2026 ILCA 6 Women's World Championship at Dún Laoghaire, Ireland - Day 5
by Agustín Argüelles / ILCA 11 Sep 23:01 BST
5-12 September 2026
2026 ILCA 6 Women's Worlds in Dun Laoghaire Day 5 © Jordan Roberts / Down Under Sail
The Elimination Series concluded today for the top ten sailors at the 2026 ILCA 6 Women's World Championship, who will contest tomorrow's Final Series for the medals.
The rest of the fleet will sail one more Elimination Series race tomorrow, split across the Gold and Silver fleets.
Racing started at 11:00 as planned, with a first race sailed in 6-9 knots and flat water for both the Gold and Silver fleets. After that, the wind died and shifted, forcing the Race Committee to raise the AP flag on the water for a postponement of more than three hours. The breeze picked up again around 15:30 and the second scheduled race got under way, but the wind quickly dropped to just 1 knot and the race had to be abandoned.
The lone Gold Fleet race of the day went to Matilda Nicholls GBR, who moved from 10th to 5th overall. The standout of the day, though, was reigning champion Louise Cervera FRA, who produced the biggest comeback of the week, finishing fourth in the race to jump from 18th all the way into the top 10.
Matilda Nicholls GBR on her race win and the jump into the top five:
"We knew it was going to be a light-winds day. We got the first race off pretty quickly — it was super patchy, with big pressure differences, and that race worked out for me. We then had two or three hours before the next race started. The wind filled in and we got going again, and the Race Committee tried their absolute best, but halfway through the race the wind died, and that was that, really. We're back ashore now."
"I went into today knowing I had to really attack the racecourse. I don't feel like I've been backing myself this week, so I'm really glad I did today, and I just want to do the same tomorrow. It's put me in the hunt, so we'll just go for it. It's been super exciting — it was great watching the boys get into the Medal Race last week, and now two of us have made it this week, plus some of the younger girls made it into the Gold Fleet at the Worlds for the first time. It's been a really successful week for the team."
"The plan for tomorrow is just to send it, sail in the moment. You can't predict anything in this bay, so you just have to go for it."
Louise Cervera FRA on fighting her way back into the top 10:
"I'm happy about my sailing when it's a bit lighter — that's the condition I really like, and I really enjoy it, so I'm happy about that. As I said before, it's not over until it's over. So I tried to do my best, and we count the points at the end, so I'm happy about that. I honestly don't know where I am overall right now, but I think I'm in the Final Series, so that's cool."
"I'll do my best tomorrow, and I know anything can happen — with two Final Series races, that's a good opportunity too. So I'm just impatient for tomorrow, and to fight with the other girls. Going into a ten-boat race against the ten best sailors in the world, I think the plan is just to go full on in the first one and try to win it, and then maybe that changes the overall points — maybe I move forward — and then see for the last race if there's something I can do. We'll see."
Final Series: Points Reset
As with last week's Men's Worlds, all points are halved heading into the Final Series. Here's how the top ten's points convert:
- Charlotte Rose USA - 30 / 15
- Emma Plasschaert BEL - 39 / 20
- Anna Munch DEN - 50 / 25
- Maxime Jonker NED - 55 / 28
- Matilda Nicholls GBR - 65 / 33
- Maria Erdi HUN - 67 / 34
- Louise Cervera FRA - 75 / 38
- Hannah Snellgrove GBR - 77 / 39
- Eve McMahon IRL - 79 / 40
- Agata Barwinska POL - 79 / 40
This scoring system is ILCA's own format for the Final Series, and differs from World Sailing's format.
Schedule for Saturday 12 September
- Women's Gold: first possible warning signal at 11:00
- Women's Silver: first possible warning signal at 11:10
- Women's Final Series: first possible warning signal at 13:30
Live tracking will be available for all fleets, with the Final Series races also broadcast live.
You can also follow the races live via Reels and Stories on our Instagram and Facebook — check all the links below.
The event is organised by National Yacht Club and Royal St George Yacht Club, in conjunction with ILCA. It is supported by premium sponsors Sport Ireland and Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, and associate sponsors Rooster, The Royal Marine Hotel, XOCEAN, and KPMG.
Find out more at 2026ilca6women.ilca-worlds.org