News

Tony Woods 2/10/23 Tony Woods 2/10/23

Queen Mary opens up to non members

For 2023 the club is opening up to non members for its BIG Sunday events.

Queen Mary has had a large competitive fleet for many years, led by our very own Chair Mark Lyttle. For 2023 the club is opening up to non members for its BIG Sunday events. For just half the price of a day sail you can join this great fleet. The next BIG Sunday coincides with the Thames Valley Traveller Grand Prix event on the 14th May.

Here is the link to book: https://www.queenmary.org.uk/sailing/club-fleets/ilca-fleet/

Dates for the rest of the season:

Spring: may 14 (incl TV Open)

Summer:June 18

Autumn: September 24

Winter: November 19

Tony Woods 4/27/22 Tony Woods 4/27/22

OPEN AND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2022 - HAYLING ISLAND

We’re all very excited about the National Championships 2022 - held this year at Hayling Island 18th- 22nd July.

Entries are now open!

Do sign up for the Welcome Evening on Sunday 17th July we will be meeting and greeting visitors from across the British Isles and further afield. You will also have the opportunity to learn about the expected Hayling wind conditions and tides from Race Officer and Hayling expert Tim Hancock. The Welcome Evening is sponsored by Harken so we’re very pleased that the superb meal is just £5 for all competitors. But you must book it in advance!

Our Nationals dedicated page is up and running and we will be adding information on regular basis so be sure to check it out from time to time.

We plan to have two races per day from the Monday to Friday. Hayling has some of the best sailing waters in the UK - look out for those beautiful WAVES - so is a great place to race, and we’re really pleased to have the Nationals here again!

Off the water there’ll be the (possibly a bit mad!) Quiz, courtesy of Neil Peters, Sports Night, Gala Dinner, Daily Prize Giving with Q&As, Race Clinics, Mentor/Mentee Scheme, The Hike Off Challenge, Hayling Chaser, Live Music, BBQ, Prize Draws- lots of prizes to be won etc etc…

Put the dates in your diary, come along and get involved in what is sure to be a memorable event!

Just £160 entry fee, the late fee (£180) kicks in on 8th June.

Tony Woods 4/1/22 Tony Woods 4/1/22

OPEN AND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2022

We’re all very excited about the National Championships 2022 - held this year at Hayling Island 18th- 22nd July.

Our Nationals dedicated page is up and running and we will be adding information on regular basis so be sure to check it out from time to time.

Entries will open within the next few weeks - we are just finalising the Notice of Race.

Plan to join us on Sunday 17th July for our Welcome Evening where we’ll be meeting and greeting visitors from across the British Isles and further afield.

You will have the opportunity to learn about the expected Hayling conditions and tides from Race Officer and Hayling expert Tim Hancock. You can order a meal in advance or enjoy a drink overlooking the sea… perhaps with some live music to accompany.

Put the dates in your diary, come along and get involved in what is sure to be a memorable event!

Tony Woods 3/31/22 Tony Woods 3/31/22

Northern and Southern Area Championships

For the first time in a long time the UKLA is organising Area Championships - we felt the need to have some more big ILCA events in the summer.

The Northern Area Championships are to be held at South Shields Sailing Club on 14/15 May..

The Southern Area Championships will be combined with the Super Grand Prix at Paignton Sailing Club on 9/10 July.

We’re also planning Welsh and Eastern Area Championships, tbc.

Expect great racing, great prizes, and great socials!

Tony Woods 12/18/21 Tony Woods 12/18/21

MASTERS NEWS - World Championships 2021 by Neil Peters (aka Stick Daring)

Barcelona has always held a fond place in my heart.

I spent six Finntastic months living there in 1991 competing in the Olympic trials. I was never a serious contender, but had a few moments of glory. So after a flawless Easyjet flight, aside from a little entry issue, due to Spanish customs and something to do with covid forms, an hour later and a lot of appalling Spanish, all was well. After this delay, I decided to save the stress and catch a cab, accepting the forty euro penalty versus the ten euro public transport cost. I needed to make a rendezvous time with the yacht owners, where I would be living on during the regatta.

Staying in the harbour for the week seemed ideal and worked out cheaper than a featureless hotel room. Quite romantic I thought!

When I climbed into the back of the taxi, I breathed a welcome sigh of relief, believing my journey was nearly over. It wasn’t until we had circled around the harbour three times that it occurred to me that perhaps we were in the wrong place. A call to the owners of the yacht confirmed indeed we were at the wrong harbour. The Barcelona International Sailing centre (BISC) was located at a new harbour in Port Forum many miles further out of town.

However, a new issue arose at this point. Having made contact with the yacht owners they explained I was expected tomorrow, and the boat wasn’t available tonight. It was 8pm local time. A new dilemma. The taxi driver was all for unloading me in the middle of the Olympic harbour miles from nowhere. I resisted his overtures and then directed him to drive me to BISC at the other harbour. Thinking that at least there would be an ILCA waiting for me there and, at worst, I could always bed down under the cover if I had nowhere else to stay. He punched in a postcode for the Sailing Centre I had hurriedly googled in the back of the cab. Twenty minutes later we arrived at the location.

A pitch black concrete promenade buried in the middle of the Port Forum harbour complex with nothing jumping out looking obviously sailing centre shaped. Mr Taxi definitely wanted shot of me as the meter ticked over 50 euros and again suggested I get out. A call to the centre prolonged his agony and after passing the phone back and forth several times to the driver and the sailing centre receptionist we arrived at a Fort Knox style barricade, which quite miraculously opened as we pulled up. I had made it. Unloading my bags I then passed nearly all the euros in my wallet to the cabby and wondered what to do next.

As I stood in front of the building, a host of blue flashing lights from the local Policia descended on me. Maybe my covid papers weren’t any good after all. I needn’t have worried. They were arriving to deal with a Vodka fuelled fight which had broken out between the Olympic sailors from the seniors worlds, which had just finished that day. Apparently the Russian and Croatian sailors had a clash and the Russians wanted the organisers to take action. It was a useful diversion and I slipped into the building to enquire if I could rent a room for the night. No problem! Fifteen minutes later I was drinking coffee and eating pasta in the restaurant. The Policia stayed long into the night as Russian coaches huffed and puffed backwards and forwards looking outraged.

The World ILCA Masters was an event, which had been delayed and pushed back in the calendar to November due to covid.

