2026 ILCA UK Ovington Boats National Open Event 3 at WPNSA - ILCA 7 fleet report
by Leo Yates & ILCA UK 4 Apr 06:51 BST
28-29 March 2026
2026 ILCA UK Ovington Boats National Open Event 3 at WPNSA © Lotte Johnson /
www.lottejohnson.com
The third ILCA UK National Open event was held at WPNSA over the weekend of 28-29 March 2026. 26 ILCA 7 sailors took part. It was a very breezy weekend and huge thanks go to the race and safety teams as well as all volunteers that made this event safe and fun.
A fleet of 26 ILCA 7's made the trip to Weymouth, all briming with anticipation for what promised to be a breezy weekend of racing. Many of the younger sailors in the fleet noted the absence of the British Sailing Team and Squad, meaning they hoped for some breakthrough results.
On Saturday morning, delta flag was raised on schedule, however mid-way through launching the RC found their wind limits to be exceeded, so they decided to bring everyone back ashore. What followed was an impressive team effort by all sailors and volunteers to recover nearly 100 boats safely and quickly.
Later in the day, after the ILCA 6 fleet did their races, an enthusiastic ILCA 7 fleet made their way onto the racecourse in Portland Harbour. The fleet was greeted by a 20kt breeze with large gusts of up to 28kts from the north-west. In the first race the fleet split all over the upwind, but the sailors that held to the left came out best. After a spicy second lap with a few capsizes, James Percival Cooke led, followed closely by Olly Mayo and Sam Grayton.
In the second race there was a large committee bias, hence a tight lane hold ensued where Luke Anstey and Sam Grayton had strong lanes. The top of the upwind was closer to the shore, so the last third of the beat was unpredictable shifty and gusty, which lead to some great photos.
The finishing order for this race was similar with JPC taking another win, followed by Olly Mayo and Ralph Musto. The fleet then rushed home keen to get as much sleep as possible for an early start on Sunday despite losing an hour overnight.
The next morning the fleet launched on time and sailed down the harbour into a 15kt south-westerly. In the first race of the day the left-side came in, meaning JPC led, followed by Luke Anstey and an impressive performance from Nathan Russell, despite his recent illness, put him in third around the top. After a shifty 2nd lap underneath the marina, JPC took yet another win, followed by Luke Anstey and Leo Yates.
The second and third races followed much the same blueprint, with the left side paying with occasional right shifts making the upwind more interesting. This was analysed in amazing detail by Tim Hulse in the TracTrac debriefs on Monday, showing sailors across the fleet how races are won.
Overall JPC took the event win in dominant fashion, followed by Olly Mayo as 1st U19 and 2nd Overall, then followed by Sam Grayton as 1st U21 and 3rd Overall, beating Luke Anstey by on countback. Finally, it was a great end to the three National Opens, where we were lucky the weather and safety team allowed us to get 5 quality races in, all overseen by RO Somers Kempe.
All of this is made possible thanks to great team of volunteers on the water and on shore. We also thank all event sponsors.
Event Title Sponsor: Ovington Boats
Supported by: Noble Marine, Rooster, Sailingfast & TracTracUK