ILCA Australian Championships

The 2024 O & A Masters was held at RQYS Manly Queensland 12-15 April.

Great Queensland weather and hospitality was enjoyed by all competitors.

Host district QILCA, RO Louise Davis and RQYS did a great job in organising and running the event in which 7 of the 8 scheduled races were completed.

Rob Sykes provided the following comments on the event.

An eclectic fleet of some 71 boats, including past Olympians, current plus past World Champions and cube holders was met by winds ranging from about 15kn on Friday to a glass out on Monday morning. As some people began to de rig on Monday, the wind came through at about 6kn resulting in us non-believers frantically re rigging to get on the water.

Thanks must go to the RO for the postponement during the first start sequence that allowed us get to the start in time. There were also short postponements on the third race of the middle two days to allow the 6’s to clear the lee gate before the 7’s started their last race of those days. These delays and the communication between the RO and sailors were most welcome.

The regatta management was outstanding, helped by the thoughtful start sequence of 7’s first, followed by 4’s and then the 6’s (who tended to be opponents of rule 30 and enjoyed “nudging” the pin boat at the gun).

I have to be a bit careful pointing the bone at the 6’s, as the winds during the regatta often brought marginal planing or surfing conditions when wave and gust met nicely, resulting in those with the biggest sails pushing the boundary of rule 42 in interesting and creative ways.

I suspect the 4’s were the best behaved of all the fleets. It was really nice to see them on the water and would like to welcome them to future events.

Overall, the racing was very tight with all positions swapped during any race. The regatta winners seemed to find a way to be in the front when it mattered most, while the rest of us gained and lost places with alarming regularity when the winning shift turned from hero to zero in the space of a few minutes.

The pressure on every mark was huge, with a small error on one side or other capable of losing or gaining 5 or 6 places. The finish was similar, with multiple boats finishing within fractions of a boat length of each other. Congratulations must go to the finish boat and volunteer crew who managed to record this mayhem.

Sunday evening brought the regatta dinner after the second day of 3 light weather races. The increasing laughter levels as the evening progressed bear testament to the camaraderie enjoyed by all.

The presentation was preceded by the mandatory sausage sizzle where the category winners and runner ups were presented cubes, ILCA equipment and wine donated by our sponsors, Sail27 and PSA. The important people who make up the bulk of the fleet were also acknowledged with randomly drawn skippers receiving a bottle of wine.

There are more individual perspectives on the event from sailors in the five age divisions and the three classes on the QILCA web site Here.

Full results are Here.

Videos  with thanks to Spikey Mikey (mike@rqtv.com.au) are Here.

“It’s never like this here.”

I know this is a common saying at every event, but this held true at the 2024 Oceania & Australian ILCA Open & Youth Championships. With the four AST/ASS women away in Argentina to compete at the World Championships, becoming the National ILCA 6 Champion was up for grabs.

Up and coming RQYS sailors Frances Beebe (pictured above) has written a great sailors eye view of the ILCA 6 Championship in Adelaide which you can read Here.

Brooke Wilson giving her all in the close final race – Photo Jack Fletcher Down Under Sail

The championship which started with light and difficult conditions finished up today with a bang. A cracking 18-22 knot southerly with a big steep swell meant it was a physical day on the water.

In the ILCA 6 class Brooke Wilson (NSW) led the regatta for the first few days before Frances Beebe (QLD) really threw down the challenge, leading going into the final race.

Brooke was able to take the final race win, with Frances right on her heals. This gave Brooke the championship win by a single point. Frances was first Under 21. Victorian under 19 sailor Patrick Cumminwas third. Healy Ryan (NSW) was first under 17 in 4th place.

Tom Saunders NZL close second in ILCA 7 – Photo Jack Fletcher

It also went down to the wire in the ILCA 7 with Tom Saunders (NZ) leading by two points from Matt Wearn with the second drop and the final race to go.

In the final race Matt finished with 8th to Tom’s 18th resulting in Matt’s two point win. Germany’s Philipp Buhl scored three bullets but having to count an 11 and 13 saw him six points off in third. Michael Beckett (GBR) and Swifto Elliott (WA) completed the cube podium.

Aiden Simmons all the way winner in the ILCA 4 – Photo Jack Fletcher

Aidan Simmons (VIC) lead throughout the ILCA 4 series with consistent places in all conditions. Aiden scored five wins and no place worse than 3rd.  Jasper Stay (VIC) scored three wins but was a little less consistent finishing four points behind Aiden.

Chase Taylor (QLD) was third. He was one of the very successful Queensland ILCA 4 squad which posted five of the top ten ILCA 4 places.

