ILCA 6 Masters World Champs – Aussie clean sweep in GGM

Pattaya, Thailand – Two races were completed on the final day of the 2023 ILCA 6 Masters World Championships, hosted by the Royal Varuna Yacht Club, bringing the event to a close. Although three races were intended due to the lack of wind yesterday, the breeze was light and shifty today on the Gulf of Thailand, which only allowed for two final races.

Jeff Loosemore 1st overall in GGM division

In the Great Grand Masters fleet, Australian Jeff Loosemore won the first race of the day and slid into first overall, passing fellow countryman Stephen Gunther who had been leading the fleet the last few days. Gunther finished in third behind another fellow Australian, Lyndall Patterson, who won silver after finishing with a third and first in today’s races.

Lyndall Patterson 2nd overall in GGM division

In the Apprentice fleet, gold went to Lithuanian Tokyo Olympian Viktorija Andrulyte after she had been leading the fleet all week. Korea’s Bo Jeong placed second, just six points behind Andrulyte. Adil Khalid of the United Arab Emirates finished in third overall.

In the Masters fleet, Great Britain’s Jon Emmett won gold after leading the fleet all week as well. Remarkably, Emmett logged nine first-place finishes in the 10-race event, finishing with nine net points and a 15-point lead. Fellow countryman Ian Gregory claimed silver and Brazil’s Fabio Suyama Ramos won bronze.

The Grand Masters fleet showed tight competition since it was the largest fleet at the event. Canadian Allan Clark won first place, two points ahead of Great Britain’s Terry Scutcher in second. David Early of Australia finished just six points behind Scutcher.

American Bill Symes, the Legend champion, won gold with a 21-point lead. Fellow countryman Jonathan Andron won silver just one point ahead of Japan’s Shigeo Kato who won bronze.