The River Derwent provided solid conditions for the 191-strong fleet in the 2026 ILCA Oceania & Australian Open & Youth Championship in Hobart today.
Matt Wearn, representing the Royal Perth Yacht Club and a two-time Olympic gold medallist in the ILCA 7 Class, showcased impressive form with two race wins.
Australian Sailing Team athletes Zac Littlewood and Ethan McAullay finished second and third behind Wearn, each ending the day with five points.
Completing the top five were Dutch sailor Duko Bos with two fourth places for eight points, and Hobart’s Eddie Reid, who managed to score 12 points with two sixth places in a strong championship debut.
The competitors faced a strong south-easterly sea breeze of 16 to 20 knots during the first race, with the ILCA 6 and ILCA 7 fleets racing on the Alpha course off Tranmere, while the ILCA 4s faced choppier conditions on the Bravo course in shallower waters closer to Bellerive.
Current conditions featured large tides leading to a strong outgoing current against the southerly breeze, creating short, sharp waves for the sailors to navigate.
Due to the high number of entries, the ILCA 6s and ILCA 4s were divided into two fleets for their qualifying series.
In the Open Women’s ILCA 6, Belgium’s Emma Plasschaert dominated with wins in both heats, taking the lead with two points, followed closely by Victoria’s Casey Imeneo and Hungary’s Maria Erdi, both on three points.
Sylvie Stannage from New South Wales, Queensland’s Francis Beebe, and Australian Sailing Squad member Evie Saunders each performed well, sitting on six points at day’s end.
Current Australian ILCA 6 Champion and Olympian Mara Stransky experienced a mixed day, finishing with a second and a costly ninth place, landing her in ninth overall with 11 points, one spot behind Olympian Zoe Thomson, who scored a fourth and fifth.
In the ILCA 6 Open Men’s, Luke Carrick from Western Australia performed well, tallying nine points after two heats, while fellow WA sailor Jasper Stay held 12 points.
Among the ILCA 4s, Thomas Cooper and Hugh Healy each topped their groups, leading with two points, while Zoe Jackson from Sandringham Yacht Club in Victoria is the leading ILCA 4 female sailor with 10 points.
Participants in the Solidarity Program sailed closely together, with Tasmania’s Cordelia Davey performing well in her home waters, finishing in 28th place after two races.
The weather forecast predicts lighter south-easterly breezes for the next day of racing.
Racing will commence at 1300 on the Alpha Course and 1330 on the Bravo course.
Words and images: Jane Austin/RYCT Media
For full results, please visit: https://sailingresults.net/?ID=82266.
The event website is available at: https://ryct.org.au/2026-ilca-oceania-australian-championship/.
#AustralianSailing #ILCA2026 #HobartSailing
Interested in seeing more Racing News? Click here
The 2026 ILCA Oceania & Australian Open & Youth Championships are supported by the Tasmanian Government through Events Tasmania
Discover Tasmania (www.discovertasmania.com) / #discovertasmania