Sailing in Barcelona during this month is about the worst time of year you could possibly pick for an event at this venue. The water temperature is 18 degrees and the air temperature at midday; the scheduled race times is only slightly less. 5 knots is a windy day at this time of year unless you get out of bed at 6am. It took a few days for the race officers to have the confidence to do this.

The seniors had been starting racing at 9am every day the previous week to catch the cold dense Katabatic winds being sucked down off the freezing mountains surrounding Barcelona. Winds which whipped up large waves and disappeared almost precisely every day at midday as the sun finally cooked them.

Mike Hicks and I checking over the charter boats…

The practice race was sailed in 2 knots at midday, the first official days racing was a little more and a little less at times. Day three was even less resulting in no racing for the Ilca 7 fleet, but only because the race officer was facing a full scale on the water revolt from competitors when he dummied raising the first warning signal. We drifted two hours back home.

Day 4 and the regatta proper started with first start at the unearthly hour of 9am. A 6am rise in pitch black and near zero air temperatures. But plenty of wind. Serraphin, the Portuguese master sailor won the event for me as he ventured out in his Bermuda shorts, t-shirt and a life jacket. He had slightly more onboard ballast than most, I on the other hand had full winter gear including my round Britain woolly hat.

Racing was awesome. Large rolling waves, shifty, tricky flicky flacky wind but good pressure; maximum hiking, mostly blowing off the land. There were many high scores. The best sailors somehow kept plugging away and posting scoring results though at the end of day 4 some 35% of the ILCA 7 GM fleet were carrying a penalty, either Yellow flag, Black Flag, or DSQ. The Austrian Christoph Marsano completely blew his event with a UFD(42) and BFD in the first third of the event. He demonstrated staggeringly consistent speed, posting seven top four finishes, which coupled with his other low digit results probably would have been enough to claim victory. Other notable performances were coming from Robert Hallawell USA, who kept his nose clean and was consistently at the sharp end. Nick Harrison flying the GBR flag was still in with an outside chance of a medal going into the final days racing.

Results from the first three days ultimately made his task too great but he finished a very creditable 6 place. In the GGM fleet Mike Hicks and Tim Law were right at the pointy end of the fleet for the entire series, with Tim winning three races. A black flag possibly cost him second place overall, finishing 3rd behind two former Olympic Gold medal Finn sailors Jose Luis Doreste (ESP)and Wolfgang Gerz (GER) respectively.

Unusually, there was no representation for GBR in the Masters, and the Apprentice Masters divisions with Roger O Gorman choosing IRL as his flag. I made up the last of only four GBR representatives in the ILCA 7 fleet. My event was over on day one after contracting a bout of food poisoning which lasted for the first four days. I made it onto the water, but my focus was more concentrated on preventing bodily movements between tacks. Something I felt I had mastered quite well by day 4. I wasn’t aided much by the high gloss polished interiors of the charter boats, which had been buffed within an inch of their lives; making them treacherously slippery. Several other competitors experienced similar issues with one falling over quite badly and fracturing his ribs. I successfully avoided damaging any ribs but did build a high score of capsizes in the first three days, rolling around in no wind, 6 capsizes in three races to be precise, half as many as when I sailed around the entire UK. A conservative approach to the last two thirds of the regatta pulled me up from nearly last after 4 days to mid fleet and pleasingly no penalty points.

After a difficult start, the race management team pulled a rabbit out of the hat and ran a world class series. We completed all 12 of the scheduled races, 8 of these in great sailing conditions. The race officer, Jordie, took some really unpopular decisions to get the event completed. Getting a significant amount of stick from several of the visiting sailors for the ungodly early starts. Notably the Italian sailors sending a message stating

“ We are Masters, this is our holiday”.

Fortunately this objection fell on deaf ears. After the initial shock of rolling out of bed at 6am it actually proved to be a really great plan, as we had the best of both worlds. Great sailing in the morning in breeze and lovely lazy afternoons relaxing in the sun. Barcelona.

Tony Woods 12/16/21 Tony Woods 12/16/21

Coach Yourself to Win - Jon Emmett Ferhurst Books Extra

BOAT HANDLING

Extract from Coach Yourself to Win by Jon Emmett

The phrase ‘boat handling’ refers to any skills that are not directly related to straight line speed.

These can often be practised on land where the boat is securely tied to the trolley, and you can analyse very carefully what is best to do with your hands and feet with no risk of a capsize.

The important thing is to be able to perform near perfect boat handling maneuvers under pressure as this gives you lots of tactical options. For example, if you know that you can tack under someone without being rolled, or if you can gybe quickly making it hard for someone to cover you (or easier for you to cover them). You do so many tacks and gybes over the course of a race: if you can make each one just one third of a boat length better, cumulatively that is a huge distance by the end of the race, and many fewer points at the end of a series.

It is also worth noting that slow speed boat handling skills, like those required pre-start, are very important too. It is not all about achieving rapid acceleration: being able to slow down, hold position and turn without going over a start line are all very important.

Practice

Practice makes perfect so, if you think of all the boat handling that you do during the course of a race, it is obvious that boat handling drills are an essential part of any campaign. When sailing high performance boats for the first time, just being able to get around the race course in the upper wind range can be a real achievement (and it is perhaps worth making sure that your first couple of sails are done in light to medium breezes!).

It is advisable to get your boat handling to a reasonable level before you hitch your boat up to go to your first open meeting as you cannot race effectively if your boat handling is not up to scratch (your strategy and tactics will be compromised if you cannot tack / gybe or get around the marks efficiently).

That old cliché: ‘time on the water’ is definitely true when it comes to perfecting boat handling but remember that the more specific and demanding you make your training exercises, the greater the potential improvement. By doing a good range of exercises (rather than simply going out and tacking and gybing) it is possible to keep motivation high, and old skills can soon be remembered again with intensive practice. In fact, practising boat handling can be an excellent way of developing specific fitness (like doing fast spinnaker hoists and drops).

Don’t Apply the Brake

Using the rudder to correct the steering of a boat (forcing it to sail in a straight line when it wants to luff up or bear away) makes the rudder act as a brake. Therefore, any boat will probably be sailing at its fastest when using minimum corrective steerage.

Even in classes like the Laser, where you do lots of downwind turns, you still want to do this with minimal rudder movement (instead using the crew weight and sheeting to get the boat to turn).

Remember that when you are sailing in a straight line the boat needs to be kept flat. You can prove this to yourself by (briefly) letting go of the tiller and seeing if the boat carries on in a straight line.

