ILCA Open at Solway Yacht Club
by Stewart Biggar 1 Sep 11:53 BST
29-30 August 2026
Solway Yacht Club's Open Meeting for ILCA dinghies was held over the weekend of 29th and 30th August 2026. On Saturday young sailors from all over Scotland and the north of England joined ten ILCA sailors from SYC to comprise a highly competitive fleet of 26 boats competing in a round of the Lakeland and Borders Grand Prix.
The wind forecasts that morning were not promising with no forecasters predicting any significant wind within 50 miles of the SYC's home at Kippford near the mouth of the River Urr on the Solway coast. Nevertheless, the Committee Boat left the club pontoons as soon as it was afloat and motored out into the tidal estuary while the sailors were held ashore. Shortly before the due time for the race start, a gentle South South Easterly sea breeze developed which seemed to be holding steady at 3-3.5 knots. Messages to the Piermaster saw all the dinghies launched and towed out to the starting area against tide and wind while Race Officer, John Broadbent, and his team set a figure-of-eight course in the Rough Firth. The race start had been delayed around 45 minutes
Beating into the light but steady wind against the still incoming tide made the first leg of the course highly tactical and it was a pleasure to observe these expert young sailors use all their knowledge and boat handling skills in a keenly contested race. With no discard in the two-race Saturday event there was no margin for any major errors.
With the wind holding steady at 3 - 5 knots, a trapezoidal course was set for the second race which started just after high water. Just as the back of the fleet began their second lap the wind appeared to die prompting the Race Officer to shorten the race to finish at one of the turning marks, but fortunately the wind filled in allowing the fleet to close up again and all finished well within the time limit for the race. All were able to run downwind back to the club pontoons against the ebbing tide.
Lakeland and Borders Grand Prix Results: (after two races)
| Pos | Helm | Club | Rig |
|---|
| 1st | Gareth Davies | Dalgety Bay SC | ILCA6 |
| 2nd | Dougal Jackson | St Mary's Loch SC | ILCA6 |
| 3rd | Cameron McDaid | Largs SC | ILCA6 |
| 4th | Toby Iglehart | Solway YC | ILCA6 |
| 5th | Rohan O'Kane | Clyde Cruising Club DS | ILCA6 |
| 6th | Rhys Williams | Solway YC | ILCA7 |
| 7th | Ian Fitzgerald | RYA | ILCA6 |
| 8th | Dewi Williams | Solway YC | ILCA7 |
| 9th | Paolo De Jong | Largs SC | ILCA4 |
| 10th | Richard Colbeck | Solway YC | ILCA7 |
| 11th | Lucy Leyshon | Solway YC | ILCA6 |
| 12th | Simon Wilson | Solway YC | ILCA6 |
| 13th | Rosalind Dunlop | Largs SC | ILCA6 |
| 14th | Tristan Somerville | Helensburgh SC | ILCA6 |
| 15th | Katie Bishop | Solway YC | ILCA7 |
| 16th | Struan Young | Loch Ryan SC | ILCA6 |
| 17th | Henry Jones | Derwent Reservoir SC | ILCA4 |
| 18th | Finlay Train | Solway YC | ILCA6 |
| 19th | Libby Farnell | Largs SC | ILCA4 |
| 20th | Ethan Twist | Aberdeen and StonehavenYC | ILCA6 |
| 21st | Ida Iglehart | Solway YC | ILCA4 |
| 22nd | Finlay Nutt | Prestwick SC | ILCA4 |
| 23rd | Callum McRobert | Solway YC | ILCA6 |
| 24th | Lewis Gaffney | Loch Ryan SC | ILCA6 |
| 25th | Charlie Galloway | Loch Earn SC | ILCA6 |
| 26th | Lewis Flynn | Prestwick SC | ILCA6 |
In the evening a wonderful barbecue was available to club members and visitors which was enjoyed by around forty people.
On Sunday 30th the Scottish Open Grand Prix series continued, with two further races planned. With Saturday's two race results also counting in this series, a discard would now be available.
The morning dawned gloomy and overcast but a little more wind was forecast, this time from the South South West and in fact a slightly shifting but steady breeze of 8 -11 knots held over the racing period. Two different trapezoidal courses were set over the two races, each including the truest beats and downwind runs which could be achieved given the bend of the wind around hills. Once again the first beat against the strong tide was highly tactical with the fleet spread to the lay lines on both sides of the course in search of the best route to the windward mark. As it turned out, the best strategy seemed to be short tacks up the centre.
Two laps were sailed in each race, with the lead and lower positions all varying between laps, as sailors applied lessons learned on first lap. All in all racing was highly competitive with some expert skills on display and results were very tight.
Scottish Open Youth Series ILCA Grand Prix Results: (four races, 1 discard)
| Pos | Helm | Club |
|---|
| 1st overall and 1st ILCA6 | Rohan O'Kane | Clyde Cruising Club DS |
| 2nd overall and 2nd ILCA6 | Cameron McDaid | Largs SC |
| 3rd overall and 3rd ILCA6 | Dougal Jackson | St Mary's Loch SC |
| 4th overall and 4th ILCA6 | Toby Iglehart | Solway YC |
| 5th overall and 5th ILCA6 | Ian Fitgerald | RYA |
| 6th overall | Gareth Davies | Dalgety Bay SC |
| 7th overall | Rosalind Dunlop | Largs SC |
| 8th overall | Rhys Williams | Solway YC |
| 9th overall | Dewi Williams | Solway YC |
| 10 overall | Simon Wilson | Solway YC |
| 11th overall | Lucy Leyshon | Solway YC |
| 12th overall | Tristan Somerville | Helensburgh SC |
| 13th overall and 1st ILCA4 | Libby Farnell | Largs SC |
| 14th overall and 2nd ILCA4 | Paolo De Jong | Largs SC |
| 15th overall | Katie Bishop | Solway YC |
| 16th overall | Ethan Twist | Aberdeen and Stonehaven YC |
| 17th overall and 3rd ILCA4 | Henry Jones | Derwent Reservoir SC |
| 18th overall | Struan Young | Loch Ryan SC |
| 19th overall | Ida Iglehart | Solway YC |
| 20th overall | Richard Colbeck | Solway YC |
| 21st overall | James Colbeck | Solway YC |
| 22nd overall | Lewis Flynn | Prestwick SC |
| 23rd overall | Charlie Galloway | Loch Earn SC |
| 24th overall | Finlay Train | Solway YC |
| 25th overall | Lewis Gaffney | Loch Ryan SC |
| 26th overall | Callum McRobert | Solway YC |
| 27th overall | Finlay Nutt | Prestwick SC |