Tideway ILCA 6 Masters UK National Championship 2026 at Parkstone Yacht Club

With three days of spectacular racing now complete, it is time to look back on a truly memorable ILCA UK Masters Nationals. Let's begin by recognising the overall podium finishers in the ILCA 6 fleet.

1st Maura Dewey (CAN)
2nd Ian Gregory - UK Masters National Champion
3rd Andrew Holdsworth (GBR)

Best Club Trophy: Stokes Bay Sailing Club

Tideway ILCA 6 Masters UK Nationals at Parkstone - photo © Phil Jackson / Digital Sailing

Parkstone Yacht Club put on a wonderful event: top-class racing, two days in the bay and one in the harbour, fabulous food, incredibly friendly members, and 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. There were ILCA Masters not only from Great Britain, but also from Germany, Sweden, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Italy.

Sailors from every Masters age category raced together, which in theory might seem a little unfair. But the results told a different story. The top three ILCA 6s were an Apprentice followed by two Grand Masters. Experience clearly still counts.

Of the eight races sailed, six took place in the bay on 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 its money.

Tideway ILCA 6 Masters UK Nationals at Parkstone - photo © Phil Jackson / Digital Sailing

Day One - Friday

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

In Race 1, Bob Cudmore (PYC) made a good start at the committee boat end of the line, tacking off to the right. Within 30 seconds, a left shift pushed him into the lead. Towards the pin, Maura Dewey (HKKK, RVYC) tacked onto port, moving back towards the rhumb line.

Although the group on the right initially dominated, the wind steadily clocked right and put around 20 boats over the lay line. Maura and Jon Emmett were now out in front, but several boats coming in from the left, including Jon Gay (Lochaber Yacht Club), Julian Sawyer (Queen Mary SC) and Tom Nash (QMSC), were able to take full advantage of those who had overstood.

By the end of the second beat, Maura had built a 60-metre lead, almost doubling it by the end of the reach. The race finished with Maura Dewey 1st, Jon Emmett 2nd, Ian Gregory 3rd and Andrew Holdsworth 4th.

Tideway ILCA 6 Masters UK Nationals at Parkstone - photo © Phil Jackson / Digital Sailing

Race 2

Seven black-flagged boats had to sit this race out, including Ian Gregory. As we all know, getting a BFD so early in the regatta makes you very vulnerable.

The group that started at the boat end gained the advantage as the wind moved right. After about one minute, the wind had gone so far right that the leaders were almost pointing at the windward mark. As the final third of the beat brought a couple of flicks back left and then right again, Maura skipped out into the lead once more, followed by Phil Bevan (Lyme Regis Sailing Club) and Jon Emmett.

By the end of the run, Peter John Compton (Wembley SC) had moved into a well-deserved 4th. By the end of the second beat, after a major shuffle of the fleet, the usual suspects had emerged at the front.

The race finished: 1st Maura Dewey, 2nd Jon Emmett, 3rd Ian Jones (Dovestone SC), 4th Phil Bevan and 5th Jimmy Carter (Stokes Bay SC).

Tideway ILCA 6 Masters UK Nationals at Parkstone - photo © Phil Jackson / Digital Sailing

Race 3

A better display of line discipline meant no black flags. This race finished after three beats, at the final windward mark. Maura took 1st, Ian Gregory 2nd, Andrew Holdsworth 3rd and Max Hunt (Whitstable SC) 4th.

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 great chance for everyone to catch up after racing.

Tideway ILCA 6 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.

It seemed increasingly clear that Maura's superior speed was making her the one to beat. Jon was still only carrying a 12th, whereas Ian Gregory had a BFD. The next two races went to Maura, giving her five first places from the opening five races.

Then, in Race 6, Maura was UFD. In the same race, Jon Emmett picked up a BFD, pretty much ending his chances of overall victory. Race 6 proved to be the wildest of the regatta, and now some of the other sailors began to shine.

Andrew Holdsworth took 1st, Ian Gregory 2nd, Jon Gay 3rd, Bob Cudmore 4th and Pete Thomas (Pupuke Boating Club) 5th.

Tideway ILCA 6 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.

The fabulous Wildwind holiday was won by Nick Van Tienen from Stokes Bay SC. Thank you, Wildwind!

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

Tideway ILCA 6 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.

Races 7 and 8

Races 7 and 8, sailed on harbour courses, presented a very different environment from the bay. Relatively flat water and strange tidal eddies created a new set of challenges.

Finally, Andrew Holdsworth got the better of Maura, picking up his first win of the event. With Maura 2nd, Jon Emmett 3rd and Ian Gregory 4th, the top three overall positions were beginning to look reasonably predictable - but not completely secure.

With both Maura and Ian carrying a UFD or BFD, Andrew still had a chance to sneak in. However, it was not to be. Race 8 ended with Maura 1st, Andrew 2nd and Ian 3rd.

Maura Dewey, event winner - Tideway ILCA 6 Masters UK Nationals at Parkstone - photo © Phil Jackson / Digital Sailing

A special shout-out goes to Simon Radford, who finished 9th, and Malcolm Marsden, who finished 8th, both making it into the top 10 in Race 8 of a very strong fleet.

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 and Race Officer, for doing a top job and for managing some occasionally unruly line behaviour.

Until next time...

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Overall Results: