ILCA UK Chair Blog #171
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:
Master Series WPNSA - 23-24th May 2026
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!
Below are the Yacht and Yachting articles written by sailors. Also photos from all three events with a video plus Ovington Insights Tractrac replays.
Y&Y reports at NO1:
https://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/294604/Sailingfast-ILCA-4-National-Open-at-Warsash
https://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/294603/Sailingfast-ILCA-6-National-Open-at-Warsash
https://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/294602/Sailingfast-ILCA-7-National-Open-at-Warsash
Y&Y reports at NO2:
https://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/294735/Rooster-ILCA-4-National-Open-at-Weymouth
https://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/294737/Rooster-ILCA-6-National-Open-at-Weymouth
https://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/294738/Rooster-ILCA-7-National-Open-at-Weymouth
Y&Y reports at NO3:
https://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/294962/ILCA-4s-at-the-WPNSA
https://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/294969/ILCA-6s-at-the-WPNSA
https://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/294989/ILCA-7s-at-the-WPNSA
Pictures:
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=wjfe3aVAvQsIDMdg
👉🏼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/event_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
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
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