ILCA UK Chair Blog #177

Noble Marine https://www.noblemarine.co.uk/boat-insurance/ilca-dinghy-insurance

Fernhurst Books https://fernhurstbooks.com

Tideway Wealth https://tidewaywealth.co.uk

For your support Rooster are providing a discount code for ILCA Members : ILCAUK10 for 10% off a range of Rooster products!

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👉🏼Sign up to ILCA UK Chair blog: https://portal.ilca.uk/subscriptions

See all the results here: https://ilca.uk/ilca-uk-results-2026

Skills Week:

ILCA Skills Week 2026 WPNSA - 15/20 August 2026 (Provisional - may move by one day)

Other Snippets:

Youth World Championships 2026 - Notice of Selection

Neil Collingridge 5/18/26 Neil Collingridge 5/18/26

ILCA UK Chair Blog #176

Time to stop hanging around and do some sailing…….

I’ve rather lost track of the number of years I’ve been coming to (as they were then) Laser Qualifiers and Nationals and (more recently) ILCA National Opens and Nationals – sometimes it's best not to count. At times it has taken me back to venues where I can just about remember what happened last time, and on occasions to venues where I swore blind I would never return. Occasionally I get memories on Facebook of results I posted where my sailor was somewhere near the bottom of the list, rather than now somewhere nearer the top and I distinctly remember driving off Hayling Island after a bruising windy weekend when I said “you don’t have to do this you know”. The ILCA journey isn’t a single pathway of course. One of its strengths as a boat is you can be 13 years old in an ILCA4 and just club sail, or travel to regional opens or go full-in and do the national/ international circuit thing. And you can be of a slightly more mature age in a 6 or 7 (or a 4 for that matter) and stay in the boat until almost any age. There’s an ILCA sailor at my club well into his 80’s – he bought a new Harken kicker at the dinghy show this year because he had to have the latest thing – and I believe the Masters circuit had to invent a new top age category recently by popular demand.

But of course the boat isn’t perfect – an aging design, heavy, expensive sails and a stupidly small rudder that makes it harder to sail than it could be. And when I go to those old results lists, there are literally hundreds of sailors, some of whom were uber-dedicated and dreamt the dream, who no longer sail ILCAs with us. But that’s also the beauty of the ILCA Class. Wherever you go in the sailing world there are ILCA sailors. Cape 31s traipsing around Europe on big budgets, ilca sailors calling the shots – tick; Tom Slingsby in SailGP, the America’s Cup – tick; former Olympians Ali Young or Nick Thompson recycling their considerable skills, experience and talent as coaches – tick…….and when wearing one of my other hats (President of BUSA) I dip into the world of University sailing I’m delighted to see ILCA sailors everywhere – and simply smashing it. Last week at the Wilson Trophy – the pinnacle of team racing worldwide – there were the Rutland Raiders coming second overall with Ben and Jamie Tylecote and Terry Hacker (all ILCA sailors past or present, students all of them) helming against 33 of the top team racing teams from the UK and across the world. The same is true elsewhere…..Will Pank and Tommie Grit have literally transformed sailing at UEA during their short time there and yet occasionally still find time to return and jump in an ILCA (alongside a full on 49er campaign) as they did at last year’s Nationals. The point of this ramble, if its not clear, is ILCA sailors come and go but ILCA sailing can set you on a sailing pathway for life. The BUSA students by and large organise things for themselves and learn great life skills along the way. Sometimes this broader picture gets forgotten and its important because clearly by definition not everyone can make it to top of the pyramid.

