Applications for entry to 2024 ILCA 7 Mens (24-31 January) and 2024 ILCA 7 and ILCA 6 (2-10 February) World Masters Championships at Adelaide Sailing Club close at midnight USA Central Time on 26 September.
 

Event details and links to apply for entry are on the ILCA web site Events Page Here.
 

Information on ranking for sailors applying for entry to these events is on an earlier post on this web site Here. Ranking order will be posted on the ILCA web site on 27 September and entry offers will be made by ILCA in the order of ranking from 3 October.

Northstar Technologies Inc. is an Atlanta, USA based multinational enterprise cloud management software company specialising in sporting club management. in August 2022 they acquired WA based Top Yacht and now have added ClubOps to their stable.
 

ClubOps is the originator of Sailor App used by many Australian clubs and Aus Laser App used by most Australian ILCA districts. They say that they have 200 employees.
 

Both Top Yacht and Club Ops appear to be running business as usual so far. The Australian Laser App and Sailor App are still on the App Store are all working as they have been.
 

It is understood that Northstar are considering how best to integrate their new acquisitions into their extensive range of sporting club operations support software products.

2023 Solidarity Program ILCA 4 Sailors With AST Sailors

Applications are now open for the 2024 Solidarity Program for ILCA 4 female sailors for the 2024 Oceania & Australian Open & Youth Championships.
 

Following the successful running of the Solidarity Program in 2023 for girls from Australian Districts ILCA Australia have launched the expanded 2024 program which will support ten ILCA 4 sailors.
 
• One from each Australian district excluding NT
• One from New Zealand
• Three from Oceania small islands
 

The program will provide free entry for the event and functions, a supplied boat, merchandise and coach but more importantly entry to a team of like keen sailors for the duration of the championships. You can see examples of the experience of sailors in the 2023 Solidarity Program in our post Here.
 

Online applications Here will close on 1 October 2023. Each Oceania District will select their sailor by 31 October and applicants will be advised of the selections on 1 November.
 

There is further information on the eligibility and selection for this program in the document Here.

The 2023 Allianz Sailing World Championships are concluding with the ILCA 7 and ILCA 6 Medal Races today in The Hague, Netherlands. You can watch them live online Here 14:00 CEST and 15:00 CEST, (10.00pm and 11.00pm AEST) with expert commentary from Olympic champion Lijia Xu.
 

The ILCA 7 gold fleet started day 7 (races 9 and 10) with two false starts, including one with a black flag, before getting race 9 underway in light wind and current. The wind picked up for race 10, and the ILCA 7 fleet got off cleanly in an 11-14 knot breeze.
 

At the head of the ILCA 7s in race 9, Matt Wearn came in 25th while Britain’s Michael Beckett was second. In Race 10 Matt Wearn took over the series lead from Michael Beckett who had been on top all week. In race 10, Matt Wearn was close behind Michael Beckett mid-fleet until the last square run where he managed to catch him and execute an aggressive luff forcing Becket head to wind and into a tack. Michael Becket then finished 66th a place which he had to carry as he already had his drop a BFD in race 5. Matt could drop his 65th place leaving him with a 20-point lead, which guarantees him gold as long as he sails in the Medal Race and doesn’t get disqualified. Michael Beckett is actually in third place, one point behind New Zealand’s George Gautrey.  Gautrey has been climbing up the ranks all week despite a (dropped) BFD in race 9.
 

The Australian ILCA 7 team had great results overall Ethan McAullay was 17th, Luke Swifto Elliott 20th, Zac Littlewood 34th and Finn Alexander 35th in the 138 boat event.
 

On day 7 the ILCA 6 fleet had a lot of trouble with several false starts and black flags as the wind increased to strong and choppy. The tricky conditions and starts made the scores very unpredictable and changed the rankings.
 

Switzerland’s Maud Jayet moved into first place on the day, three points ahead of Tokyo Gold Medalist Denmark’s Anne-Marie Rindom and Hungary’s Maria Érdi who are tied for second. Rindom won the last race of the day, while Érdi had a bad 49th place in the first race. Only four points separate the top three, and Marit Bouwmeester from the Netherlands is also in the running for gold, nine points behind Jayet. The medal race will be thrilling.
 

The first Australian Mara Stransky is 10th so will be in the medal race and has qualified Australia for a start in the Paris Marseilles Olympics. Casey Imeneo had a great series with a win and a 3rd place mid series. She finished 16th in the 110 boat event. Elyse Ainsworth was 31st, Zoe Thompson 35th, Sylvie Stannage 50th and Evie Saunders 62nd. Full Results are on the Event Web Site Here 
 

There are descriptions of each day’s racing and photos on the ILCA web site Here.

