ILCA UK Chair Blog #179

A few important things from me this week.

First, After 7 years as ILCA-UK Association Secretary where she has overseen many changes and strong growth in the Class, Ellie Ratusniak has decided to move on to new challenges. She has made many friends in the Class and we wish her all the best for the future. Ellie will continue to work with the Class until the end of the Nationals at WPNSA and in the meantime will ensure a smooth handover to Claire Turner. I’d like to thank Ellie for everything that she has done and I hope we will see her occasionally as a volunteer in the future.

Second, Mike Powell has asked me to give a push to our Regional Youth Series. In particular we are looking for more entries for the South and South West Junior Champs on 20th/21st June 2026, run by WPNSA. It’s a Multi-Class event but will include the ILCA4’s. Enter by clicking on this link:
https://www.wpnsa.org.uk/events/south-and-south-west-junior-championships-2026/

And finally this week on to the Shore team for the Nationals. Claire Turner has been conducting a small orchestra of helpers and today is launching the shore based social programme. Please can I encourage everyone to get online and book well in advance. Making arrangements when you’ve only a finger in the air to guess how many are turning up is difficult to say the least. And remember entries for the Nationals close exactly one month from today on 8th July…..after that they are at the discretion of the Organising Authority and attract a £100 surcharge. We really don’t want anyone to be paying that!

Claire’s team comment as follows:

“With just over six weeks to go until our Nationals at WPNSA, we wanted to take the opportunity to update you on the shore-side activities planned throughout the week.

Alongside our usual sailor briefings, coaching clinics and daily prize draws, our entertainment programme gets underway on Thursday evening with the “Hooked on Boots” line dancing extravaganza! Dust off your Stetsons and cowboy boots and get ready for a fun-filled evening of yeehaw action.

On Friday, we’ll be welcoming local band “Speedway Snails”, while Spitting Pig Dorset will be serving up a delicious hog roast.

Saturday is our chance to thank the fantastic team of volunteers who make the event possible. Join us for the Noble Marine Volunteer Evening, featuring a quiz and disco – so start assembling your teams now!

On Sunday evening, Portland Paella will be keeping us well fed before we head into our fun casino night. Don’t forget to collect your “ILCA money” so you can join in the action. There will be prizes for the biggest winners of the evening.

Monday sees the ILCA UK AGM – your opportunity to have a say in the future of the class. We encourage all members to attend and get involved.

The bar will be open every evening, either in Spinnakers or outdoors, weather permitting. Hog roast and paella are included for all sailors as part of their entry fee, with additional portions available to purchase for family and friends. The deadline to book extra portions is 8 July.

Lasagne on Thursday evening and chilli on Saturday evening are also available to pre-order, with a booking deadline of 8 July.”

Full menu details and food booking information can be found here: https://portal.ilca.uk//event/1376949 with social info here: https://ilca.uk/2026-schedule

Finally, when you’re online making your booking, we are still short of volunteers to make the Nationals go smoothly, particularly crews for safety fleet and mark layers so please please give some thought as to what you can do now…..you don t have to do a whole week – many hands make light work etc! – but without a safety fleet we won't be launching and without marks in the right place there won't be much of a race!

Thanks all

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/

Sailingfast https://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

FernhurstBooks https://fernhurstbooks.com

Tideway Wealth https://tidewaywealth.co.uk

Wildwind https://wildwind.co.uk

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

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

Other Snippets:

Youth World Championships 2026 - Notice of Selection