ILCA UK Chair Blog #174

May 5

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……

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

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.

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Master Series WPNSA - 23-24th May 2026

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