Casey Imeneo Day 4 – Photo Suellen Hurling Live Sail Die

Our ILCA Australia Chairman is almost as passionate about youth involvement and training in our class as our Youth Director Don Elks.
 
Photo here is of  the coach and keen sailors on the launching ramp at Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron ready for the Sunday Morning ILCA 4 youth training session on 13th August.
 

Ken reports “The concept started with a partnership between RQYS, QLA and head coach Adrian Finglas. It happened in the past in Queensland and was very successful under Adrian with over 24 national champions and Olympic sailors.
 

This is not an elite squad environment but more a fully inclusive concept of big fleet training, something our ALCA Youth Director Don Elks has been advocating as the future of our class.
 

Club training and club racing is where it all begins and training starts with an egg and bacon breakfast supplied by parents. This approach makes the sailors feel welcome and gives the parents an opportunity to get to know each other in a happy environment. One coach 18 sailors, all playing the main game. Very few other class can offer this high quality, big fleet tactical one designed racing.
 

Well, done Adrian, RQYS, QLA and parents.”
 

Matt Wearn winning Olympic Test Event Marseilles

The 2023 Allianz Sailing World Championships are expected to see more than 900 boats and 1,400 participants from over 90 nations. These will be held in The Hague, Netherlands 11-20 August. There are 107 Olympic places on the line at these World Championships with the balance being contested in the separate class 2024 World Championships and in regional Olympic qualifying events around the World.

51 Sailors in all 12 Olympic classes have been selected by Australian Sailing to compete in the event.

In the ILCA 6 and ILCA 7 events 16 countries in each will qualify at these 2023 World Championships for a place in the 2024 Paris (Marseilles) Olympics. Australia will have six women (Zoe Thompson, Elyse Ainsworth, Casey Imeneo, Mara Stransky, Evie Saunders and Sylvie Stannage) and five men (Matt Wearn, Finn Alexander, Luke Elliott, Zac Littlewood and Ethan McAullay) competing.

The event web site is Here.

There is more information on the Australian sailing Team web site Here.

As extreme heat and wildfires continue to engulf Mediterranean coastlines, sailing coaches at the ILCA 4 Youth World Championships in Volos, Greece came together in a great effort to rescue locals with a beach rescue operation.
 

Witnessing the scene from across the water as racing concluded, coaches jumped into their RIBs and headed for the nearby village to evacuate residents and local native wildlife from the beach after fires blocked all exits from the area on the mainland.
 
The coaches grabbed bottles of drinking water and travelled the 10 miles across the bay to Nea Anchialos, Magnesia at full speed. Around 60 boats transported more than 130 people from the beach and brought them back to the safety of Volos.
 
Andrus Poksi, Field Operations Officer at the International Laser Class Association, said, “The selfless and quick reaction of the coaches was inspiring to see.
 
The full story is on the World Sailing web site Here.

Entries are now open for the 2024 ILCA World Masters 2-10 February in Adelaide. The event limit is 300 places which is similar to the entries (297) for the last World Masters in Australia scheduled in 2020 but not held due to COVID.
 

The 2024 Masters at Adelaide Sailing Club will be a great event. Entries will be open until 26 September Here
 .

Sailors who did not compete in the ranking event (2023 Australian Masters – Port Stephens) will be ranked in the order in which they apply for entry after all those who sailed at Port Stephens. The ranking will determine the order that places are offered by ILCA.

Photo of team AUS for ILCA 4 Youth Worlds at Volos
 

The ILCA 4 Youth World Championships have just concluded in Volos Greece.
 

There were 437 total competitors including 3 girls and 10 boys from Australia. The Australian team was guided by Australian Sailing Qualified Coach – Tasmanian, Rohan Langford.
 

ILCA Australia Youth Director Don Elks did his usual great job organising the ILCA 4 Youth Worlds Team and said he was very proud to of this young team’s performance.
 

Don said “Everyone got to the top of their respective fleets in light conditions including hot temperature and bushfires. ILCA 4s are back in the gold fleet. Anneke Meyer finished 6th U16, Aidan Simmons 23rd and Tom Fader 50th.
 
Special thanks to coach Rohan Langford and to parents for support of the team.”
 

The event web site is Here and results will be posted Here.

The ILCA 6 Women’s Open World Championships 3-10 January and ILCA 6 Men’s Worlds 12-19 January in Mar del Plata, Argentina entry applications are now open. The ranking event for these championships is the 2023 Oceania & Australian Open & Youth Championships Georges River.
 