The event was voted a great success despite some ordinary conditions causing lost races and no sailing on Day 5. Like the sailors the Adelaide Sailing Club volunteers, PRO Col Dods, the race committee and jury did a terrific job in the sometimes testing conditions.

Full results are linked below.

ILCA 7

ILCA 6

ILCA 4

The next Oceania & Australian Championships will be held at Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron Manly QLD 1-8 January 2025.

Frances Beebe Leads Going Into Final Day in closely contested ILCA 6s

The 2024 Oceania & Australian Open & Youth Championships move into their final day tomorrow with fleet positions in ILCA 6 and ILCA 7 very close. With 16 to 18 knots SSW predicted there could be some turnover of places and close racing.

You can see Jack Fletcher’s daily briefs on Down Under Sail at the links below.

Qualifying Day 1

Qualifying Day 2

Qualifying Day 3

Day 4 – No Racing

Finals Day 1

Final Day

All Classes Results

Facebook posts and interviews

The forest of ILCA sails – ready to launch Day 2 of 2024 Championships

Follow the 2024 Oceania & Australian Open & Youth Championship action in Adelaide

Facebook 

Race Results

Regatta Online Management System (ROMS)

To reduce single use plastic we have moved to reusable fleet mast sleeves for the 2024 Australian Championships.

• All classes with have split fleets for this event so all sailors will need to buy a sleeve for $15.
• The sleeves which are reversible yellow one side & blue the other will be available for collection at the registration desk.
• It is a good idea to pre purchase via the link Here.
• You will receive a purchase confirmation by email.
• Show this at the registration desk & you will be given the mast sleeve.
• If you don’t pre purchase, you can pay for your sleeve at registration using the online purchase process.

Retain your sleeve for the next big event and you will have made a small contribution to reducing the use of plastic.

World & Olympic Champion Matt Wearn will be in action in Oceania Australian and World Championships

Beginning with this our Oceania & Australian Open and Youth Championships 1-8 January Adelaide Sailing Club ASC will be hosting three major championships across January and February 2024. The Oceania event will be followed by the ILCA 7 Men’s and ILCA 7 and ILCA 6 Masters World Championships. These will be the culmination of three years of work and planning by ASC working with ILCA International, Oceania, Australia and ILCA South Australia to deliver three international-level regattas.

All up there will be more than 600 boats competing which will be the largest sailing event in South Australia’s history.

The ILCA 7 Men’s World Championship will be an Olympic Qualifying event results which will offer seven Olympic places for Paris 2024 (sailed in Marseilles).

ASC Commodore Peter Royle said “We are estimating in the region of 18,000 people to pass through the club during the six-week period of the three events. Our visitor numbers to SA and expected times indicate a $16M boost to the local economy.”

Useful links for sailors, coaches and supporters for the 2024 Oceania & Australian Open & Youth Championships are.

Competitor Information Pack
Sailing Instructions 
Entry List
Regatta Online Management System
Join Telegram Messenger Group
Equipment Inspection Arrangements
Book Equipment Inspection Time
Purchase Blue/Yellow Mast Sleeve 
Advice for All Coach & Support Boat Drivers
Additional Advice for non Australian Coaches
Book Extra Presentation Function Tickets
Get Free Australian Laser App iPhone
Get Free Australian Laser App Android

Sites to watch to follow the World Championship events are.

ILCA 7 Men’s Worlds 
ILCA 7 & ILCA 6 World Masters
ILCA 2024 Adelaide Facebook
ILCA 2024 Adelaide Instagram

There are two notices with information for guidance of coaches and support boat drivers covering the three major 2024 events at Adelaide Sailing Club.

South Australian power boat licensing and regulations.

Race area which will be restricted to only registered coach and support boats.

Sailors should ensure that their sail presented for measurement at the 2024 Oceania & Australian Open and Youth Championships or the 2024 World Masters Championships meets the class rules and NoRs with respect to National Letters and for female sailors a red diamond. For both of these events there is no requirement to have a national flag on the sail.
 

For the 2024 ILCA 7 World Championships paragraph 2.2 of the NoR  requires the national flag in addition. Requirements for the national flag are detailed in paragraph 4(h) of the Class Rules.
 

There is an Advice to Coaches posted on 21 November which contains links to register coach boats for

• 2024 Oceania & Australian Open & Youth Championships
• 2024 ILCA 7 World Championships
• 2024 ILCA 6 and ILCA 7 Masters World Championships

The document also contains information on South Australian power boat licence and safety equipment requirements.