And none of this happens without volunteers. Our sport is particularly volunteer reliant due to the complexity of what we do. Hopefully you’ll have seen the call for more volunteers to run the Nationals – the same is true of all our events. Many people don’t realise that none of our race management teams gets paid, some get expenses but most don’t actually claim back all they have spent. Same is true of the jury who are often sitting late into the evening hearing protests, and tally, beach, bridge, results, registration and on and on. The clarion call is that, as the class continues to grow, we need more volunteers to make things happen. Please don’t think that because you’ve paid your sailor’s entry fee you’re “done”. It would be lovely to think it works like that - it doesn’t. If you’re worried that you’re not a sailor and might not be a help, you absolutely will be and you’ll learn new skills. You may be a 4 parent whose sailor has just started in the Class and because you don’t know everyone you think the race officers are being cliquey – we’re really not trying to be…..it’s just that when we get to an event we don’t have a lot of spare time to get to know everyone. So if you want to help and don’t know where to start please email Ellie or Claire and we will find you a role. It doesn’t need to be week long – a few days here or there also helps. Similarly at the Nationals we will hold the AGM and there will be roles that need filling both on the general committee and the various sub-committees who make everything happen. The Women and Girls sub committee, the Sailing sub committee and Masters would all I’m sure welcome extra help. And at the Nationals this year to say thank-you we are having a volunteer drinks evening, supported, I’m delighted to say, by class sponsor Noble Marine Insurance…..I’ll certainly be looking forwards to sharing a pint with lots of you.

Neil

Upcoming events:

Womens Regatta https://portal.ilca.uk/event/ILCA-Women-2026-Burton

Masters National Championships Parkstone YC - 3-5 July 2026

Sponsors:
Ovington Boats https://ovingtonboats.com/ilca/

Sailingfasthttps://sailingfast.co.uk/product-category/sailing/boat/ilca/

Noble Marine https://www.noblemarine.co.uk/boat-insurance/ilca-dinghy-insurance

Fernhurst Books https://fernhurstbooks.com

Tideway Wealth https://tidewaywealth.co.uk

See all the results here: https://ilca.uk/ilca-uk-results-2026

Skills Week:

ILCA Skills Week 2026 WPNSA - 15/20 August 2026 (Provisional - may move by one day)

Other Snippets:

Youth World Championships 2026 - Notice of Selection

Neil Collingridge 5/11/26 Neil Collingridge 5/11/26

ILCA UK Chair Blog #175

Time to stop hanging around and do some sailing…….

A few things have crossed my desk this week – metaphorically of course; I gave up having a desk 3 years ago and now there’s just an ipad that is battered and bruised by coming out on too many Committee Vessels. Here are a couple or three:

First, someone was lamenting the closure of Southeast Sailboats. “Where will I get all my beautifully neat spliced control lines from now Max has retired?” he asked. I resisted the trite response (learn to splice) – there are suppliers out there who are picking up the slack, so to speak, but I won't plug them on here as I’ll almost certainly leave some out. Meantime though Max has apparently agreed to turn up at Skills Week to do a bit of a teach in – that’s a must attend for me as I’ve mastered the basics of a Brummel hitch, but my brain starts to tie itself in knots (ho ho) when I try to master a double block 8 to 1 Cunningham. And even when I crack it mine never look neat and professional. Better than nothing, and better than a bowline, but a bit tatty all the same.

Second, alongside us opening the UK Nationals this week our Masters Rep, Gareth sent me the following plug for what they are up to. Two iconic venues in store for them so again please get your entries in early as it makes a ton difference to the planning.

“Isn't it great that the weather has warmed and water temperatures are starting to rise, with this we start to feel the difference with the air density and how that changes the feel of gusty winds making ILCA racing feel that little bit more manageable. The Tideway Wealth Master Series calendar of events is about to start with two great events on the south coast at WPNSA and Parkstone Yacht Club.

The weekend of 23/24 May has WPNSA hosting the first event in the series, entries are slowly trickling in but now is the time for that final push to make the commitment and enter. We set a minimum entry number requirement and opened the event to all the ILCA rigs. Entries will close on 18 May so make sure you book this week. WPNSA provides a fantastic venue for sea sailing in the bay or more sheltered waters in the harbour should the weather conditions dictate. There is plenty of good food available to buy in the canteen throughout the day and we have meals available for the Saturday evening should you want to order and pay for these. The bar will of course be open if you would just like a social drink.

3 - 5 July will have Parkstone Yacht Club, near Poole/Bournemouth hosting the Tideway Wealth Master Nationals, this also forms part of the EurILCA Master Series. Parkstone Yacht Club has a state-of-the-art club house and a modern, well-equipped yacht haven, located in Poole Harbour it has a proud 125-year history and enjoys an enviable stature and reputation within the world of competitive sailing. This year in addition to our class sponsors we have a very generous sponsorship from Salcombe Gin for the event. Entries will close on 30 June so please do get your booking in soon.

