Tideway ILCA 7 Masters UK National Championship 2026 at Parkstone Yacht Club

With three days of spectacular racing now complete, it's time to look back on a truly memorable ILCA UK Masters Nationals. Let's begin by recognising the overall podium finishers:

1st Lorenzo Cerretelli (ITA)
2nd Roger Craig (IRL)
3rd Nick Harrison (UK Masters National Champion)

Best Club Trophy - Stokes Bay Sailing Club

Stokes Bay win Best Club - Tideway ILCA 7 Masters UK Nationals at Parkstone - photo © Jon Emmett

Parkstone Yacht Club put on a wonderful event: top-class racing, two days' racing in the bay and one in the harbour, fabulous food, incredibly friendly members, all set against the extraordinary backdrop of Poole Harbour.

With 108 entries, split almost evenly between the two fleets, the battle for top dog status was on. Not only were there ILCA Masters from GB but from Germany, Sweden, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Italy. Sailors of every Masters age category raced together, which, in theory, might seem a little unfair. But the results told a different story. The top three in the ILCA 7s were an Apprentice, a Master and a Great Grand Master. In the ILCA 6s it was an Apprentice followed by two Great Grand Masters. Experience clearly still counts.

Of the eight races sailed, six took place in the bay on the Friday and Saturday, with Sunday's two races held in the harbour. Wall-to-wall sunshine, 8-19 knots from the south-west and a very comfortable 23°C combined to produce superb racing conditions that would give any venue in the world a run for their money.

Tideway ILCA 7 Masters UK Nationals at Parkstone - photo © Phil Jackson / Digital Sailing

Day One - Friday

With the forecast predicting the breeze would build around midday, racing was sensibly delayed by about an hour. Sure enough, just after 1 pm the wind filled in.

The first start was recalled, but the fleet got away cleanly at the second attempt. Queen Mary's Orlando Gledhill rounded the windward mark first, closely followed by Roger Craig from Kircubbin and José Luis Doreste from R.C. Maritimo Barcelona. By the final downwind leg Craig had stretched out a small lead over Gledhill, with Lorenzo Cerretelli (YC Punta Ala) coming through the fleet to take third.

Race 2 saw Gledhill and Nick Harrison (Stokes Bay SC) start close to the committee boat before tacking onto port soon after the gun. Craig, starting nearer the pin, continued out to the left. The leading group converged about halfway up the beat on the rhumb line. Craig and Craig Williamson (Staunton Harold) had judged the left-hand side well and rounded ahead of Gledhill, Harrison and Chris Ellyatt. By the finish it was Gledhill first, Harrison second and Craig third.

Race 3 brought another shake-up. Roger Craig was disqualified under BFD, while Lorenzo Cerretelli could only manage 17th. That left the Spanish visitors José Luis Doreste and Leandro Rosado to take first and second, with Paul Davies of Royal Harwich Yacht Club finishing third.

Salcombe Gin Evening - Friday

New to sponsoring ILCA UK Masters, Salcombe Gin put on a very popular gin-tasting evening—no surprises there—and provided a chance for everyone to catch up after racing.

Tideway ILCA 7 Masters UK Nationals at Parkstone - photo © Phil Jackson / Digital Sailing

Day Two - Saturday

The sailors were greeted by almost identical conditions and, with no significant delay, the fleets were soon back out in the bay.

Although Lorenzo was beginning to establish what would eventually become a comfortable overall victory, there were still seven or eight sailors with a realistic chance of taking the title. Thomas Muller (GER) showed great courage by port-tacking the fleet in Race 5.

Then came the turning point. Fifteen UFD and BFD penalties across the ILCA 7 fleet changed the complexion of the regatta, with Race 6 proving particularly costly for several of the leading contenders.

It was an impressive list of casualties: Doreste, Gledhill, Ian Elliott, Rosado, Tim Law, Chris Ellyatt and Stuart Holdsworth, among others, all found themselves enjoying an early sail ashore and a pleasantly empty changing room. Those already carrying another high score suddenly looked very vulnerable.

Tideway ILCA 7 Masters UK Nationals at Parkstone - photo © Phil Jackson / Digital Sailing

Saturday Evening

All but a handful of competitors stayed for the excellent evening meal at the club. The sponsors were exceptionally generous, providing dozens of prizes.

Thanks go to Sailingfast, Ovington, Rooster, Fernhurst Books, Tideway Wealth Management, Noble Marine and the many other companies that supported the event.

And of course the whole event was tracked by TracTrac. So you can analyse each race and follow your mate's progress: www.tractrac.com/event-page/event_20260703_ILCAUKMast/3452

Tideway ILCA 7 Masters UK Nationals at Parkstone - photo © Phil Jackson / Digital Sailing

Day Three - Sunday

Sunday morning looked cloudy and almost windless, but the forecasts were more optimistic. The committee boat initially headed out into the bay, but the locals insisted that, with the final gun cut-off at 3 pm, the better option would be to race in Poole Harbour. By 1.20 pm racing was under way.

Race 7 - Soon after the start a big right-hand shift catapulted those on the right into a significant lead. The main beneficiaries were Chris Whalley, Paul Procter, Nick Harrison and Alan Davis. Together with a handful of others, this group stayed to the right of the rhumb line and dominated the top 15 to 20 places.

It was a pretty bleak opening beat for Orlando Gledhill, Craig Williamson, Ian Elliott and many others, who spent the rest of the race trying to claw back places. Craig Williamson produced an extraordinary comeback. Rounding the leeward gate in 26th, he pushed hard left, almost to the lay line, tacked, and rounded the next windward mark in 5th. Now there's a comeback!

The race finished with Nick Harrison 1st, Roger Craig 2nd and Chris Whalley 3rd.

Tideway ILCA 7 Masters UK Nationals at Parkstone - photo © Phil Jackson / Digital Sailing

Race 8 - Bearing in mind that the right paid on the first beat of Race 7 and the left paid on the second beat... surely the right would pay again on the first beat of the next race? Hmm.

After a couple of minutes it looked as though the far right was just edging ahead of the middle and left of the fleet. Craig Williamson, on the right, was looking strong, but so was Alan Davis on the left, only a boat length behind. By halfway up the beat Craig had tacked back onto starboard and opened up a lead of around 30 metres, with Stephen Videlo, Guy Noble and Alec Glass of Wembley Sailing Club close behind.

Craig rounded the windward mark around 40 metres clear, with Guy Noble and Nick Harrison next. The final beat and run brought yet more changes in position, the most remarkable being Roger Craig, who climbed from 23rd to finish 2nd.

The final race finished with Craig Williamson 1st, Roger Craig 2nd, Lorenzo Cerretelli 3rd and Alan Davis 4th.

Nick Harrison wins British Masters title - Tideway ILCA 7 Masters UK Nationals at Parkstone - photo © Jon Emmett

ILCA UK would like to thank everyone at Parkstone Yacht Club for putting on a fabulous event. This includes all the staff and volunteers, the mark-layers, safety boat crews, committee boat crews and everyone else who worked so hard behind the scenes.

A special thank you goes to Alan Davis and Gareth Humphries for all their organisation in the run-up to the event, and to Christina Moncur (rear commodore sailing), the Race Officer, for doing at top job and for managing some occasionally unruly line behaviour.

More photos at gallery.digitalsailing.co.uk/ilcamasternationals

Overall Results:

Tideway ILCA 7 Masters UK Nationals at Parkstone - photo © Phil Jackson / Digital Sailing