When the boat is turning corners, you will, of course, need some rudder movement, but as much as possible you want the rudder to follow the boat’s turn (which is caused by crew weight and sheeting) rather than aggressive pushing or pulling of the tiller! Often the more body movement the better, as this is your opportunity to put some energy into the boat. You need to be controlled but aggressive – so big movements but remember to keep them smooth.

TACKS & GYBES

The first thing we need to do is define what a good tack is (much like before the days of sat navs we used to have to look at a road map to decide the best route to take before setting off). A good tack is simply one where you continue to make maximum progress upwind. For example, if you try to tack too quickly, then you are likely to lose speed in the tack.

There will be times when you simply need to tack as quickly as possible, perhaps because you overstood a layline, or you needed to tack to cover or break cover, but this is always for tactical reasons and normally you want to do the best tack possible (although you may go into footing or pinching mode later).

The exact actions of a tack are, of course, dependent upon the class. A heavy keelboat may well maintain its speed very well, whereas a catamaran may lose its speed dramatically, and this will be reflected in the speed of the turn. Different classes of boat will have different optimum pointing angles (and top speeds) in different conditions.

A good run-to-run gybe follows the same principle: you need to continue to make maximum downwind progress. So the speed, and indeed turning angle, may vary widely from class to class as well as across the wind speed range.

A good reach-to-reach gybe is simply about getting the boat going as fast as possible in the new direction, as quickly as you can! When rounding a mark, a wide entry will allow a narrow exit so, assuming you have room, this is the preferred method. If it is extremely windy (and you are in safety mode) you may want to do a run-to-run gybe first, then head up slowly.

In both tacks and gybes there are really three points:

A slow smooth turn directly up or downwind: although the boat is slightly slowing, it is now pointing very close to the direction of the next mark (up or downwind).
A large roll when the boat is either head to wind or directly downwind: the amount of roll is dependent upon the class of boat and the wind strength.
The second half of the tack / gybe needs to be fast: rolling the boat flat, sheeting in and moving the crew weight to the normal racing position as soon as possible. Exiting the tack the rudder must be straight, so that it does not act as a brake.

Remember: the tack or gybe does not need to look pretty. It doesn’t matter if you are not clipped onto the trapeze or whether you are holding the mainsheet hand right up in the air. As long as the boat trim / balance and sail setting is good, you will have good speed. You can worry about putting the tiller in the correct hand and tidying away the sheet later (as soon as you reach full speed).

CHANGING GEAR

Tacks and gybes actually have much in common: the movements of the hands and feet are to control the speed of the turn and the power in the boat. As the wind speed and rate of turn increase, these movements also increase, and the exact movements of the hands and feet will remain similar. In light winds you need to use lots of roll to power through the turn, whereas in strong winds you need to move across the boat very quickly to control the power.

If the conditions of the day change, you not only need to adjust your rig for straight line speed but also to think about changing your boat handling. Sometimes (class dependent) it is not possible to change the rig during the race, so you may have to make large changes to your boat handling to compensate for being very over or underpowered.

The key area is transitions which may happen in a race. For example, in 25 knots you may ‘tack as normal’ whereas in a gust of 30 knots it may be sensible to do a ‘safety tack’. Likewise, if the wind drops you need to remember to use more roll in the middle part of the turn. Training in extreme conditions (very light or very windy) is an excellent way of improving boat handling and will of course make things seem much easier (when not sailing in extreme conditions).

TOP & BOTTOM TURNS IN WAVES

When sailing downwind you are always looking for the route of least resistance and this means looking for the gap in the waves, so that you can carry on surfing without loading up the rig by turning into the bottom of the wave in front. The better the conditions, and the better the sailor, the more time you can spend surfing and often your speed is determined more by how many waves you miss than by how many you catch. Remember it takes far less energy to continue to surf than it does to get the boat to surf in the first place.

Even if it is possible to go over the waves, you are always looking for the lowest point to cross. When you start going over the waves you may start to jump clean over, so you need to be even more careful not to bury the bow in the wave in front, as hitting it at speed may lead to a pitchpole. At the point when you are going straight over the waves, you are now focusing on steering a straight line to the next mark, to minimise distance sailed, just like you would in non-surfing conditions.

When you need to steer over or to catch the waves good top and bottom turns become really important, especially in marginal surfing conditions. You need to position the crew weight perfectly so that the boat is finely balanced to go in one direction but can be easily steered by a small change of bodyweight to windward or leeward.

By moving the body weight to leeward the shape of the boat encourages it to head up without having to use the rudder. When the boat is on its new course you can then roll the boat flat. This uses the energy of the crew to steer the boat rather than the rudder, which can slow it down.

Similarly, by moving the body weight to windward the shape of the boat encourages the boat to bear away without having to use the rudder. When the boat is on its new (desired) course you can then move the weight in to flatten the boat.

When the boat is going in a straight line you should be able to let go of the tiller and the boat will continue in a straight line. Most classes of boat will sail fastest with minimum corrective steerage, as use of the rudder creates drag. So you steer the boat with body weight and sail setting rather than using the rudder.

TOP TIP

Your position fore and aft is dependent on the wind strength: the lighter the wind, the further Forward you sit; the stronger the wind, the further back you sit.

The more kicker you have, the easier it is to make the boat head up but the harder it is to make it bear away and vice versa.

Advice from Olympic Gold Medallist (Laser class) Paul Goodison

Boat handling is the one area where everybody is capable of doing well; it is all about practice and keeping sharp.

I try to break down each manoeuvre into several sections so that it is easier to analyse. For example, a leeward mark rounding would be split into entry, transition and exit. Each one of these areas can then be broken down further. It is important to master the first stage before trying to perfect the next stage, as an error early in the manoeuvre may affect the end.

There is no better way to train than just repeating the manoeuvres until they are perfect. Try to be very critical when things aren’t quite right, and aim for perfection. Each small gain in boat handling leads to a much bigger gain on the race course; everybody will make small mistakes, so it’s all about trying to minimise these errors.

Coach Yourself to Win is written by gold medal winning coach and 4 times world champion in his own right, Jon Emmett. It takes you through the 12 fundamental elements of successful sailing.

To get more of Jon Emmett’s top tips, Coach Yourself to Win can be bought here (https://fernhurstbooks.com/books/permalink/6/coach_yourself_to_win). People who sign up to Fernhurst Books’ newsletter can get 25% off the cost of the book.

Tony Woods 10/21/21 Tony Woods 10/21/21

Micky is European champion!

