Champions crowned - But boy it was tight!

Final Results

Day 4 Photos from livesaildie.com

Prizegiving photos from livesaildie.com

On the "its never like this in Nelson" theme mentioned yesterday, the 104 boat ILCA fleet sailed out in a fresh Easterly, which one local was heard to say were conditions he had never raced in over 20 years! The course was set for the Easterly and the first race was 2 minutes from starting when, lo and behold, the "real" fresh Nelson sea breeze, virtually absent for the last 3 days, decided to push the Easterly out, and after the course was relaid all fleets enjoyed great racing in the fresh NW sea breeze with a nice chop, perfect conditions for the for the ultimate 2 races of the championships.

 

In the ILCA 7 it could not have been any closer. After 10 races Caleb Armit and Dylan Forsyth were tied on points and both counting identical results; 4 firsts, 3 seconds and 2 thirds, so the championship came down to who had beaten who in the last race. In the last race there was a big right hand shift on the first beat that saw most of the top sailors back in the pack at the first mark including Caleb and Dylan. It was Caleb who managed to recover the best to finish 2nd which, with Dylan back in 5th, proved sufficient to secure him the championship. Both deserve congratulations for pushing each other throughout the series and it certainly bodes well for continuing NZ's long legacy at world level in the class. George Pilkington wrapped up 3rd overall, and the U21 title, with a 2nd and 3rd on the day, while Zach Stibbe was highly a commendable 4th overall and second U21.

 

The battle for overall ILCA 7 master supremacy also came down to the last race. The shift that decided the overall championship also played out for the masters. GM Andrew Dellabarca picked the first beat perfectly led at the first mark and was never headed, winning the race to secure him 5th overall and the masters title by a single point from Nelson local, Apprentice Tim Pitcaithly. Leading Master Kris Decke was a few point back in 7th overall while leading GGM was David Giles in 19th overall.

 

The final result of the ILCA 6 open fleet was a contrast, with 2024 Olympian Greta Pilkington dominating the fleet with 4 firsts and 4 seconds to win by a convincing margin. There was however a very tight contest for the minor overall placings. Ex ILCA 6 mens world champion George Lane did enough to secure second overall by a single point from Greta's younger brother, and leading youth, Tom Pilkington, who in turn was just 2 points ahead of 4th placed Arran Begic. Arran was second in the youths ahead of Beau Utting and dual race winner Sam Clarke. Chloe Turner continued her great form with two top ten places on the final day to secure the top Youth girl title from Kate Rasmussen  and Rose Dickey. Miro Luxford was the unlucky sailor of the day, winning the first race but then falling foul of the dreaded OCS in the last race to drop him down the standings.

 

In the ILCA 6 masters it was another overall result that came down to the wire. In the end it was also decided on count back, in favour of defending champion Phil Wild (M). Both he and second overall Josh Edmonds (AM) won 4 races but Phils four seconds vs Josh's three was just enough to see Phil again secure the title. Leading GM, and winner of two races, was Hamiltons Werner Henning. He held out an ultra consistent Hamish Atkinson, who was 2nd GM and 4th overall, and GM Roger Winton, 5th overall and winner of a couple of races. Graeme Tee from Whakatane was the leading GGM in 7th overall while Sandra Williams from the host club, and contest organiser extraordinaire, led the women masters.

 

To round out the close contests the final result of the ILCA 4 was also extremely close. Brooke Mundy secured the title with two 2nd places on the final day, holding off a late run by Lucy Luxford, who found the conditions on the final day to her liking, winning both races, but in the end falling just a single point short of the title. Ellie Tapper, Madison Smith and Louis Yang had a great battle for the 3rd spot on the podium, with Ellie doing enough to secure it in the final races.

 

So thanks to Nelson Yacht Club for being a wonderful host club with a fantastic vibe around the boat park. We all got to enjoy a quality contest and interesting conditions, with all 10 races completed on schedule and deserving champions crowned in every category. We can all now look forward to next year contest in the Bay of Islands, January 14th to 18th 2026.

 

Nick Page