For those taking part, you'll enjoy some great racing and coastal sailing.”

And third is https://www.fantasysailor.com. At a time when the sport is having to justify its existence at the Olympics we can debate endlessly the merits of one format over another - my two pennies worth is we need the world to be more interested in sailors ahead of the games rather than just at the games (so that when they turn on and see a windless Bay of Marseilles they’ve a reason to try again later rather than just watch the 13 year olds skateboarding – I’ve actually nothing against skateboarding other than the near miss my wrist had returning late from The Cove one night)…..hence the observation from some that the 2 Grand Slam events at Palma and Hyeres had no live stream or tracking for the ILCAs. So here is something new - the fantasy football league on water. It’s less painful than being a West Ham supporter that’s or sure. Pick 4 ILCA7 and 4 ILCA6 sailors for the Europeans starting next week in Croatia, make one of them your power play (OK, I’m a bit biased) and see how they get on, and whether you have a Scooby Doo about who is or isn’t on form. A bit of fun maybe, but can’t do any harm.

Next week, I feel something coming about Class volunteering. We will have the AGM at the Nationals again this year and there are some Committee slots needing filling so if you’ve time, knowledge or experience (or even all 3) and you like working as part of a team, please have a think about how you could help. You have been warned!

Neil

Upcoming events:

Womens Regatta https://portal.ilca.uk/event/ILCA-Women-2026-Burton

Masters National Championships Parkstone YC - 3-5 July 2026

Sponsors:
Ovington Boats https://ovingtonboats.com/ilca/

Sailingfasthttps://sailingfast.co.uk/product-category/sailing/boat/ilca/

Noble Marine https://www.noblemarine.co.uk/boat-insurance/ilca-dinghy-insurance

Fernhurst Books https://fernhurstbooks.com

Tideway Wealth https://tidewaywealth.co.uk

https://portal.ilca.uk/event/2026-ILCA-Nationals

See all the results here: https://ilca.uk/ilca-uk-results-2026

Skills Week:

ILCA Skills Week 2026 WPNSA - 15/20 August 2026 (Provisional - may move by one day)

Other Snippets:

Youth World Championships 2026 - Notice of Selection

Neil Collingridge 5/5/26 Neil Collingridge 5/5/26

ILCA UK Chair Blog #174

Time to stop hanging around and do some sailing…….

As May bank holidays go it wasnt too miserable…..whilst 43 ILCA4s were battling away at the ET champs at Rutland this weekend, no doubt in some pretty light and shifty conditions, I found myself parachuted in as a last minute Race Officer sub at the ILCA Grand Prix at my club Waldringfield. For those of you who’ve not been there it’s in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on the River Deben but that makes it as shifty as it’s pretty – and it’s very, very pretty – so it’s challenging for sailors and race officials alike. If we fit a 6 minute beat in we’re doing very well so the first mark can be a little congested at times. The tide – it was springs – can run strong and do funny things as it splits behind the island which then disappears entirely from view as the river fills up. It helps to have kayaked around the river at low water as some of us have to understand what might be going on when the plug is eventually put back in. Having not even seen the SIs before I was called up with 3 hours notice, there was plenty to get my head around even before a ninety degree shift with the sea breeze arrival called for a complete course reset - not the easiest to achieve on a small East Coast river. The 27 entries had to wait a while whilst I faffed as little as possible to get a decent start and beat set but I think those who didn’t jump the start when we inevitably went to black generally had a good experience. ILCA-UK’s Grand Prix events (as well as the Regional Youth Series) are really there to help bridge the gap between the Club sailor who maybe likes to mostly stay at home, those who occasionally fancy travelling locally, and the rather more committed (some might say slightly insane) travelling brigade who think nothing of hitching up on a Friday evening and driving for 5 hours to a National Event only to rinse and repeat a week later.