By Jake Farren - Price

Micky Beckett sailed a fantastic regatta to win the European Championships! Jake Farren-Price tells what happened:

This year’s European Championships after being delayed from Earlier in the Spring took place during the first week of October in Varna, Bulgaria. In the couple of days before the regatta started there was a marked change in the weather – from sunny skies and temperatures in the high teens and sometimes above 20 to a very cold Northerly breeze.

For what was predicted to be a nice light wind event turned into an absolute hike fest with awesome sea state and cold grey days.

The race course was tucked just under a peninsula so we had quite dramatic side swell for most of our racing which made the racing challenging. We had 3 days of qualifying which we managed to get 5 races in and 3 days of finals managing to get another 5 in. The race committee decided to split up the timings for ILCA 7s and the ILCA 6s giving one fleet a lie in each day before racing. It turned out to be a wise decision as the race committee were insistent on having perfect wind for each race which meant a lot of waiting around under the AP flag. In 20 knots with some serious wind chill, it wasn’t received too well. However, the races that did happen were fair and true.

Our Micky Beckett sailed a blinding series starting the week of with two bullets which set the tone for how he conducted the rest of the regatta. Leading after every day it was a clear display of how to race in those conditions. He now adds a gold European medal to his cabinet alongside 2 silvers in previous years. He also adds the tally of British dominance at Europeans in the ILCA 7 to 4 wins in the last 5 years.

Now preparations have started for the World Championships in Barcelona in early November, watch out for the Brits smoking out the top of the fleet there.

And to hear a great interview of Micky by Jon Emmett - click here

Tony Woods 9/15/21 Tony Woods 9/15/21

REPORTS - Hastings GP

Thanks to Hastings SC for putting on a wonderful event! It’s an exciting place to sail once you’ve negotiated the launching! Blustery northerlies gave us interesting racing with shifty winds and off set waves.

Well done to Jon Emmett for winning the event and thanks to him for this great video! Click here

For results click here

Tony Woods 9/15/21 Tony Woods 9/15/21

SUPER GRAND PRIX 2021 - Celebrating the Golden Anniversary!

There is still one more SGP event this year - 16/17 October - Staunton Harold SC

The UKLA is sponsoring the Super Grand Prix in 2021 so you get top quality coaching and racing for a fraction of the usual cost!

Don’t forget you must be a member of the UKLA to take part in a Super Grand Prix.

As well as the UKLA subsidising the coaching costs we are very excited to have 4 sponsors involved - Noble Marine, Ovington, Sailingfast and Southeast Sailboats. Thank you to all our sponsors.

The Castle Cove SGP was an awesome event- 2 days of ridiculously high winds (30 knts +) Well done to those that braved the elements on both days. -See the photos below!… Thanks to the great coaches- Dan Belben, Jake Bowhay and Jon Emmett. Also many thanks to Lucy Bishop for organising!

For Interview with Dan click here

Following the success of our Super Grand Prix events in 2019 we are hoping to continue the experience in 2021 (Covid permitting!) For this special Golden Anniversary year the UKLA is planning to fund some of the coaching costs, including paying for a coach on the Sunday. The Sunday coaching would be for all racers- briefings/de briefings and on the water support. We want to give something back to our valued members, and it therefore goes without saying that to take part in a SGP you must be a UKLA member!

The Super Grand Prix (SGP) is a fun weekend event consisting of top quality coaching, evening social and competitive racing. Developed to encourage club sailors to take the first steps to an open meeting, and provide a bigger, more sociable event for everyone.

Primarily aimed at club sailors, but not exclusively so, valuing diversity in the fleet, encouraging all ages, gender and rigs to come together to celebrate everything that is the ILCA, with the emphasis on fun. Helping to grow and sustain a healthy club base across the regions, building confidence to take an active part, create ambassadors, whilst helping sailors develop skills and ability to get the most out of ILCA sailing.

There are currently three broad regions - South, Midlands and North.

SUPER GRAND PRIX 2021

SOUTH:

22/23 May - Queen Mary SC
7/8 August Castle Cove SC

MIDLANDS

16/17 October - Staunton Harold SC

North

29/30 May - St Mary’s Loch

3/4 July - Pennine SC

Tony Woods 9/13/21 Tony Woods 9/13/21

New Podcasts!

The latest episode of an Hour with Flower is now out - this time it’s a special feature on the Nationals with National Champion Micky Beckett, newby Sam Petty and Media Officer and Masters Sailor Guy Noble.

LISTEN TO THE PODCASTS HERE

Tony Woods 8/5/21 Tony Woods 8/5/21

ILCA 4 NEWS

European Championships

The Eurilca European Championships took place last week in Travemuende, Germany.

It was a huge fleet, with 250 competitors in the boys division, and 125 girls. This meant the boys were split across four flights, with the girls in two. Unfortunately, most of the GBR team were unable to participate due to Germany’s pandemic travel restrictions for UK residents.

Max Steele, who had been training in Poland since May, was the sole flag bearer at the event. He did very well through the qualification series, at one point being near the top of the gold fleet, and with very low scorings, in medal contention. However, after a day of no wind, and no sailing, the final series got underway in a very strong wind day, in which only the gold fleet was allowed out.

For Max, an unlucky capsize in a forty knot gust, followed by an equipment failure in the following race, lead to him dropping approximately 35 points in the one-discard event. He still however managed to end the event in the top 50 – well within the gold fleet.

Reduced sailing opportunities in North Europe showed, with the top half of the leader board dominated by Mediterranean countries. Congratulations to Athanasios Kyfidis of Greece, who won the event ahead of Massimiliano Antoniazzi of Italy and Alexandros Eleftheriadis also of Greece.

Full results - manage2sail Report (eurilca.eu)

World Championships

With the curtain raisers in Tokyo and Travemunede behind us, attention draws to the World Championships to be held in Dan Laoghaire Dublin 7 – 14 August.

After much uncertainty again about travel restrictions, the GBR team participating consists of:

We wish them all good winds; we will be watching you closely.

UK Nationals and ILCA-fest

With only one day gap for travel, the international team will be joining the rest of the UK fleet to compete for the UK nationals in Weymouth 16 – 18 August, at our ILCA-fest. Newcomers to the fleet will be assigned a buddy from the more experienced sailors to help them with their transitioning into the fleet. The experienced sailors will be asked to provide advice on a wide range of matters such as rigging tips, settings, boat handling and wind conditions at Weymouth. Mentor buddies will be drawn from a hat based on their ladder results and participation at international events.

