UKLA Chair blog #32

When I started sailing Lasers (a long time ago) there was only the full rig so for lighter sailors like me (back then), windy races were hard work and there were consequences. I sailed my first Irish Nationals at 16 and in the light air event, I finished in the top 10. The following year, it blew “old boots” and I raced the second half of the regatta in the silver fleet. I still remember it felt my sailing was going backwards, which is often what progress looks like. In those days we wore weight jackets (whoever thought that was a good idea?), initially 4kg ones but by the time the Laser was in 1996 Olympics, they were only 2.2 kg – still tough work though. Another consequence was the need to learn good technique for windy races especially in choppy or wavy conditions, technique that remains important today – keeping the boat at a stable angle of heel reducing the dissipation of power from the rig.

But perhaps the most important was breaking mental barriers and building mental strength. I remember the race this happened as an 18 year old. I needed a good last race to qualify for the Worlds but the wind had increased to beyond the level I was normally competitive at. I hiked harder than I ever had and with a bit of luck, got the result I needed. Barrier was broken and with that the realisation that strong winds provide the opportunity for consistent results based on boat speed in a way that light air races don’t.

Physical fitness remains at the core of ILCA sailing. No matter what level you are sailing at. The top sailors are super fit athletes but even at Masters level I like to use upcoming events as a reason to do physical training – in fact I need that motivation to sustain fitness work, rather than fitness for its own sake, beneficial though it might be.

While technique, mental strength and fitness are all important, today of course we have a choice of rigs allowing sailors to be competitive across a range of weights. The ILCA4, while no one would say it is the most elegant of boats, provides great racing. UKLA has 7 Nationals events each year in the ILCA4 as an open class – that means we don’t have any age limit in the ILCA4 in the UK. I would personally encourage sailors who aren’t heavy enough for an ILCA6 to stay in the ILCA4 for the quality of racing. Those up to 18 can also go abroad and sail in the Europeans and Worlds. I know we don’t yet have an ILCA4 fleet at our Masters events and this is something I would like to address. I have said before that the ILCA6 is perhaps the most competitive dinghy class racing in the UK so why migrate from the ILCA6 to the ILCA7 if you aren’t heavy enough.

Snippets:

As the spring season gets well and truly underway, I would remind you we have two National open meetings at WPNSA in the following weekends  - the first of those closes tonight – there will be a meal afterwards with the rugby on and the first Masters event of the year in Parkstone in April. Here is the calendar