But all this served to remind me how fortunate we are having the depth of resources we have at our disposal when the class does host its national events. And so my thoughts turn to the 2026 UK National Championships at Weymouth which will open for entries about the same time as this blog is published. Difficulties in securing dates at Hayling meant we had no choice but to move to WPNSA from 22nd to 28th of July (first race is 23/7) and even then we had to be shoehorned in across a weekend to make the dates work – so we know that’s not exactly ideal. However, we are working very hard at delivering another great event. We know that cost is increasingly important for many so the entry fee actually budgets for ILCA-UK to make a loss whether we get 250 entries or 300. We made some money from training and events in the first quarter and as we are not a company with shareholders we can't pay a dividend to return any surplus. Losing money on the Nationals which attracts the biggest entries of all our events is the best way of returning a profit to as many of those as possible who helped generate it in the first place. The regular entry fee is £300 for the week – that’s a 9% increase on what it was 2 years ago but with that sailors will get two free evening meals on top of the regular snacks as they come ashore. The events team are working hard at organising activities and games so that we achieve the sort of festival atmosphere our Nationals have become known for. Also with target race times generally heading in the direction of shorter 40 minute races, the NOR calls for a maximum of 16 races across the week (2 on the first and last day, and 3 on the days in between), so if conditions are good we can get a lot of racing in. Value for money.

Back to all those resources……we are looking at having 2 courses so 6 mark layers, something in the region of 24 ribs, 5 jury ribs (1 for each flight if as we expect we have to flight both 4s and 6s this year) and then add in Gyrinus, Imogen (from Castle Cove), Mellow Yellow, and Protector for start and finish vessels, at least 16 race marks, and on and on…..its quite a logistics challenge. Quite a fuel bill too I expect. We’ve filled many of the key race management roles to operate the 2 courses we will need but we still need lots and lots of volunteers so please look at the sign up sheet at the same time that you enter your sailors and see where you can help- afloat or onshore there’s something for everyone. In particular if you’ve previous experience of mark laying, helping on finish or a committee vessel please shout…..you dont necessarily need to do the whole week. And for volunteers who put in a decent shift we will be hosting a drinks evening as a thankyou – we simply can’t operate as we do without as many people helping as they do. I’ve certainly found over the years that the more you put in the more enjoyment you get out, and just like the sailors you gain some great friendships along the way.

So I hope as many as possible enter and come to Weymouth and then that we get that wonderful 20 knots of breeze from 240 degrees blowing in over the top of Chesil Beach whilst the sun puts in some 14 hour shifts so that it’s warm enough to hang around in the hub after sailing, playing some table tennis or babyfoot, watching a tractrac debrief or just shooting the breeze over a nice cold drink. There are rumours someone has arranged an Ice Cream van to turn up this year too. If you’ve not come to an ILCA Nationals previously, we work really hard to make it fun. Competitive, first class racing but also a relaxed vibe with plenty of other things going on. Do come and try it.

Sitting in Suffolk on a cloudy Bank Holiday Monday, its nice to look forwards to the summer when it kicks in properly. I’ve probably jinxed it now but hopefully not! Here’s the link to enter so let’s get this show on the road……

Neil

PS: most weeks around Friday I start to suffer ILCA-UK Blog Stress…..it’s a new phenomenon caused by not knowing what the heck Im going to blither on about next week. I’m happy to receive suggestions at vicechair@ilca.uk I wont promise that I’ll action them all but I’m happy to hear what is on peoples’ minds.

Upcoming events:

Womens Regatta https://portal.ilca.uk/event/ILCA-Women-2026-Burton

Masters National Championships Parkstone YC - 3-5 July 2026

Sponsors:
Ovington Boats https://ovingtonboats.com/ilca/

Sailingfasthttps://sailingfast.co.uk/product-category/sailing/boat/ilca/

Noble Marine https://www.noblemarine.co.uk/boat-insurance/ilca-dinghy-insurance

Fernhurst Books https://fernhurstbooks.com

Tideway Wealth https://tidewaywealth.co.uk

Submit Your Interest to Participate

See all the results here: https://ilca.uk/ilca-uk-results-2026

Skills Week:

ILCA Skills Week 2026 WPNSA - 15/20 August 2026 (Provisional - may move by one day)

Other Snippets:

Youth World Championships 2026 - Notice of Selection

Neil Collingridge 4/28/26 Neil Collingridge 4/28/26

ILCA UK Chair Blog #173

Rather less for me to comment on directly in ILCA-UK-Land this week. Whilst I’ve been up to my armpits in paint, antifoul and ‘reassuringly expensive” epifanes varnish, getting my aging classic Cheetah ready to launch, there’s plenty going on elsewhere planning the UK Nationals where we hope to open entries soon and are busy planning a packed schedule both afloat and onshore. Budgetting an event of that size is difficult as, whilst there are plenty of fixed costs, others are harder to pin down and the overall result is very sensitive to assumptions made over entry numbers. We try hard to wash our face and keep entry fees as low as possible but having spent hours going through a spreadsheet line by line yesterday I can vouch it’s harder than you might think. WPNSA may be all too familiar but there is good reason it was chosen for the 2012 Games and, more often than not, it delivers the goods.

Meantime entries have already opened for the Women’s Regatta – Saturday 14th June at Burton Sailing Club which is a new venue to me but a quick shifty at their website reveals it’s a quite beautiful reservoir tucked away in the National Forest in Derbyshire. And continuing that theme Christine Statham who chairs the Women’s sub-committee sent me the following update after the Class was awarded a reasonably sizeable grant from the RYA and Sports England for Women’s training:

“Are you passionate about supporting women and girls in sailing?
If your club shares that passion, we’d love to work with you.

Thanks to funding from the RYA and Sport England, alongside support from ILCA UK, we’re delighted to be able to offer female-only ILCA training days. We’re looking for 10 new clubs across the country to host and run these days (i.e., clubs that haven’t previously delivered ILCA female training).

Our vision is for women to coach women, creating a safe, welcoming environment that builds confidence, develops skills, and grows a supportive community of female sailors both on and off the water.

We expect each day to cater for around 16 sailors. Where possible, we’d love clubs to offer some ILCA charter/hire options so more sailors can take part.

After each day, we’ll ask for a short write-up and a selection of photos so we can celebrate what you’ve delivered, inspire more women and girls to get involved, and showcase the fantastic female sailors in our class.

A huge thank you to our sponsor, Sailingfast, for their generous donation of equipment, helping us deliver these sessions and support clubs around the country.

To get involved or find out more, please contact Christine Statham at women@ilca.uk.”

Well done to Christine and her team for securing this money – let’s put it to work. Last week’s blog seems to have resulted in one volunteer stepping forward to help her subcommittee but I’m sure more help would be appreciated.

In the meantime Alan Davis sent me the following:

“As you will be aware there are few women coaches supporting ILCA athletes on their Olympic journey at the current time. The coaching clinic is designed to support those who wish to pursue a high level coaching career and, in turn, support the development of women coaches within their own Districts. It is being organised by Virgina Kravaroti, 2x Olympian and Bronze Medallist, who is on the EurILCA committee and now also has the second EurILCA seat on the ILCA World Council”

EurILCA is pleased to invite all women sailing coaches to the first Women Sailing Coaches Clinic, taking place from 21 to 22 November 2026 in Athens, Greece, with an optional site visit and networking dinner on Friday 20 November.

This two-day clinic is designed exclusively for women coaches active in ILCA sailing.

It brings together technical expertise, on-water practice, and personal development across six thematic sessions: ILCA coaching methodologies and race analysis, racing rules, boat measurement, physical conditioning, and athlete psychology. Participants will benefit from interactive sessions, round-table discussions, on-water training at the Piraeus Sailing Club, and dedicated networking opportunities throughout the weekend.

EurILCA will cover part of the costs, including accommodation and meals. Registration is free of charge.

Please complete the form below to indicate your interest in participating in the Women Sailing Coaches Clinic

https://eurilca.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/EurILCA-Women-Sailing-Coaches-Clinic-Programme-Athens-2026-1-AA.png

Suffice it to say that both the above opportunities are great for different target audiences……..but they will take someone or several people to make something of them…so crack on!

Last night I wrote that we seem to be stuck in a stubborn high pressure system – bad for the lawn, good for varnishing (not that that matters for most ILCA sailors), and not great for good sailing breezes unless you’re on the coast and get some sea breeze. This morning is peeing down in Suffolk. It is launch day for me so wherever you’re sailing your ILCA next week fingers crossed you get sun and wind…..we don’t ask for much!

Neil

Upcoming events:

Womens Regatta https://portal.ilca.uk/event/ILCA-Women-2026-Burton

Masters National Championships Parkstone YC - 3-5 July 2026

Sponsors:
Ovington Boats https://ovingtonboats.com/ilca/

Sailingfasthttps://sailingfast.co.uk/product-category/sailing/boat/ilca/

Noble Marine https://www.noblemarine.co.uk/boat-insurance/ilca-dinghy-insurance

Fernhurst Books https://fernhurstbooks.com

Tideway Wealth https://tidewaywealth.co.uk

See all the results here: https://ilca.uk/ilca-uk-results-2026

Skills Week:

ILCA Skills Week 2026 WPNSA - 15/20 August 2026 (Provisional - may move by one day)

National & Open Championships:

Unfortunately, due to clashes with international regattas, we could not accept dates offered by the Hayling Island Sailing Club to host our nationals in 2026. We therefore confirmed that the 2026 Nationals will be held in JULY at WPNSA. He hope to go back to HISC soon!

ILCA UK Open & National Championships 2026 WPNSA - 22-28th July 2026

Other Snippets:

Youth World Championships 2026 - Notice of Selection

Neil Collingridge 4/20/26 Neil Collingridge 4/20/26

ILCA UK Chair Blog #172

Today is my final blog…..

Also enter open for Masters events in May and July.

As we know Mark Lyttle is now President of ILCA Worldwide and will be stepping down as Chair of ILCA-UK at the AGM in July. Whilst I’m a big believer in democratic process, we’ve not been hearing jungle drums of people lining up to be Chair and so on the (hopefully not presumptive) assumption that I will take on the Chair role, my current Vice Chair role which Mark sold to me as “not too much work” has been expanding over the last several months. A part of that is Mark saying I should take over writing the blog - so here I am!

Mark’s are big shoes to fill – he’s a former Olympian who won a race at the Games in Savannah, and he’s a very successful Masters ILCA sailor whereas I sailed my last ILCA race about a decade ago – it was quite fruity at Waldringfield that day and whilst I was very quick upwind I was dog slow downhill so after a couple first places (really!) my body told me enough was enough and get back into my Wayfarer. So the blog will doubtless be different looking forwards as I’ll have different perspectives to Mark but as a mechanic for communicating with current and prospective members, I believe it’s a very useful tool.

My perspectives on ILCA-UK may or may not be of interest but please indulge me. First to say is that we are a largely volunteer led organisation. We are running what’s in effect a small business in our spare time and inevitably that puts stresses and strains on what we do. As the class has grown – and it undoubtedly has – we risk adding complexity to what we do and it's important not to compromise the quality of what we do as a result. So my ask is if you want to get involved let me or others on the Committee know. If you’ve got a great new idea but it needs effort to effect it please recognise that unless you’re happy to make it happen yourself, it probably won’t! The answer is not just to ask Ellie or Claire to add it to their list of to do’s.

The class both internationally and domestically is strong. Whilst they are really only of passing interest (and at this moment underrepresents our strength) nevertheless the Class has 3 of the top 15 men and 2 of the top 15 women in the World in the latest World Sailing Rankings. Our National Opens are blow out; regularly topping 180 entries. The National Championships too are hugely popular and it says something that in our planning for this year we are running a 300 boat stretch case – it would be lovely to top that number. The master’s scene is again vibrant in the UK and internationally and it’s particularly great when the “experienced” guys turn up and give the slightly more youthful sailors a run for their money when its light and tactical and fitness is perhaps less important. The Class run training has been a huge success and is doing much to fuel our growing numbers, and whilst we don’t always get results internationally at junior and youth level the most recent ILCA4 Europeans show we can get that right as well – well done Chloe Grayton (Bronze U16 Girl) and Thomas Semmens (9th overall European Boy).

We also have some great sponsors who help support the class in many ways – Fernhurst Books, Noble Marine, Ovington (with TracTrac), Rooster, Sailingfast, Tideway and Wildwind. We are lucky to have them and have upped our game on Social Media to try to make sure they see a greater return – it helps the class of course that we are also telling our story rather better to the outside world which I hope will fuel further growth.