Tony Woods 8/4/21 Tony Woods 8/4/21

NATIONALS NEWSFLASH - AN URGENT MESSAGE FROM OUR CHAIRMAN ROB CAGE

NATIONALS NEWSFLASH

We are very short of Volunteers to help us run what is a record-breaking Nationals entry

We will run the best Racing we can, with the volunteers we have, but it might be less than we could do with a full volunteer team.

Step up and volunteer now to guarantee this is UK Regatta of the Year

Please let Sally sally.reynoldson@wpnsa.org.uk or Ellie office@ilca.uk know if you can help.

Thanks

Rob

UKLA Chair

Tony Woods 8/4/21 Tony Woods 8/4/21

TACTICS MADE SIMPLE by Jon Emmett

An extract from TACTICS MADE SIMPLE by Jon Emmett

THE FIRST BEAT

FIRST BEAT BASICS (BEGINNER)

Your position at the first mark is crucial. After this point it can be hard to make significant place changes. So, in a major championship, simply being in the top ten round the windward mark can make a real difference to your overall regatta performance. For one thing, the front of the fleet tend to fight less amongst themselves and just sail fast, pulling away from everyone else.

With most regattas having many races and few discards, being consistent is very important in order not to get too many high scores.

If you go all the way to one side of the course, then you risk not being able to take advantage of a shift later on because you may have to sail on a header to get to the mark, meaning that you sail more distance than your rivals.

*Terry Tacker tacks on every shift: everything else being equal, this is a safe bet*

To help you stay towards the centre of the course, or towards the centre of the favoured side of the course relative to other boats, you can alter your mode of sailing. If you are on the left of other boats and you are expecting the wind to go right, you want to foot like Finlay to consolidate your gain.

The class of boat makes a big difference to the way you sail. In a slow boat which turns without losing ground to windward, you would tack on even the smallest windshift (perhaps when sailing on a small inland lake surrounded by trees) as there is potential gain to be had for very little loss. However, with a faster boat which loses more speed when tacking (a twin trapeze catamaran for example), you would only tack when you are sure it is time to.

MEETING OTHER BOATS (INTERMEDIATE)

One of the things about the first beat is that the boats are much closer together and so there tends to be much more boat-to-boat interaction, which means that the opportunity for place changing is much higher. So, you need to make your decision rather than having it forced upon you. Try to think ahead, not only how you are going to get clean wind but also how you are going to keep it! The options are as follows:

1. Ducking Boats

Maybe you are on port for a reason (you want to get to the right-hand side of the course for more pressure or you think a bigger starboard lift is coming). To do a good duck make sure you pass as close to the rudder of the other boat as possible and then head up onto a close-hauled course, like Daisy Duck. You may even want to ease the sails and kicker slightly.

2. Tacking Underneath

Tacking underneath keeps your options open and enables you to carry on sailing in clean wind (to the left) as, after all, Sophie may be coming across for a reason (starboard may be starting to lift). It also gives Summer the option to tack back if she wants.

3. Leebowing

Leebowing is a good option if you want to defend the left-hand side of the race track.

Leo tacks very close to Sophie (who does not need to take avoiding action until Leo is on a close-hauled course).

4. Crossing

Crossing is obviously the best option, but make sure you are well clear of the other boat which is going to let you pass

Here Daisy is on starboard but, rather than risking Charlotte tacking and leebowing her, she waves her across.

Layla is on port and has a good lane (clean wind in the way she is going). She does not want to tack under Sophie Starboard (because she wants to go to the right) and she does not want to duck, or she will be in Charlotte Cross’s dirty wind.

*Layla Lane does not want to duck Sophie because she will end up in Charlotte’s dirty wind and clean wind is very important*

So, to avoid this, Layla slows down (and loses around half a boat length) before accelerating up to full speed to cross close behind Sophie. She can now continue (with minimum loss) the way she wants to go, still in her lane (also with clear wind).

*So, Layla Lane slows down, going behind Sophie, but keeping her lane*

PLAYING IT SAFE (ADVANCED)

As there are many potential place changes up the first beat (before the start everyone is in equal first place), it pays to have a prudent approach. Keep your head out of the boat and see which side of the race track is winning. If you are not on that side, why not? And can you do something about it?

*Peter Planning shows it often pays to take an early loss for a bigger gain later*

There is a much higher chance of incidents up the first beat, so it pays to stay out of trouble. Remember, when telling someone they can cross, “Go”, and “No”, can sound very similar! Just shouting back, “Starboard!” or “Keep going”, can be much clearer.

However, unfortunately incidents do sometimes happen (mainly to Daniel): Daniel Danger is an expert in doing penalty turns. The quickest way to do them in most classes of boat is to bear away and gybe first, as it is much easier to keep your speed up (bear away, gybe and head up) than it is to tack, bear away, gybe and head up. Make sure that you have plenty of room to do your turns. You don’t want to hit another boat whilst doing them and have to do another set!

However, if you cause damage in an incident, you have to retire even if you were the right of way boat. So, don’t hit another boat just to prove a point.

One of the key ideas is to keep your options open. This means that, if the wind becomes shifty or becomes stronger, you can take advantage of it; or, if there is an unexpected change (the wind becomes lighter), you are not vulnerable.

*Finlay Footing is footing to stay off the layline and, therefore, he will gain the most advantage from the shift*

*Finlay Footing is now exactly on the layline*

Tactics Made Simple is written by multiple world champion and gold medal winning coach Jon Emmett. Each chapter covers a different part of the race and provides advice for Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced.

To get more of Jon Emmett’s top tips, Tactics Made Simple can be bought here

Cover Photo: Tactics Made Simple

Tony Woods 7/18/21 Tony Woods 7/18/21

Sailing Secretary's Notices -Next Year and Beyond

By Keith Videlo

Next Year and Beyond

Your UKLA Committee have been working hard over the last few months to plan for next year’s

sailing program and beyond. Next year’s calendar is already beginning to take shape with some

exciting venues already booked. We are pleased to announce the Nationals for 2022 will be at South

Caernarvonshire Yacht Club, Abersoch. A fantastic location in North Wales promising wind and sun.

In 2023 Hayling Island S.C with host our Nationals.

