ILCA UK Sailingfast National Open at Warsash Sailing Club - ILCA 6

Sailingfast ILCA UK National Open at Warsash © Lotte Johnson / www.lottejohnson.com

The first ILCA UK National Open event of the season took place at Warsash over the weekend of 14-15 March 2026. A competitive fleet of 76 ILCA6 sailors took part. Parents and supporters were enjoying watching from the shore, through live tracking with TracTrac and live streaming from the media RIB!

ILCA UK kicked off three weekends of back-to-back racing with Sailingfast National Open at Warsash on Saturday 14 March. The ILCA 6 fleet launched in minimal wind and a strong tide, the situation made better by the glorious sunshine.

When the sailors arrived at the course they were met with seven to eight knots from the northwest, and it was apparent that the tide had turned early and was already gently sweeping the fleet upwind.

The Race Officer, Heinzy, and his team set off perfect starts for all three fleets, the final being the 6s on the inner loop. This first race was unique, with two major features occurring at late notice on the course. The first was a significant tideline that the fleet crossed on the final third of the first beat, quickly throwing up confusion. The second was a 60-boat pile-up as the 4s and 6s converged at the windward mark in a dying wind and adverse tide.

Several sailors were ahead of this melee, including the eventual race winner, Jake Davies from Warsash SC, whose local knowledge clearly gave him the edge. Second place and first woman to cross the finish line was Carys Attwell from Rutland. Well done to both for great racing in challenging conditions.

Sailingfast ILCA UK National Open at Warsash - photo © Lotte Johnson / www.lottejohnson.com

After a big wind shift to the southwest and an increase in pressure the course was re-located further northeast and we sailed two races in champagne conditions. The winner of both races was Toby Waggett from Derwent Reservoir SC, who showed exceptional pace and the ability to work his way through the fleet. Poppy Luxton from Restronguet SC also performed strongly, achieving 4th and 2nd place.

Sailors returned to the shore after a long day on the water to enjoy drinks on the terrace in the sunshine. Everyone returned on Sunday eager for more racing, but sadly the winds were just too strong and racing was cancelled for the day, meaning all three races from day 1 were counted with no discard.

The overall winner and first U17 was Toby Waggett, with Poppy Luxton in second overall and first woman. Jon Emmett was third and first Master, Carys Attwell fourth and second female. Jess Powell was 17th and first U17 girl. Toby said, "Brilliant weekend of racing in Warsash, with some challenging but exciting conditions. Thank you to the race team, ILCA UK and the rest of the competitors for a great and well organised event".

Poppy Luxton summarised the weekend by saying: "It was great to be back on the water again! Warsash delivered really challenging conditions with strong tide and big shifts, which made for some very tactical and rewarding racing. The tracking is always really useful for reviewing races—thanks to the organisers for a great weekend, looking forward to the next one."

ILCA 6 winners - Sailingfast ILCA UK National Open at Warsash - photo © Megan Farrer Captures

Special mentions go to Jake Davies for a strong event, finishing 14th and to Ethan Rhodes, also from Warsash SC for finishing 9th, a great break-through performance. There were also strong results from newcomers to the fleet. Thomas Semmens from Paignton SC holds the title of ILCA 4 National Champion, and had a strong day of racing in the 6, finishing 16th overall.

It was great to come to Warsash for this event, and the club did an excellent job of organising all the logistics and making us feel very welcome - thank you. We can't wait to come back in the future. Thank you also to the race committee, in particular Heinzy who made a difficult but great call on Sunday, and to all of the ILCA UK organisers and the volunteers who made the event possible. Bring on Rooster National Open at WPNSA this weekend!

We thank our title sponsor Sailingfast for prizes this weekend.

Supported by: Noble Marine, Rooster, Ovington Boats and TracTrac UK.

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Overall Results: