A few sailors have asked about gaining entry for ILCA World Championships.
In a nutshell the ALCA Ranking Policy and hence the order of entry offers from ILCA for World Championships are based on the results of the preceding Australian Championships.
Sailors who do not compete in the ranking event or who submit a late application will be ranked in the order of their application.
The 2022 Australian Sailing Awards – which recognised and celebrated distinguished members of the Australian Sailing community – took place on Friday 4th November at the Australian National Maritime Museum.
Australian ILCA 6 Olympian Mara Stransky who is currently third in the ILCA 6 World Rankings won Female Sailor of the Year.
Leading up to her win Mara has had a great year winning the prestigious Kiel Week Regatta along with top-10 finishes at the World Championships, Hyeres Olympic Week and Allianz World Cup Almere regattas.
Evie Saunders was announced as Youth Sailor of the Year.
In presenting her this award, Australian Sailing said, “Evie Saunders is an up-and-coming ILCA 6 sailor with a proven track record amongst world class fleets. She set herself apart this season by securing the silver medal at the ISAF Youth World Championships at The Hague, making her the first Australian girl in 14 years to medal in the Laser class at the Youth World Championships.”
Evie Saunders in Action on Galveston Bay in ILCA 6 Women’s Worlds – ILCA Photo
The Women’s ILCA 6 World Championships have just concluded at the Texas Corinthian Yacht Club sailed on Galveston Bay. There were 86 entries from 40 countries.
Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medallist Anne-Marie Rindom from Denmark took out the Championships by a commanding 20 points. The Silver was won with a strong series finish by Swiss sailor Maud Jayet two points ahead of the 2021 World Champion Belgium’s Emma Plasschaert.
Five of the six Australian team finished in the Gold Fleet a very strong performance. Mara Stransky was the best-placed Australian in 13th place with Zoe Thompson 18th, Casey Imeneo 21st, Elyse Ainsworth 26th, Evie Saunders 41st and Sylvie Stannage 49th.
Australian Sailing High-Performance Director Michael Blackburn said of the team’s performance “The Aussie ILCA 6 squad have taken on a big program to gain experience in tough fleets – experience is key and this fleet had in it all the 2020 Olympic medallists, along with all World Champions since 2011.”
Next for the group is the European Championships in Hyeres, France where ILCA 6 where co-coach Carolijn Brouwer is hopeful of continued improvement and personal best results.
Legends all Jacques Kerrest (USA) Peter Heywood (AUS) Mike Kinnear (GBR)
After 10 scheduled races over five days the 2022 European Masters Championships have just wound up in L’Escala, Spain. The 10 race series over 5 days saw 256 sailors in 13 categories competing in light to medium winds.
EurILCA was kind to invite our small travelling band of Masters Sailors to compete even though their series was pretty much fully subscribed.
Current World GGM Champion Jeff Loosemore comfortably won the ILCA 6 GGM gold medal while Peter Heywood won the Legends. We are hoping EurILCA will invite us again next year.
The Event Web Site is Here and the full results are Here.
ILCA are proposing two minor changes to the class rules in 2022.
To allow the use of heatsrink tube to bind sheets and secure shackle pins and clips.
To allow new vang cleat block units to be introduced without delay once they are approved. The current rules already allow alternative “builder supplied” vang cleat fittings.
The reason for the changes and their detail wording is Here. Yo
Registration is now open Here for The Women’s Regatta which will be held on Saturday 3 December 2022 at Double Bay Sailing Club.
The one day event is open to women sailors around Australia. It will include races on Sydney Harbour, great food, entertainment, and activities aimed at women of all ages who currently sail an ILCA / Laser dinghy, or are looking to return to racing.
Double Bay Sailing Club will also run a series of small-group training clinics in the weeks leading up to the event, focusing on improving sailing skills such as race starts, upwind technique, and downwind technique.
For more information go to the Double Bay sailing Club web site page Here.
The ALCA has launched a ‘Youth Solidarity’ program. This program is designed to encourage clubs to choose the ILCA 4 (Laser 4.7) for girls & boys transitioning from junior training classes & will be rolled out Nationally.