Below is list of dates for your diaries so you can start planning:

2022

Qualifier at Stokes Bay S.C. – TBC March 2022 (ILCA 6 & 7)

Qualifier at WPNSA – 19/20 March 2022 (All 3 Rigs)

Qualifier at WPNSA – 26 / 27 March 2022 (All 3 Rigs)

Master Nationals at Stokes Bay S.C. 1 – 3 July 2022 (ILCA 6 & 7)

UKLA National Championships – 6 th to 12 th August at South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club (All 3 Rigs)

Qualifier at Hayling Island S.C. – 17/18 October 2022 (All 3 Rigs)

Qualifier at WPNSA – 15 / 16 October 2022 (All 3 Rigs)

Qualifier at WPNSA – 22/23 October 2022 (All 3 Rigs)

UKLA Inland Championships at Grafham Water S.C. – 5/6 November 2022 (All 3 Rigs)

2023

UKLA National Championships – 20 / 25 August at Hayling Island Sailing Club (All 3 Rigs)

Tony Woods 7/17/21 Tony Woods 7/17/21

The ILCA Sailing Festival 13th August - 27th August

By Guy Noble

Photos Georgie Altham and Sam Pearce

UKLA launch The ILCA Sailing Festival - incorporating The ILCA Open Nationals, The ILCA Club Regatta and The ILCA Transition Week. These three consecutive events offer something for every ILCA/Laser sailor. Great Racing and a packed programme of on-shore entertainment.

Over the last few months it has become apparent that many of our local sailing clubs have seen a resurgence of interest and enthusiasm for dinghy racing. UKLA, The official Class Association for the ILCA (formally the Laser) dinghy, has experienced an unprecedented surge in demand for organised events - 244 entries for the UK Nationals in August at WPNSA is an example.

UKLA are doing their best to fulfil this demand. During the month of August we are putting on three exciting events. With the umbrella title ‘The ILCA Sailing Festival’ these three events are designed to please most the community of Laser/ILCA sailors.

The UK was to host the ILCA under 21 worlds in August, this was to follow on immediately after the UK Nationals. However due to Covid issues and travel restrictions this event was moved to Poland. As a consequence UKLA had a slot of about 10 days booked with WPNSA which we are now free to put on our own national events.

It took about 10 minutes for the committee to come up with two fantastic additional events that would fill this slot. Directly after the UK Nationals there will be The ILCA Club Regatta followed by The ILCA Transition Week for sailors entering the class.

Open UK ILCA Nationals 13th - 18th August 2021 WPNSA

This event has been held for over 50 years - many National champions have gone on to do great things in the international sailing world including the likes of Sir Ben Ainslie, Paul Goodison and Ian Percy and many more. I can’t think of any other sport where you can rock up and pit your wits against the top professionals in the sport. Held at one of the U.K.’s premier sailing locations, WPNSA, the nationals is one design dinghy racing at its absolute best. However it’s not just about the racing, impresario Tony Woods has put together a program of on shore entertainment that wouldn’t be out of place at a major inland festival - As one of the committee quoted „you could go to the Nationals, not sail and have a brilliant time!”.

The ILCA 4, 6&7 Club Regatta 20th - 22nd August 2021 WPNSA

Many competent club sailors are not always attracted to the cut and thrust of a big National Championship - too demanding and too scary. This is where the club regatta comes in. The idea is to take your average club sailor and gently guide them through the experience of sailing in one of the worlds Premier locations. With coaches on hand and impeccable race organisation each competitor will be able to get both on the water and post race guidance. The regatta is for three days, Friday the 20th will have practice races with the Saturday and Sunday the regatta proper. Although there will be individual winners the emphasis will be slightly more towards the performance of the clubs. The club trophy will be for Best performing club over the two fleets.

So maybe your club can get three or four people together and come and do this fantastic new event. For more details and a full detailed program check out the UKLA website. You will need to become a member of the UKLA. Programme and NOR’s are available on the website. Entries are open…

The ILCA Transition week. NEW. 23rd - 27th August 2021 WPNSA

Following on from the club regatta UKLA are putting on Transition Week.

A second group of sailors have been somewhat neglected in the past - those who are sailing the Optimist, Topper and other junior classes who are considering, or have, brought an old Laser or a new ILCA (identical of course) and want to know more about racing it and more about the Class Association.

Since UKLA first advertised this week we have been inundated with enquiries. These have not just been from young sailors but also from parents who would like to know more about racing this iconic class. With this in mind the transition week will be packed with useful information and racing guidance for both competitors and parents.

The full program and NOR’s are available on the UKLA website. Entries are now open.

23/8/21

Briefing. 1100
Boat handling and Speed clinic. 1200
Practice Race 1 & 2 (in harbour). 1430
Coach Debrief After racing

24/8/21

Briefing. 1000
Boat handling and Speed clinic. 1030
Practice Race 3 & 4 (in harbour). 1400
Coach Debrief After racing
Evening BBQ

25/8/21

Briefing. 1000
Boat handling and Speed clinic. 1030
Practice Race 5 & 6 (in harbour). 1400
ILCA Pathway presentation by Duncan West of RYA (for Parents). 1400
Coach Debrief After racing
ILCA Pathway presentation by Duncan West of RYA (for Sailors). 1700

26/8/21

Briefing. 1000
Pimp your ILCA. 1030
Race 1 & 2 (in harbour). 1300
Coach Debrief After racing
Rule 42 Presentation. 1700
Evening Indian Food

27/8/21

Briefing. 1000
Pimp your ILCA
Race 3 & 4 (in harbour). 1200
Coach Debrief & Pack up.
After racing - Prize giving TBA

The UKLA is the biggest class association in the UK and one of the biggest in the world and we work hard to give our membership the best possible experience while sailing this amazing racing dinghy. We put on extraordinary events as described above, have nationwide training sessions almost every weekend somewhere in the country, produce informative training videos, provide entertaining and informative podcasts, support a great charity - the Andrew Simpson Foundation and much more. But it only happens because of the volunteers and the membership so please support us - join today and try out one or all these events.

Tony Woods 7/17/21 Tony Woods 7/17/21

SUPER GRAND PRIX 2021 - Celebrating the Golden Anniversary!

The Super Grand Prix events continue to go from strength to strength with Castle Cove on 7/8 August. Sign up here! Training Day FREE for Castle Cove members and a mere £5 for non members! Amazing value thanks to the UKLA - obviously you have to be a ,member of UKLA to take part!

Sadly the Pagham YC event had to be cancelled due to Covid, but the Pennine SC event was a success despite a lack of wind on the Training Day! See the photos by Nokomis Brindley of the Pennine SGP below:

NB- The UKLA will be sponsoring the Super Grand Prix in 2021 so you’ll get top quality coaching and racing for a fraction of the usual cost!

Don’t forget you must be a member of the UKLA to take part in a Super Grand Prix.

As well as the UKLA subsidising the coaching costs we are very excited to have 4 sponsors involved - Noble Marine, Ovington, Sailingfast and Southeast Sailboats. Thank you to all our sponsors.

There are currently three broad regions - South, Midlands and North.

SUPER GRAND PRIX 2021

SOUTH:

22/23 May - Queen Mary SC
7/8 August Castle Cove SC

MIDLANDS

16/17 October - Staunton Harold SC

North

29/30 May - St Mary’s Loch

3/4 July - Pennine SC

Tony Woods 7/14/21 Tony Woods 7/14/21

British sailor takes on world’s best to raise funds for Just a Drop

Purple Marine Pursuit at Datchet 0611b.JPG

Twenty-six-year-old British sailor David Paul is set to join the crème de la crème of the

sailing world when he tackles the gruelling La Solitaire Du Figaro yacht race this

summer—all to raise funds for international water charity, Just a Drop.

Dubbed the World Championship of offshore sailing, the 2500-mile single handed offshore

sailing race is considered one of the toughest in the world and among the largest events on

France’s sporting calendar.

A rookie to the event, David will be one of only two Brits taking part in the yachting

spectacle which attracts Olympians, World Champions, European Champions, national

champions, Vendee Globe and The Ocean Race winners—no mean feat for the young man

from Ealing who first learned to sail as a youngster during the school holidays at Hillingdon

Outdoor Activities Centre.

As a nine-year-old, his first ambition was to beat as many grown-ups as possible, but he

soon found himself competing in regional, national and now, international racing. His first

experience of long-distance offshore racing took him from the UK to the Netherlands during

which he discovered the thrill of night sailing, and the adrenalizing combination of

adventure and sport.

“I discovered the race La Solitaire du Figaro during that first offshore race when we were

overtaken by a French boat. Rather than trying to catch the passing yacht, the people I was

sailing with merely responded with, ‘They’re a Figaro sailor. We can’t stop them’. Pretty

quickly I went into research mode about this race and I was determined to be a part of it.

“The French are so dominant in this form of sailing that the standard of racing at La Solitaire

du Figaro is significantly higher than at any other international offshore sailing race. As such

only the bravest or craziest non-French sailors decide to take them on in their home

waters,” David said.

Inspired by the hours spent on the water training in his 10-metre Figaro racing yacht, David

felt he wanted to take the opportunity to raise awareness about Just a Drop and the work of

the charity to bring clean drinking water and sanitation to impoverished communities across

the globe.

“The irony of water in the world we live in is that we are surrounded by it, yet we cannot

drink it. When we race, this is especially apparent. We are surrounded by water, yet we can

only take 4 litres of drinking water for each day of competition. That makes you fully

appreciate clean water as a resource,” David said.

“As such, the idea to take Just a Drop to one of the biggest sailing races was born. In helping

to provide clean water to thousands who desperately need it, Just a Drop have undertaken

a huge challenge. In my own little way, I have taken on a huge challenge myself. By

partnering with Just a Drop, I believe we can help each other in achieving these goals.”

Currently based in Lorient, Brittany to make the most of training opportunities, David is

hoping to raise as much as he can for Just a Drop from La Solitaire du Figaro supporters both

sides of the Channel.

The race, which is made up of four stages, will start on August 22 in Saint-Nazaire and work

its way down the Spanish coast then up to Lorient. The second leg will see competitors

follow the French coast north and around the famous tidal section at Riaz. David will have

the opportunity to test his skills in home water when the third leg of the race heads to the

south coast of the United Kingdom before returning to France and the final leg on

September 12 across the Celtic Sea to the Fastnet Rock off Southwest Ireland then back to

where the race started.

“I am incredibly excited to be competing against some of the best sailors in the world. Quite

thrilling for a guy who learnt how to sail as something to do in the school holidays. And to

be raising money for such an important charity at the same time, it doesn’t get any better

than that!”

If you would like to assist in David Paul’s Just a Drop fundraising efforts, visit

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/davidpaulsailing and make a donation.

Note to Editors

For more information visit: www. https://www.davidpaulsailing.com/

For Facebook posts, please tag: @David Paul Sailing

For Instagram posts, please tag: @DavidPaul_Sailing

For sponsorship, branding, marketing, please contact dsp94@hotmail.com

Tony Woods 7/14/21 Tony Woods 7/14/21

50th Anniversary BIG Monday at Parkstone YC by John Keates

There’s four months still to go before the Eve of St Crispin, but when Parkstone’s Ilca and Laser

sailors invited their friends from Poole Yacht club to join them for our traditional Big Monday, this

happy band of brothers (and sisters!), 62 in number, (an all-time record, beating the previous one of

54), faced weather conditions that threatened to be more suited to the fields of Agincourt than

Poole Harbour. Thunder and Lightning was never very far away and during race two it was dark

enough for the ribs to switch on their nav. Lights! And then there was the wind, always making its

presence felt but never to be relied upon, a bit like some politicians I could name.

Luckily for us, the race team led by Bob Jennings was well up to the job. The fact that Race 1 started

in 7 knots from the south east and finished in 10 from the south west gives you an idea of how much

they needed to be on their toes. None of this would have bothered Peter Gordon in the standard rig

and Natalie Annels in the radial, both of whom stormed to victory in that race.

For those of you reading this who don’t know, Monday races are started by using one of the

competitors as a gate-boat. On this occasion Colston Nichols offered his services, using a Rooster 8.1

rig to separate him from the rest. As Nigel Hawthorne might have commented, in ‘Yes Minister’,

taking up such an office when faced with over 60 boats trying to cut past his stern, all within a gap of

75 seconds, was indeed a brave decision! Most people seemed to have managed the task of starting

without mishap, although reports have reached the ears of this scribe that one, Iain Reid, wasn’t

quite so successful. Although he manged to avoid hitting the gate boat he did come into contact with

several fellow competitors and also made the schoolboy error of mucking up the Fleet Captain’s

start; worse still, like Margaret Thatcher, Iain was not for turning, (at least not enough to exonerate

himself!).

Considering the number of boats sailing in a relatively confined space, there were few other mishaps

in race 1, apart from the abrupt wind change which caught out a lot of people who had sailed to the

right on the second reach in order to avoid the worst of the tide. Changing fortunes resulted in these

podium placings; Standard fleet: 1 st , Peter Gordon, 2 nd , Jon Gorringe and 3 rd , Hywel Roberts; Radial

fleet: 1 st , Natalie Annels, 2 nd , Henry Keegan and 3 rd , Robbie Phipps.

