ILCA UK Chair Blog # 141
I thought I would share some observations on the ILCA UK Masters National Championship just finished on Monday, as we head into the Suzuki European Masters Championship. We had around 120 entries and were treated to 8 races in moderate to strong winds and big waves, hosted superbly by Hayling Island Sailing Club. I would say mostly a boat speed event but also lots of persistent shifts that were hard to predict. Great sailing! You will see various reports on social media (links below) and of course can analyse all the races on TracTrac but as I move towards the end of my fifth decade of Laser /ILCA sailing, I wanted to reflect more broadly on Masters sailing.
Firstly, as you all know, sailing is a sport for life. As a teenager, through my university years and beyond, it was all about improving, both technique and race strategy and tactics and little did I know it was also about making friends and acquaintances that I would still know and meet again decades later. At my first Masters Worlds in 2018 in Dun Laoghaire, my Laser was in the boat park beside Arnoud Hummel from the Netherlands. I had raced against him in the early eighties as a 20-year-old although he would not have known that as he was “one of the stars” at the front and I was decidedly learning my trade mid-fleet. So it was lovely to chat about those days and events and also to race together again 40 years later (in closer proximity this time!).
The waves in Hayling Bay provided for exciting (and maybe scary at times) that many sailors enjoyed but each has a focus on their own performance – having a good race or two, getting around the course without capsizing in the big waves or finishing ahead of friends and club mates. Putting yourself out there and feeling the reward based on your own benchmark. Of course, ILCA racing has the added benefit of keeping us fit, as well as being good for our mental health.
The terrific thing about ILCA sailing is that you can keep doing it, even as you get older. Sure, you notice a few subtle changes – a few more bruises trying to get back into the boat after a capsize, a bit more stiffness after racing (I definitely need to do more stretching now) and maybe not quite a quick as before. But it’s about staying the journey. That’s why the real champion this weekend was the oldest competitor, at 90 years of age. How impressive is that! Could I have really be almost another three decades of ILCA sailing? Who knows but I am going to enjoy the journey while I can.
Snippets
ILCA UK Events
Visit our National Championship dedicated website Why not come and join us? Entries to UK Nationals
Scottish Championships - This weekend!
Welsh Championships - entries open
2025 Women’s Regatta at Rutland entries open
Skills Week South & North - OPENS MONDAY 9th June
You will see our calendar starting to fill up.
Other news
2025 ILCA UK Masters Nationals video
2025 ILCAUK Masters Nationals at Hayling Island Sailing Club - ILCA 6 report
2025 ILCAUK Masters Nationals at Hayling Island Sailing Club - ILCA 7 report
QM ILCA initiative has gone from zero to international in six months
2025 ILCA7 Masters Spring Qualifier at Parkstone Yacht Club
2025 ILCA6 Masters Spring Qualifier at Parkstone Yacht Club
ILCA Midland Grand Prix at Attenborough Sailing Club
2025 ILCA UK National Open 2 at the WPNSA - ILCA 4 fleet report
2025 ILCA UK National Open 2 at the WPNSA - ILCA 6 fleet report
2025 ILCA UK National Open 2 at the WPNSA - ILCA 7 fleet report
Video of National Open 2
Also we also had three really good write-ups from that first weekend:
2025 ILCA UK National Open 1 at the WPNSA - ILCA 7 fleet report
2025 ILCA UK National Open 1 at the WPNSA - ILCA 4 fleet report
2025 ILCA UK National Open 1 at the WPNSA- ILCA 6 fleet report
National Open 1 video Here it is.
Finally have you seen the tracking? Here are the links - ILCA UK National Open 1 ILCA UK National Open 2 James Foster did a nice debriefing of the racing using the tracking data, see here. ILCA7 briefing. ILCA4 briefing.
ILCA UK Youth Winter Trophy at Datchet Water Sailing Club - ILCA 4 fleet report
ILCA UK Youth Winter Trophy at Datchet Water Sailing Club - ILCA 6 fleet report