Entries for the ILCA 7 Men’s Worlds 24-31 January in Adelaide will open on 2 August. Their ranking event will also be 2023 O&A Open & Youth Championship.
 

Applications for entry for the 2024 World Masters (ILCA 6 and 7) 2-10 February in Adelaide will also open on 2 August. Its ranking event is the 2023 Australian Masters Championships Port Stephens.
 

Sailors who wish to apply for entry and who did not compete in the ranking event for these (and any) ILCA World Championship will be ranked after all the sailors who did sail in the ranking event and in the order in which they apply for entry.
 

Entry offers will be made by ILCA in the order of ranking however we are hopeful of gaining sufficient places for all Masters who want to compete in Adelaide.
 

The ILCA World Championships web site pages with all the information and application links are Here.

The 2023 Pacific Games will take place in the Solomon Islands from the 19 November to 2 December 2023. Over 5,000 athletes are expected to attend the games. Australia is sending 115 athletes from 24 sports that includes sailing.
 

The sailing team will be made up of:

 
Australia Sailing with the AOC, is sending a team of eight athletes and two coaching staff members. The 2023 Pacific Games is funded by the AOC which covers airfares, coaches and some of the uniform, but interested parties should note that there may be other expenses the selected athletes may need to cover.
 

If you are interested in representing and competing for Australia at the 2023 Pacific Games please view 2023 Pacific Games Nomination and Selection Criteria and register your interest by applying Here.
 

The event Notice of Race is Here and the Official Website is Here.
 

Australian Sailing will select and send two coaching staff to support the eight athlete team for these games. For information on coach selection please see the Coaching Staff Nomination Selection Criteria  and if interested please register at Coaching Staff Online Registration.
 

The deadline for submitting interest is 11 August. Following the closure of the EOI process, the team announcement, in collaboration with the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC), will be made by the end of August.
 

For more information regarding the event or EOI please contact lesley.fasala@sailing.org.au.

ILCA has introduced the OSEPODS (Off-the-Shelf, Equal-Performance, One-Design Sailboat) concept which encompasses the core values that have made ILCA the world’s most popular youth and adult sailing class, ensuring fairness, accessibility, and a focus on skill and strategy.
 

The OSEPODS concept ensures that ILCA sailors compete on a level playing field where success is determined by skill rather than boat modifications.
 

At the heart of OSEPODS is the principle that ILCA sailboats are readily available and ready to race “off the shelf.” When a sailor purchases an ILCA boat, there is no need for modifications or “hot rodding” to make it competitive. This accessibility means that sailors at all levels, from Olympic athletes to masters to youth and club racers, have access to the same equipment.
 

All ILCA dinghies are manufactured to the same high standards. There are no custom-designed or made-to-order ILCA dinghies, so a boat from one ILCA builder will be identical to boats from any ILCA builder. Whether you’re a seasoned competitor or a newcomer to the sport, ILCA provides a level playing field where success is determined by skill rather than boat modifications.
 

Find out more about OSEPODS and the seven person ILCA technical team driving it in the ILCA web post Here.
 

 
Matt Wearn was the best of the Australian Sailing Team (AST) in the Olympic Test Event just concluded in Marseilles. Matt won the ILCA 7 (Olympic Men’s Dinghy) event with a second place in the medal race.
 

After the win Matt Wearn said, “It feels great. It has been a while since I stepped on to the top step of the podium so it’s nice to get it done here. Obviously, a great confidence boost for 12-months’ time, as well. It’s the first win with Rafa (new coach Rafael Trujillo Villar) too, so I think for the both of us it cements the work we have been doing together.”
 

The event aims to test the organisation and officials as well as allowing the sailors (one crew per invited country) to test themselves against the best Olympic class sailors.
 

Of the whole team performance AST High Performance Director, Iain Brambell said, “The Test Event has been a highly successful venture, as it saw five of nine Australian entries competing in their Medal Series/Races.
 

Full results are Here.
 

Of the AST’s Olympic preparations Iain said “Although we are unable to continue to directly utilise the Olympic venue in Marseilles as it houses the newly built French National Sailing Centre, our athletes will relocate two kilometres South to our mobile base at the Yachting Club Pointe Rouge. Here the team will continue to maintain their intricate exploration and connection to the waters and weather patterns of Marseille in the lead-up to the Paris Games.”
 

Iain Brambell concluded “This regatta has been an excellent practice run for next year’s Games, as well as a great litmus test for the entire team preparing for the 2023 Sailing World Championships (The Hague, Netherlands 11-20 August 2023).  The Worlds will see nearly fifty Australians competing across all ten Olympic Classes, all of whom have high hopes of confirming nation qualification spots for the 2024 Paris Olympics”.
 

