Championships Articles
Overcoming the bracing chill of British winter, 128 young sailors gathered at Rutland Sailing Club for the IOCA Optimist Winter Championships. Despite the weather playing spoilsport, their tenacity and passion for sailing were anything but dampened. With winds between 10-15knots, the competitive sailors embarked onto the water, ready for an exciting weekend of ‘snakes and ladders’ racing.
A fleet of 93 boats made up the Main Fleet, with the racing committee headed by Nigel Biggs. Laszlo Drummond stood out on the first day with three 1st place finishes. The competition grew intense on the second day as racers struggled for dominance on the leaderboard. Jonny Rogers edged out Laszlo Drummond by 2 points to take the first overall spot, while Sean Di Salle secured the third. In separate categories, Lizzie Hudson was the top girl, Archie Dowling took the under-10, and Theo Fox the under-11 spots.
In October 2025, Moisson Lavacourt Lake became the epicenter of exceptional sailing endeavors as it played host to the French Flying 15 National Championship. Thirteen teams, pulling in competitors from across seven French clubs and two fervent Belgian crews, clashed in an intense sailing showdown.
Organizing the event on inland waters marked a striking departure from the norm. This, coupled with a revised system of overall rankings based on corrected time, served to heighten anticipation over the fate of Classic and Silver boats when compared to the more contemporary Open category participants.
As the event kicked off, innovative adjustments to the Classic and Silver ratings were instituted. This perhaps offered an unprecedented element of interest to spectators and participants alike, as they absorbed the potential effects that this could inject into the regatta.