A similar program has been running in Europe since 2018. It is designed to encourage more girls & boys into Laser sailing via the ILCA4 pathway.
Our initial launch will be at the upcoming Nationals to be held in Sydney at GRSC. This year the focus will be on female sailors.
Each Australian Laser district (5 states + NT) will be asked to select a young female sailor to compete at the Nationals. The selected sailors will receive the following support from the ALCA:
Free entry into the championship.
Free ILCA 4.7 charter boat in race condition.
Free squad coaching during the regatta.
Free Solidarity squad T-shirt
They will be supported throughout the event by a suitable mentor & will get the chance to meet & chat with members of the Australian Sailing Team & Australian Sailing Squad.
The selections will not be limited to sailors currently in the Laser class. Female sailors considered to have potential can come from any class if they meet the selection criteria. We plan to caste a wide net advertising this opportunity to the broader sailing community.
CA 7 Fleet nicely lined up – Day 5 of Under 21 Worlds in Portugal
The Under 21 World Championships concluded on 28th August at Vilamoura, Portugal. There were 238 competitors (158 ILCA 7 and 80 ILCA 6) in the series which was sailed in light breezes. Only seven of the scheduled 12 races were completed with no racing on the final day due to the wind never reaching above 5 knots.
It was very close in the ILCA 7 with Team Germany taking first and third with the winner Ole Schweckendiek first by a single point from the host country’s José Mendes with Julian Hoffmann third.
With greater consistency in the light conditions the ILCA 6 winner was Eline Verstraelen from the fabulously strong Team Netherlands. Eline won by six points from Eve McMahon from Ireland and Italian Giorgia Della Valle.
There were seven Australian’s competing with Sylvie Stannage the best of the women at 22nd and Stefan Elliot-Shircore the best of the Australian men at 28th.
The full results, photos and media are all linked on the event web site Here.
The 2022 Oceania Laser Masters is being hosted by Darwin Sailing Club with 37 competitors from Australia & New Zealand competing in the week-long event (20-26 August). Competitors have travelled from near & far with some driving their boats north whilst others decided charter boats were a better option.
Racing has been taking place on the fabulous waters of Fannie Bay. The water is a bright aqua colour, weather is warm as many sailors hit the water in shorts. The weather and conditions couldn’t be more glorious. Racing has been in the afternoons leaving the mornings to relax although this has come at a cost with quite shifty conditions on the racecourse leading to some mixed results.
After race BBQ and drinks in the Rotunda has been a daily occurrence and the most popular addition to the regatta. It has created a fantastic way to chat about the days racing, get to know the other sailors whilst watching the famous Darwin sunsets.
Racing at the top of the fleet has been close in both ILCA 6 and 7. Results for the event are Here . Photos of the sailors enjoying the racing are on the DSC Facebook Page Here.
The Darwin Sailing Club, their staff & volunteers have done an amazing job with the regatta going very smoothly. Gary Martin, local laser legend, was the brainchild being the event being held in Darwin and the results have been beyond successful.
Finn Alexander in Action in Mexico Worlds – Photo John Pounder
The ILCA 7 Worlds have just concluded in Vallarta, Mexico. 126 boats competed.
Jean-Baptiste Bernaz (France) by finishing 7th in the last race secured the position he held for most of the regatta to become the new ILCA 7 World Champion. This is the first time that France has won the ILCA 7 Men’s World Championship. Cypriot Pavlos Kontides took Silver and Filip Jurišic from Croatia Bronze. 2021 World Champion, New Zealander Tom Saunders finished two points off the podium in 4th place.
Matt Wearn had to withdraw at the outset of the competition and is now recovering from an illness contracted last month.
Finn Alexander was the best-placed Australian in 13th equalling his best-ever World Championship result.
Finn commented to Mysailing, “It was a good regatta but I lacked a bit of consistency throughout the week and especially in qualifying. I had lots of good races and lots of positives to take away but there were a lot of points wasted, it’s a little bit frustrating but still not a bad overall result.”
Finn has had consistent places in the circuit events so far with a 15th in Princess Sofia Regatta in Palma, Spain, 12th at the French Olympic Regatta in Hyeres, France and now 13th in the Worlds.
