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ILCA 6 World Masters Greece

156 Boats from 24 countries contested the ILCA 6 World Masters in Kalaamki Athens between 30 May and 7 June. There were 21 Australians among them.

You can see the prize winners in the ILCA presentation photo above.

In the 47 boat GM division Bruce Savage was second after an early lead was eroded by a BFD in Race 9. Jenny Danks was second of the GM women.

Kerry Waraker was the winner in the new Suoer Legends and Lyndall Patterson was first women in GGMs.

The ILCA 7 World Masters will be sailed at the same venue 8-16 June.

Lyndall Patterson World ILCA 6 Masters – ILCA Photo

30 Years of Olympic Sailing Celebration

This year the ILCA/Laser class will celebrate 30 years since making its Olympic debut at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games, a milestone that marked the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the class.

As part of the celebration, ILCA is seeking contributions from the ILCA community.

If you have memories, images or stories from Olympic ILCA/Laser sailing that you would like to share, please get in touch with Agustín Argüelles the new ILCA Global Communications and Media Manager at agustin@ilcasailing.org — Please include “ILCA 30 Years” in the subject line. Selected contributions may be featured during the campaign.

New ILCA Finance and Governance Arrangements

ILCA World Council has established a Finance and Governance Sub-committee (FGC) to provide oversight in key areas of finance, audit, governance, ethics and risk management.

The PGC will meet quarterly under ILCA President Mark Lyttle with newly appointed Treasurer Daniel Sexton. Nick Page who has done a fabulous job as ILCA Treasurer over many years will hand over this responsibility to Daniel over calendar 2026.

The working arrangements for this sub-committee and these key functions are covered in more detail in an ILCA web site post at https://ilcasailing.org/ilca-world-council-strengthens-finance-and-governance-support/

ILCA Amps Up Communications

Early this year ILCA appointed Agustín Argüelles to a new position of Global Communications Manager. Agustin’s role will  be to oversee class media, strengthen member communication, and coordinate the promotional activities of the class. This has assisted with the ILCA World Council’s increased focus on publicity and promotion.

The ILCA web site is the ILCA’s prime communication channel. It has all class information on news, rules, events entry and results. Some recent posts on major events on the site include.

The various social media and other channels featuring ILCA activities are. Check these out.

Sailors Selected for Asia-Oceania Youth Rising Stars Program

Harry Hogan in Action at 2026 ILCA 4 Oceania Youth Championhips

Congratulations to Harry Hogan (QLD) and Murray Duthie (WA) who have been selected based on their performance at the 2026 Oceania & Australian Youth Championship in Hobart to represent Oceania in the Asia-Oceania ILCA 4 Youth Rising Stars Exchange Program.

Harry and Murray will travel to Pattaya, Thailand where they will compete in the 6th ILCA Asian & Open Championships from 14 to 20 December 2026.

This new program is designed to strengthen international connections and create an exciting opportunity for top ILCA4 youth sailors by assisting two top Oceania sailors to sail in the peak Asia Championship and two top Asia sailors compete in our Oceania & Australian Youth Championships.

2026 Sailing Grand Slam Events Underway

The 2026 Sailing Grand Slam (SGS) is the premier international circuit for elite Olympic sailing, windsurfing, and kiteboarding. Created in collaboration with World Sailing, the 2026 season comprises five major global regattas in the build-up to the LA 2028 Olympic Games.

  • Trofeo SAR Princesa Sofia Mallorca: Palma, Spain — March 27 – April 4 2026
  • Semaine Olympique Française: Hyères, France — April 18 – April 25, 2026
  • Dutch Water Week: Almere, Netherlands — May 30 – June 7, 2026
  • Kieler Woche: Kiel, Germany — June 20 – June 28, 2026
  • Long Beach & Los Angeles OCR (Pre-Olympic Event): Long Beach, USA — July 13 – August 8, 2026.

The SGS web site consolidating entry links, information and results is https://www.sailinggrandslam.com/

The 16 Australian Sailors who are competing in the ILCA classes are.
ILCA 6 Elyse Ainsworth (AST), Mara Stransky (AST), Zoe Thomson (AST),Casey Imeneo (AS Squad), Evie Saunders (AS Squad), Ellen Sampson (ASF), Lili McAullay (ASF), Sylvie Stannage (AUS), Frances Beebe (AUS)

ILCA 7  Matt Wearn (AST), Ethan McAullay (AST), Zac Littlewood (AST), Michael Compton (AS Squad), Lawson McAullay (AS Squad), Isaac Schotte (AS Squad), Alexander Bijkerk (SSPP)

In the two events run so far Matt Wearn has dominated winning in La Palma and Hyeres in the ILCA 7s. In the ILCA 6s Mara Stransky, Zoe Thomson and Casey Imeneo have placed in or close to Medal Race places.