Underneath a lowering sky but rising wind, a nifty course change was desired by competitors and

achieved by an experienced race team. Race 2 started uneventfully, and with a slightly more

consistent wind strength and direction some of the more familiar fleet leaders began to show their

quality. Mark roundings for the leaders were, as usual, fairly calm affairs, but for the majority it was

a perilous business. Those who desire greater evidence of such a claim will have their wish granted if

they were to visit Simon Foster’s Face Book posting where they will be able to enjoy magnificent

footage of the race if not of our ‘trouser-less’ cameraman! Although darkness was now approaching,

there was still sufficient light for almost everyone to enjoy the sight of Harry Cowell capsizing in knee

deep water. Mind you, the spectacle did not last long; the Red Bull F1 team would have been

impressed by Harry’s righting speed. The enjoyment of the spectators was swiftly followed by much

raising of centre boards! Those of you who have had the pleasure of recording the finish of single-

handed dinghies most of which have 6-digit numbers will appreciate the fine efforts of the recorders

of this night. It’s my far simpler task to note the podium finishers in each fleet. They were; Radials:

1 st , Eve Kennedy 2 nd , Ann Keates and 3 rd , Rob Penson; Standards: 1 st , Giles Kuzyk 2 nd , Chris Whalley

and 3 rd , Neil Davies.

Over sixty boats on the water for a Monday night’s sail is difficult to beat for impact, but there were

some other statistics of note. Some might consider it old-fashioned of me to mention it but the fact

that we had 17 lady single-handed sailors racing is worthy of note in my book. Natalie Annels (1 st and

4 th ) and Jon Gorringe (2 nd and 4 th ) had the lowest combined scores in their respective fleets. Colston

Nichols had an even lower combined score (1 st &1 st ), but he was, as he always has been in my

opinion, in a class of his own! Arguably more impressive, given the very contrasting nature of the 1 st

and 2 nd races, we had two sailors who managed to finish in exactly the same place in their fleets,

David Pratt in the Radial fleet (12 th ) and Richard Strang in the Standard fleet (28 th ).

A record-breaking night like this doesn’t happen by chance. Thanks to the efforts of our Fleet

Captain, Chris Whalley, the regular Monday night sailors were joined by sailors from our youth

section, helms from our Thursday ladies’ group and six sailors from Poole Yacht Club all of whom,

incidentally accredited themselves well with finishes ranging from 7 th to 27 th . Doubly impressive

when you consider that Gate boat starting was a new venture for them.

As a reward for coping with the trickiness of returning to shore in very shallow water amongst

capsizing and gybing boats, and at least one very experienced lady sailor (who is far too close to me

to name), losing her tiller in one of the above-mentioned manoeuvres, returning sailors were

rewarded with a free drink. The speediness of return was largely helped by the policing efforts of our

Commodore who decided to direct traffic after his own capsize! Thirty lucky souls of those returning

to the club were also booked in for a sailor’s supper organised by our energetic and highly efficient

social secretary, Fiona Wall.

So, definitely a night to remember. Those of us who were forced by circumstance to miss this event

may appreciate the words Henry V might have uttered on the eve of St Crispin:

“Laser sailors of the UK now abed shall think themselves accursed that they were not there and hold

their sailing credibility cheap while any speak that sailed with us on Parkstone’s Big Monday!”

John Keates

p.s. full results can be found on PYC’s web-site under club racing results/ilca/Monday/spring series

Tony Woods 7/13/21 Tony Woods 7/13/21

New Podcasts!

The July episode of Head’s Up is now out - this time featuring Media Officer and Masters Sailor Guy Noble.

Also check out the latest installments of ‘An Hour with Flower’, featuring the Andrew Simpson foundation and ILCA Superstar Micky Beckett.

LISTEN TO THE PODCASTS HERE

Tony Woods 7/4/21 Tony Woods 7/4/21

ILLCA 4 News

ILCA-4 News

Preparation and Training for the ILCA-4 World and European Championships

ILCA-4 World and European Championships 2021

ILCA, Eurilca and the UKLA recently published the teams representing the countries at the 2021 ILCA-4 World and European Championships. These are available here:

https://sailing.laserinternational.org/public/site/event-site/128/entrylist

Congratulations to the following sailors for being offered a place:

Boys:

1 – 4.7

Jack

Graham-Troll

2 - 4.7

Keijiro

Kikkawa

3 - 4.7

Max

Steele

4 - 4.7

Edmund

Rollestone

5 - 4.7

Joshua

Lyttle

6 - 4.7

Antonio

Pascali

7 - 4.7

Llion

Morris

8 - 4.7

Archie

Burton

9 - 4.7

Jack

Hardy

10 - 4.7

Freddie

Maclaverty

11 - 4.7

Henry

Keegan

Girls

ILCA-4 GBR Ranking

GBRHP19

Honor

Procter

GBREM68

Eva

Miller

GBRML73

Millie

Lewis

GBRAF75

Arwen

Fflur

GBRFW17

Ffion

Wood

The worlds are to be held in Dublin, 7 – 14 August, and the Eurilcas in Travemunde 23 – 30 July.

Late applications to compete at the World Championships are open until 7 July (see below).

RYA Support

The UKLA, RYA and Andrew Simpson Performance Academy are co-operating to provide training for to prepare for these events. The at-event support (coach and safety boat) will only be available at the World Championships in Ireland. Support is not available at the European Championships in Germany due to the German government’s travel restrictions on people travelling from the UK. Sailors who wish to compete at the Eurilcas will need to make their own arrangements for coaching/ safety rib support at the event, and are advised to contact the ILCA-4 rep: ilca4rep@ilca.uk

Applications for the pre event training in the UK is being expanded to allow also for sailors who cannot attend the championships.

Applications for the UK based training can be found here

· 24/25th July “ILCA 4 Pre World Training”

https://andrewsimpsoncentresho.checkfront.co.uk/reserve/?preview=1&item_id=184

· 26-30th July “ILCA 4 & 6 Clinic ”

https://andrewsimpsoncentresho.checkfront.co.uk/reserve/?preview=1&item_id=173

This is in addition to training opportunities which are available on the UKLA Portal

https://portal.ilca.uk/booking/type/training

Late Applications to the World Championships

A limited number of spaces are still available for the world championships, which is now open to late entry applications. The closing date for late applications to the World Championships is 7 July Applications can be made here:

https://sailing.laserinternational.org/public/site/event-site/128