Other Australian team places were, 29th – Luke Elliott, 41st – Ethan McAullay, 46th – Sam King and 72nd – Zac Littlewood
Iain Brambell Australian Sailing Team’s new High Performance Director said, “The 2022 ILCA 7 World Championships was an ever-challenging test for the young Australian team’s fighting spirit. The Australian ILCA 7 squad will depart Mexico with lessons they will continue to build from in their pursuit of next year’s World Championship in The Hague and the first opportunity for 2024 Olympic Qualification.”
Most of the squad will now head home for a break, before returning for a training block on the Paris 2024 racetrack in July.
Full results of the event are Here. News from the Worlds is on the event web site Here.
The ILCA 7 World Masters is underway at the same Vallarta venue (30 May-7 June) followed by the ILCA 6 Masters (9-17 June). There are seven Australians competing in the ILCA 7 Worlds and six in the ILCA 6. The respective event web sites are ILCA7 Worlds, ILCA 6 Worlds
Fiji Yachting are looking for a National Coaching Director to manage and implement their national sailing coaching program. The Statement of Duties is Here.
Fiji qualified for the ILCA 6 event in Tokyo is is looking to lift the standard of its elite level sailors while introducing new sailors to the sport.
The activities in Fiji would be for 8 months each year, nominally from 10 April to 10 December each calendar year. Salary and conditions would be negotiated and would be relevant to the level of the duties and experience of the coach.
If you have an interest in this position please contact.
The ILCA 7 World Championships are underway at Vallarta, Mexico. The opening day under the hot Mexican sun on the Banderas Bay, saw 126 sailors began their hard road for the gold. Racing is due to take place every day until 28 May 2022. The fleet is split into the two fleets, where 63 sailors in each fleet will sail the first 3 days the Qualification series, followed by the Final series where the best half of the fleet will compete in Gold fleet and other part in Silver fleet.
As usual for this time of the year on Banderas Bay, the best wind comes around noon so the races are scheduled to start at 1300 every day. Nice and stable breeze today with 12 knots of wind allowing the fleets to start their first race without any recalls and delays.
Matt Wearn had to return back ashore before the first start as he did not feel well. With only one drop allowed from the qualifying series the current Olympic champion has put himself in a difficult position. Luke Elliott took the first win in the regatta in front of Jonatan Vadnai from Hungary and George Gautrey from New Zealand in Yellow fleet.
The results of the series are Here. The event web site is Here
The ILCA 6 Women’s and Men’s World Championship were to be held in Qingdao, China on 10-17 October 2022. Due to the deepening COVID situation in China and its very strict quarantine regulations and restrictions, ILCA can’t run the event there.
ILCA have announced that the event will now be 9-16 October 2022 at the Texas Corinthian Yacht Club Kemah, Texas.
Entry Applications are now open at the following links:
Matt in action day 1 French Olympic Week Hyeres – Photo by Sail Media
Matt Wearn had had a great start in relatively strong conditions in the French Olympic Week Olympic classes regatta in Hyères. Matt was leading with 2,1,1,1 in the 130 boat competition after two days. He went on to sit on top of the leaderboard for the qualifying series, but then dropped to third on the first day of the final series before qualifying for the Medal Race in sixth. Mat was 3rd in the medal race to finish the up and down series in fifth place. Pavlos Kontides won the series. Finn Alexander was the next best in the Australian team finishing 12th.
Our Tokyo Olympic representative Mara Stransky finished strongly with a second place in the medal race for a ninth place overall in the high scoring series in the Women’s ILCA 6.
This brought to memory the feat on 9th March 2005 by triple Olympian and super Olympic Laser coach Michael Blackburn.
Michael sailed his Laser the 115 n.m. from Stanley in Tasmania to Tidal Beach on Wilson Promontory, Victoria in one go in 13 hours and 1 minute. He averaged 8.7 knots and hit a top speed of 19.7 knots down a breaking wave.
There is more in the recently established archive of Laser News publications online on pages 21-22 Here and a YouTube video Here.
Michael Blackburn “Blackers” apart from this feat and representing Australia in three Olympics has now coached three back to back Olympic Laser Olympic gold medal winners.