Trofeo Princesa Sofía results are Here  and the Australian Sailing wrap of the event is Here.

French Olympic Week results are Here  and the AS event wrap is Here.

Asia-Oceania ILCA4 Youth Rising Stars Exchange Program

The Asian and Oceania Regions of ILCA are pleased to announce a new partnership project the Asia-Oceania ILCA4 Youth Rising Stars Exchange Program designed to strengthen international connections and create an exciting opportunity for top ILCA4 youth sailors.

Initially the program will comprise.

Asia to Oceania
Two ILCA4 Under 18 Asian sailors will be selected on performance from ILCA Asian Cup 2026 Qinhuangdao, Hebei competing in the 2027 Oceania Open & Youth Championships in Melbourne, Australia 1-8 January.

Oceania to Asia
Two ILCA4 under 18 Oceania sailors selected based on performance at the 2026 Oceania & Australian Open & Youth Championships (Hobart) will be invited to compete in the 6th ILCA Asian & Open Championships 2026 in Pattaya, Thailand from 14 to 20 December.

Selected sailors will receive:

  • Free Entry
  • Free Charter Boat

This program will provide a fantastic opportunity to experience international competition in a new environment and to build friendships across continents.

2026 Oceania Masters and Under 30 Regatta Darwin SC

If too much ILCA Masters sailing is never enough we have the 2026 ILCA Oceania Masters Championships running 18-25 September at Darwin Sailing Club.

This is a fabulous venue and at a great time of year in NT. ILCA NT has run this event at the same time a few years ago and it was a great success. In 2026 they have included a parallel event for the all under 30 sailors so that local youth and sailing families  can have everyone enjoying sailing in the tropics.

The Masters will be a regional cube award event.

Entries are open Here for Masters. and Here for the Under 30 Event.

The web site for NoR and information is https://www.revolutionise.com.au/ntlaser/home.

A limited number of charter boats will be available from PSA. Charter details will be posted on the Official Noticeboard.

 

Volunteers Needed for Major ILCA Events in Melbourne

Volunteers at SYC for 2020 ILCA Events

ILCAVIC welcomes the support of volunteers from the Australian ILCA community to assist us deliver the Big regattas at Sandringham Yacht Club (SYC), Melbourne:

  • 2026 Performance Sailcraft ILCA Victorian State Championships 21-22 Nov 2026
  • 2027 Performance Sailcraft ILCA Oceania & Australian Open & Youth Championships 1-8 Jan 2027
  • 2027 Performance Sailcraft ILCA Under-21 World Championships 10-17 Jan 2027.

Potential volunteers can register their interest with ILCAVIC Event Chair James Mitchell  2027ilcainfo@gmail.com  or via the SYC volunteers web portal here:  Expression of Interest to Volunteer

Volunteers are needed to assist with on-water and off-water roles.

  • Measurement
  • Registration desk
  • First aid station
  • Car parking attendant
  • Beach marshall
  • Media boat driver
  • Safety boat driver / crew
  • Start and finish boat crew
  • Coach registration
  • Jury assistant
  • Scoring assistant

A commitment across the whole regatta period is not necessary (but welcomed).

Fabulous Summer of ILCA Racing in Victoria

 

ILCA Victoria looks forward to welcoming 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 are encouraged to build a full Australian summer campaign by including regattas in multiple states:

2026 ILCA NSW & AXT State Championships November 2026 – Dates TBC – Sydney
2026 Sail Melbourne – 26–29 November 2026 – Brighton, Melbourne https://www.sailmelbourne.com.au/home/
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 please contact:
James Mitchell
Chair, ILCAVIC 26–27 Regatta Organising Committee

2026 Australian Masters Port Stephens

180 sailors from all mainland states and territories and some sailors from overseas enjoyed Australian Masters Championships at the fabulous regatta venue at Soldiers Point, Port Stephens. With beautiful clear water, good breezes, a traffic-free bay and lots of user-friendly rigging areas adjacent to accommodation what was not to like about the event.

The event was run for us by Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club who manage the Bay Sailing Centre and run major sailing events on Port Stephens. NCYC did a terrific job with 20 volunteers from Newcastle and tireless Sailing Manager Jack Buchan and Australian Sailing’s RO of the year Ken Semple calling the shots. Thanks to the NCYC and Bay Sailing Centre staff and volunteers for their efforts in delivering a great event.