All the above are reasons to be cheerful as Ian Dury would have said – younger sailors go look it up on Spotify…..he’s good. But there is plenty more for us to do. We can do a better job reaching down into Club “Laser” sailors – the Regional Youth Series is an important step in that direction, as are the Grand Prix. A member of my club only yesterday said “but why would I pay to become a member?” – 15 minutes later she was still unconvinced even though her sailors were committed regionally and had previously enjoyed our training. We’ve made progress with encouraging girls and women but we still fall well short. I’ve just come back from the BUSA Team Racing Finals where 47% of sailors were female – still not parity but near as damn it – so I don’t really buy the lazy “they’ve got other things to be doing when they get to 16” thinking. And we have this constant wrestle with fitting our numbers into available venues. The recent NO1 at Warsash shows we try to get away from WPNSA when we can – and what a success it was, but I’d ask for everyone’;s support when we go to East Lothian in the Autumn as I know the club volunteers there were just as enthusiastic last year as we found at Warsash. It’s a long way but we can make it fun! And finally having seen the good bad and the ugly of race management in the UK and abroad I do believe we run high quality events but be aware it really annoys me when the rules go out the window – that is not the right culture for the Class.

That’s it from me for now. Please get in touch if you want to talk or contribute. A lot of planning to be done for the Nationals still. Please don’t be shy if you can help, and let’s see if we can test that stretch target.

Neil

Snippets

Upcoming Masters events:

Masters National Championships Parkstone YC - 3-5 July 2026

Recent National Opens:

For your support Rooster are providing a discount code for ILCA Members : ILCAUK10 for 10% off a range of Rooster products!

Pictures from National Opens:

NO1: https://ilcasmphotos.smugmug.com/2026-ILCA-UK-Events/2026-National-Open-1/Sailing-Fast-ILCA-National-Open-1/n-nTh5HN

NO2: Rooster ILCA National Open 2 - Ilca SMPhotos

NO3: https://ilcasmphotos.smugmug.com/2026-ILCA-UK-Events/2026-National-Open/Ovington-ILCA-National-Open-3/n-csWXZj

Videos:

NO1: https://youtu .be/DmeHcdevsL8?si=iJ9KOzZPQWMiLRky

NO2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27zBlIY036s

NO3: https://youtu.be/lRfBw2OHgNA?si=wjfe3aVAvQsIDMd g

👉🏼Ovington Insights/Tractracuk replay:

NO1: https://www.tractrac.com/event-page/event_20260210_ILCAUKNati/3451

NO2 & NO3: Tractracuk racing replay: https://www.tractrac.com/event-page/eve nt_20260321_ILCAUKNati/3441:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lOjIKZHIq8

Weekend sponsors:
Ovington Boats https://ovingtonboats.com/ilca/

Sailingfasthttps://sailingfast.co.uk/product-category/sailing/boat/ilca/

Rooster https://www.roostersailing.com/
Noble Marine https://www.noblemarine.co.uk/boat-insurance/ilca-dinghy-insurance

Follow us on social media:
• Instagram https://www.instagram.com/ilca_uk/
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ILCAUK/
• Website https://ilca.uk/

👉🏼Sign up to ILCA UK Chair blog: https://portal.ilca.uk/subscriptions

See all the results here: https://ilca.uk/ilca-uk-results-2026

Skills Week

ILCA Skills Week 2026 WPNSA - 15/20 August 2026 (Provisional - may move by one day)

National & Open Championships

ILCA UK Open & National Championships 2026 WPNSA - 22-28th July 2026

Masters events (over 30)

Introduction to Masters sailing - ILCA UK NEW Masters rep Gareth Humphrey

Master Series WPNSA - 23-24th May 2026

Masters National Championships Parkstone YC - 3-5 July 2026

Masters Inland Championships Draycote Water SC - 7-8 November 2026

Snippets

Youth World Championships 2026 - Notice of Selection

Mark Lyttle 4/13/26 Mark Lyttle 4/13/26

ILCA UK Chair Blog #171

Today is my final blog…..

Also enter open for Masters events in May and July.

