschaert
At the top of sport, and not just sailing – Matt Wearn OAM and Grae Morris were celebrated at the 2024 Australian Sports Performance Awards held in Melbourne 11 December 2024. Matt was up against Olympic champions Cameron McEvoy (Swimming Australia) and Keegan Palmer (Skate Australia) in the prestigious Male Able-Athlete of the Year category.
Men’s Windsurfing Olympic silver medallist, Grae Morris was a finalist for Emerging Athlete of the Year an award won by Arisa Trew for her impressive skateboard gold medal winning performance at Paris 2024.
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 14 December $450 can be placed Here. After this date entries may be lodged with a $100 late fee.
The Regatta Competitor Page with links to race documents, entry, venue information and WhatsApp Chat Group for notifications of new information is Here.
Charters are available from NB Sailsports Performance Sailcraft Australia and Devoti Sailing.
This event is the qualifying event for Australian sailors applying for entry to any 2025 ILCA World Open and Youth Championships.
