Regatta Report - Australian ILCA Masters Championships
Chris Tattersall
Photos by Steve London and Ian Tudball
6-9 February 2026, Port Stephens NSW
30 members from DBSC headed up the highway for the stunning regatta venue at Soldiers Point, Port Stephens. Crystal clear water, good breezes, a traffic-free harbour and user-friendly rigging areas adjacent to accommodation, made for a memorable regatta. Nighttime socialising was held at the “Cheeky Dog”, with an enthusiastic local band testing the ear drums of old Masters sailors.
The race management was faultless and the age groups of sailors were combined into three fleets of approximately 60 boats each. The full rigs of 60 entrants were all combined into one fleet.
The first 2 days had solid afternoon breezes of 15 knots plus, but Day 3 and 4 saw the wind fizzle to nothing, and on the last day it was a delayed start with a 3-knot breeze and a 2-knot tide. Seven races were completed out of a possible 8, with one drop race.
Somehow, the top guys do well in all wind conditions and at Double Bay we are lucky to have members who always perform well at National and World Masters events. Special mention to our Club members who were awarded highly sought after cubes:
ILCA 7: 1st in the Apprentice division James Tudball
ILCA 6: 5th in the GGM division Martin White
ILCA 6: 1st in the Legend division Peter Heywood
Cubes are awarded based on the number of entrants in each division, so for example the GGM division had 37 entrants with 5 cubes awarded. The complete schedule of results can be viewed here. Results for DBSC members are as follows:
A highlight of the event was a function held at the local bowls club with over 200 sailors in attendance. Martin White hosted an interview session with Australian winners at the recent Italian World Masters. People interviewed were Brett Beyer, Rob Lowndes, Lyndall Patterson and Christine Bridge.
Our members who volunteered their time and energy for the event include:
Sylvie Stannage crewing the start boat, and pre-regatta coaching.
Zander Bijkerk for providing regatta coaching and on-water support using Martin White’s RIB.
David Newman for organising logistics.
Steve London who always ensures our club runs smoothly.
- Ian Tudball