So the time has come to write my final blog. As you know I am handing over the reins formally in a couple of months. In many ways it has been a pleasure to write these over the last four years as I have had the opportunity to share my thoughts and experience over many decades of ILCA sailing. Today I thought I would cover several themes that are most important to me and probably the class.

Dinghy sailing is a sport for life. ILCA sailing, or indeed sailing in general, is a sport for life. I have often said this in my blogs over the years, but what does this mean? In our National Opens we have many younger sailors who are competing for a variety of reasons – some aspire to be elite athletes, perhaps competing as “pros” or making a living from the sport and this is certainly more possible now than it was for me as a young sailor. For many though, they are competing to improve their performances and skills, just wanting to get better. For others, the independence of being on the water, making their own decisions is important. Of course, having fun and making friends transcends all these reasons. The journey these sailors take over time varies, with some moving into coaching, teaching sailing, or acquiring skills like RIB driving or race management or team-racing, often at university. Some stay racing ILCAs perhaps at club level or move into other dinghies or keelboats. Others make a career in the marine industry or put sailing on hold while family and career take priority (Blog #160).

The thrill of sailing an ILCA remains. I remember shortly after getting my first Laser (only standard / ILCA7 rigs back then), having come out of Optimists, planing on a reach and being thrilled with the speed. I can still remember where I thought “that’s the fastest I have ever been in a sailing boat”. Well over 45 years later, I was again exhilarated by a planing reach across Weymouth Harbour in 12 knots. And that’s the point, (ILCA) sailing can be a passion for life. It has allowed me to still be enjoying the sport in my fifth decade, to have competed at the highest level and still be able to club race on a Wednesday evening at Queen Mary. It has taught me about winning and losing and about the hard work needed to improve. And it has given me life-long friends. That’s the message for younger sailors. This is a sport for life and the ILCA can be a platform for that.

Of course, I remain a competitive person and I don’t like performing below my expectations. When it happens, I must remind myself of all the sport as given me. It is natural to have great aspirations for ourselves, to aspire to be the next Ben Ainslie or Shirley Robinson, but it is worth remembering that that would be the exception and the journey of improving has many of the benefits I describe above. So much better in my view to develop that “passion for life” rather than realising at 20 that you are not going to be the next Ben or Shirley and give it all up. I am not for a second suggesting that we don’t aspire to be the best or shouldn’t feel disappointment that our expectations aren’t met. These are the natural consequences of sport, and the journey is not one of steady progress but rather ups and downs along the way where hopefully the overall trajectory is upwards. Disappointments are natural and it is how they are dealt with that is important, for example as a motivator to improve, rather than a barrier. As the summer opens up, we have the chance to aspire and improve but above all we have a chance to indulge our passion (mostly Blog #44).

Our culture as a class is unique and important. It’s about the strength of our community, our passion for ILCA sailing and the class and about working together. We’re a mix of youth sailors just starting out, seasoned masters with decades of stories, and everything in between. From British Saling Team members to club sailors. But what unites us is a shared love of ILCA sailing, top competition and great racing — and a belief that everyone should feel welcome on the start line. The culture is one of helping, whether it’s a parent helping on the beach, experienced sailors offering tips after a race, volunteers that are the heartbeat of ILCA UK. So, if you ask me what the culture of ILCA UK is, I’d say: it’s friendly, it’s open, it’s about improving and making the most of the opportunity, no matter your expectations on the race course (Blog #130).

We will remain inclusive if we protect that culture with :

inclusive language - we welcome sailors of all ages and experiences with a choice of three rigs
zero tolerance to poor behaviour and language - of course this is never going to be perfect, but it needs to be called out when seen and supported by a robust policy
National events that are open - yes many may be youth sailors but not exclusively - the focus is on high quality racing for all
top Olympic sailors competing against club sailors
no teams or squads - we are lucky to usually have enough places at international events that everyone who wants to can go.
non-promotion of rankings - they just aren't central to our class
regional open training for everyone with national training available to those in the top half of the fleet
a national championship that is a "festival of sailing".

Happy sailing to you all. May you get more “lifts than headers” and see you on the water soon.

Snippets

Upcoming Masters events: