ILCA Women's Coaching Programme back at Queen Mary Sailing Club
by Suzie Munnery 19 Mar 11:26 GMT
7 March 2026
ILCA Women's Coaching Programme back at Queen Mary © Davis Ellis
Molly Sacker put her Palma preparations on hold to drive up from Portland to Queen Mary SC, where fourteen sailors from as far away as Essex and Somerset had gathered for the first ILCA Women's Coaching Programme of the season. Molly was joined by club coaches Ellie Tapper-Clark and Emma Marsh.
Queen Mary, who originated the programme, demonstrated their commitment to women's sailing once again by investing in female coach development in line with World Sailing's Steering the Course strategy.
The fleet was wonderfully mixed — seasoned club racers alongside sailors transitioning into the class. An all-female coaching environment, this mix of experience gives these days their unique character: a willingness to share, to encourage and be honest about what you don't yet know runs right through the group.
Focus on Speed
The theme for the day was Speed in light winds — what every ILCA sailor craves but few can find. Molly started ashore showing us the optimal settings for marginal conditions: the small, deliberate adjustments that can put clear water between you and the boat alongside when the wind is barely perceptible.
Molly cuts through the noise. Chaps in the club bar can argue for hours: Molly conveys precise knowledge concisely. As one sailor put it afterwards, "the questions took up more space than her answers in my notebook." That's a compliment: clarity equals confidence.
The first session centred on straight-line speed upwind and downwind, with rabbit-starts producing immediate boat-on-boat comparisons to see what worked. Molly oversaw the exercises while Ellie and Emma quietly shared tips one-on-one. The improvement was visible and immediate.
Refuel, Refocus
Ellie's sharp coordination with Claire Cooks meant we ate well and promptly — no small matter with a British Keelboat Team Racing event filling the clubhouse. Over food and coffee, the morning replayed itself in conversation: what had worked, what hadn't, what to try differently in the afternoon.
There's something particular about the way this group talks. Myths get dispelled without embarrassment, questions get asked that wouldn't survive a mixed fleet debrief, and the answers tend to land because everyone in the room is working on the same problems. It's as much a part of the day as anything that happens on the water.
Breeze On
The afternoon arrived with a gift: a steady breeze that transformed the reservoir entirely. Where the morning had asked for patience and feel, this demanded commitment. And hiking!
Long upwind legs tested the morning's lessons under real pressure — and allowed everyone to feel as well as see what proper boat balance does for speed. Smaller groups worked on tacking and gybing: smooth entries, speed maintained through the turn, the same movement repeated until it stopped feeling like effort. By the time the fleet came off the water, the difference from the morning was plain.
"The commitment across the fleet genuinely surprised me — from sailors who'd barely raced an ILCA to experienced club racers, everyone was pushing to improve. That's exactly the kind of environment where real progress happens," said Molly Sacker, British Sailing Team.
The Value of Coaching
Molly's final debrief tied the day together: clear take-aways on speed, and — a welcome touch — Queen Mary merchandise and Wildwind vouchers for warmer-water training in Vassiliki. The founding sponsor's generosity has been there from the start, and it still lands well.
Days like this offer something very different to club coaching. Individual feedback matters, but there is something equally valuable in being part of a group that is all trying to get better at the same time — away from the familiar, with no results to defend and nothing to lose by asking the obvious question. The noise in the clubhouse afterwards said it all: more, please!
The Sponsors Who Make It Happen
None of this happens without support. Sailingfast provide equipment for every session, making sure that no sailor is held back by what they arrived with — Molly's words go straight from the briefing to the boat, with nothing lost in between. Wildwind have been there from the beginning, including hosting a full week-long edition in Vassiliki. Their involvement goes beyond sponsorship — it's a genuine belief in opening our sport to more women.
At Queen Mary, Liam Murphy put in the work behind the scenes to make the day run cleanly — and then, wisely, got out of the way. Ellie Tapper-Clark and Emma Marsh were outstanding: enthusiastic, patient, and exactly the kind of coaches these sailors will want to sail with again.
What Next?
Wildwind are hosting a Women's Clinic in Greece at the start of May — four additional places have been made available through the programme, and they won't last long. If the idea of focused coaching in warm water with good breeze appeals, now is the time.
King George Sailing Club host the next UK session on 27th June, with Olympic coach Georgina Povall in the driving seat. After that, events are taking shape at Portland with the Andrew Simpson Performance Academy, and a two-day event at Plas Heli in Wales with RYA Wales CEO Sarah McGovern — a coach known widely as 'the maker of champions'.
EurILCA are hosting their inaugural Women Sailing Coaches Clinic in Athens in November.
Full details at portal.ilca.uk/events, or drop a line to