The Queensland Laser Association’s South Pacific Laser Masters is always a great event. This year was no exception with the event run 7-10 July attracting 57 entries including visiting sailors from NZ, Vic, NSW and Samoa. The sailors all enjoyed the great sailing water at Morton Bay and the fabulous facilities of the RQYS at Manly.
 

Conditions were typical for a winter regatta with crisp sunny winter skies. Day 1 Friday opened with a bang as a fresh westerly gusting to 27 knots provided exhilarating rides downwind and significant damage to numerous boats and a number of skippers.
 

Lighter and more challenging conditions followed on Saturday while Sunday provided near-perfect sailing conditions with a variable 10 to 15 knot westerly. Monday dawned with clear blue skies and a light westerly that faded to a picturesque glass out.
 

The ILCA 6 fleet of 37 boats was of very high quality with three world masters champions competing. Nevertheless it was dominated by RQYS Apprentice Ben Franklin who had a clean scorecard apart from a start line indiscretion costing him maximum points.

It was a very close battle behind Ben for the next three places. In the end it was current World GGM Champion Jeff Loosemore from MHASC Sydney in second overall and only one point ahead of BSS coach Dan Blight.
 

In the 18 boat ILCA 7 fleet local RQYS GM Andrew Stransky claimed a narrow win over highly ranked Master Matt Faddy VYC NSW followed by QLA president Michael Wilson who was the 1st GGM.
 

Regatta sponsors NB Sailsports continued their generous support and all competitors were in with a chance to win some of the over $1500 worth of ICA gear including a new sail and other ILCA gear.
 

The full write up of the event is Here and all the results are Here.
 

There is some good footage of Day 1 sailing on the YouTube video Here.
 

Planning a trip to New Caledonia then you may be interested in the following invitation from Société des Régates Calédoniennes in Nouméa, Nouvelle-Calédonie.
 

We organize a regatta, the “Ludik Cup” 9th – 13th October 2023 for Optimist and Laser with Locals, New-Zealanders and Tahitians. We have boats and equipment for visitors.
 

We would like to invite Australian people to come.
 

Team AUS at ILCA 6 Youth Worlds – Photo Marek Wilczek
 
Twelve Australians competed in the ILCA 6 Men’s and Women’s Youth and the ILCA 6 Open Men’s World Championships 1-9 July in Dziwnow Poland. There were 374 all up in the three events with the majority (259) in the Men’s Youth Championship.
 

Team AUS had some great learning and with three in the Gold Fleet in the huge Youth Men’s event had some solid results.
 

Coach Rhett Gowans takes up the commentary from the finals series (day 4) below.
 

“Due to lack of wind, day four was a write-off. We waited ashore for a light breeze to fill in, but it never eventuated. This gave the team a further opportunity to gel as a group.
 

Day five brought a light 5-10knot N-NE. As we missed the first day of finals, they planned on running 6 races over the next two days. Over the last two days of the regatta, as the wind got lighter, the current greatly impacted the racecourse, making it difficult to get off the line cleanly. In the Aussie fleet, big learnings were taken especially start line approach & how pivotal correctly timed trigger pulls are in a big, competitive fleet.
 

Angus McIntyre added to the tally of wins, winning Race 7 in Emerald Fleet while Ed Reid and Pat Cummin had top results in their first races of the day.
 

Day six was the penultimate day of racing, three more races were scheduled. Similar to day five, the breeze was out of the N-NE, around 5-7knots for the most part. Angus chalked up another great day, with a 2, 13, 16 to take out Emerald fleet. Xavier Bates & Marcus Sampson had great first race results. Pat & Lucas James ended the regatta strongly with improvement in Race 12. Hamish Gilsenan & Ed Reid had strong, consistent races in the Gold Fleet, with Ed being the Aussies highest placed finisher in 22nd overall.
 

Lili McAullay and Frances Beebe finished a few points apart in 46 and 47 in the 100 Women’s Youth event and they and Stewart Gifford and Myles Wilson all had great regattas, experiencing how to get off tight start lines & manage big fleets.
 

Best of luck to Stewart, Xavier & Frances in Gdynia, Poland for the Euros.
 

A big thank you to all the parents, sailors, team manager – Leigh Cummin, coach Annie Eastgate, ILCA Australia youth rep and organiser Don Elks and the ILCA and Australian Sailing for making it all possible.”
 

The event web site is Here. and the full results are Here.