2025 ILCA Oceania & Australian Open & Youth Championships at Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron

by Lisa Darmanin 8 Jan 11:13 GMT 1-8 January 2025

After 12 races showcasing a vast range of conditions on the waters off Manly in Brisbane, Zac Littlewood and Mara Stransky have emerged victorious at the 2025 ILCA Oceania and Australian Championship in the ILCA7 and ILCA6 classes, respectively.

The competition began with strong south-easterly winds, testing the sailors' limits. As the week progressed, the winds eased, transitioning to a lighter and more tactical easterly breeze, challenging the fleet's strategic skills.

On home waters, local legend and Tokyo 2020 Olympian Mara Stransky clinched the ILCA6 title. Her consistent performance throughout the series earned her the Australian crown. Stransky topped the leaderboard, with Paris 2024 Olympian Zoe Thomson finishing second and rising star Evie Saunders from the Australian Sailing Pathway Team coming in third overall.

As a member of the host club, Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron, Stransky explained, "Our course area was right underneath Green Island, which is not the normal race area here at RQ for ILCAs. So, I was feeling as unfamiliar as everyone else I guess. It was very tricky and shifty and a really good test of all-round sailing skills, because you couldn't be a one-trick pony out there. It was very hard."

Stransky reflected on her victory in such a strong fleet, "It was really tight racing between the five Australian Sailing squad members, and we were lucky enough to have some international competitors coming and spicing things up as well, alongside some of the young boys who are also providing some good racing."

In the ILCA7 category, Western Australian Zac Littlewood battled fiercely for every point. His determination paid off in the final race, securing the win and advancing ahead of Dutch competitor Duko Bos. The two sailors finished on equal points, but Littlewood claimed the championship on a countback.

Littlewood shared what it means to write his name alongside a few gold medallists, "Someone told me that it would be a different name on the trophy for the first time in 10 or 12 years, so it's great to join that list along with Matt (Wearn) and Tom (Burton)."

However, he did not shy away from the battle he had on his hands to take the overall win, "To win it on the last race against Duko was also quite nice. I kind of had it (the Australian title) wrapped up the race before, but to get the overall win against Duko, I think that means more than just taking out the Australian Championship."

Whilst delighted with the win, Littlewood remains focused continual improvement, "I'm happy to take out this week. It's been the target for the last six months to try and win this event to kind of get into the rhythm for Europe later this year. It feels great, but the next thing is in just a few months."

With the Australian Championship behind them, both Littlewood and Stransky alongside the national squad will now focus on domestic training to fine-tune their skills before heading overseas in March for the international competition circuit. Their performances in Brisbane have set a strong foundation, and they aim to carry this momentum into the European season

Full results can be found here.