On Sunday night 200 sailors and supporters enjoyed the event dinner at the Soldiers Point Bowling Club across the road from the Bay Sailing Centre. There Martin White hosted an Q & A session with Brett Beyer, Rob Lowndes, Lyndall Patterson and Christine Bridge who were Australian winners of World Masters categories at the 2025 World Masters in Italy. Australia won the ILCA trophy for most successful nation at the 2025 World Masters. The trophy is now on proud display at Middle Harbour Amateur Sailing Club.

The racing was held with three fleets ILCA 7, ILCA 6 Masters & GM, ILCA 6 Apprentices, GGMs and Legends each around 60 boats.

The first 2 days had solid afternoon sea breezes of 15 knots plus. Day 3 was lighter and saw delays due to shifting breeze and many general recalls. On Day 4 the fleets were APed ashore and just one light wind race was completed so seven of the eight scheduled races for the series with one drop.

There were 25 ILCA cubes awarded at this event and the first three placegetters in each category are listed below.

Apprentices Masters GM GGM Legends ILCA 4 Women
ILCA 7 1st James Tudball Christoph Bottoni Brett Beyer Michael Wilson
ILCA 7 2nd John Sweeny Tom Lowndes Jan Scholten Nick Page
ILCA 7 3rd Jack Sprague David Newman David Whait Rob Sykes
ILCA 6 1st Simon Merritt Jon Emmett Bruce Savage Michael O’Brien Peter Heywood Christine Bridge
ILCA6 2nd Bradley Utting Rupert Henry Owen McMahon Colin Beashel Tim Alexander Jenny Danks
ILCA 6 3rd Vaimooia Ripley Scott Hunter Brad Jones Anthony Scali Kerry Waraker Kerrie Shimeld
ILCA 4 1st Jacqui Winship
ILCA 4 2nd Lyn Savage
ILCA 4 3rd Ross Bell

The full results are Here.

Victorian Masters Mordialloc 21-22 February

ILCA Victoria Masters States are on the 21st & 22nd of February at Mordialloc Sailing Club.

Mordialloc is towards the top of Port Phillip Bay, and they expect to have typical Port Phillip sea breeze conditions with warm sunny weather.

Details available on the Mordialloc web site Here. You can enter Here.

New ILCA 4 Sail

ILCA has announced the upcoming launch of a redesigned ILCA 4 sail.

The new ILCA 4 MkII sail was developed to improve cloth supply and improve durability without changing the ILCA 4 rig or compromising the ILCA one-design principle. For many years, the ILCA 4 sail has depended on a 3.8 oz sailcloth that is no longer produced at scale. The ILCA 6 also uses the same 3.8 oz material, and so work has commenced on the development of a future ILCA 6 MkII sail as well.

The new ILCA 4 sail will be available in limited supply from April 2026 and will be class legal from August 2026 in time for our events next season. The existing ILCA 6 sail will continue to be used through to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games with the new model to be released afterwards.

There is more information in the ILCA post Here.

Australian National Masters Port Stephens 6-9 February

There are 170 entries so far for the 2026 Australian Masters Championships 6-9 February 2026 at Bay Sailing Centre Soldiers Point, Port Stephens NSW. Entries are still open Here.

This is our favourite Masters venue. It offers great open sailing conditions, easy access on and off the water and ample accommodation in the Port Stephens area.

There are three current World Masters Champions competing so expect some high level competition. The Entry List is Here.

This is the Australian ranking event for the 2026 ILCA World Masters 30 May – 16 June Athens, Greece.

The Notice of Race is Here.

The Sailing Instructions are Here.

Event web site with links to documents, results is Here.

 

Brett Beyer and Christine Bridge Current GM Australian and World Champions

ILCA Under 21 Worlds in Lanzarote, Canary Islands Spain

Healy Ryan 225359 in the Chase on Day One in Lanzarote – Photo by Jesus Renedo

The 2026 ILCA Under 21 World Championships were run 19-24 January at Playa Blanca, Lanzarote, in the Canary Islands, Spain.

The scheduled 12 races were competed in sometimes testing Atlantic Ocean conditions.

In the event there were three fleets with 148 sailors — comprising 96 ILCA 7 men and 52 ILCA 6 women from all seven ILCA regions around the world. Four Australians Nicholas Jones Tas, Hamish Gilsenan Vic, Healy Ryan U19 NSW and Hamish Crabb U19 NSW competed.

The three winners Men’s U21 and U19 and Women’s U21 were all won by Italian sailors the Men’s U21 in a very close contest which went down to the final day when any of the top five could have won.  Healy Ryan was 10th and Hamish Gilsenan finished 12th in the U19.

Full results are here.

Youtube 
Event web site 
Daily reports are on ILCA web site

The 2027 ILCA U21 Worlds will be held in Australia at Sandringham Vic 10-17 January.