Celebrating 50 years of the ILCA and the Laser - UKLA publishes Yearbook 2021
by Guy Noble 20 Mar 2021 21:30 AEDT
UKLA 2021 ILCA Yearbook - 50 year anniversary © UKLA
UKLA Publishes a very smart Yearbook 2021 celebrating 50 years of the ILCA and the Laser. Articles by Tim Law, Alan Davis, Wendy Fitzpatrick, Jon Emmett and Steve Cockerill, Chris Gowers interviewed by Mark Lyttle and loads more...
As 2021 unfolds we are doing our best to shake off the Covid restrictions. Events planned for early in the season have been either cancelled, which is rather disappointing, or postponed, which gives us some hope. In spite of these setbacks UKLA has planned a packed season of high quality racing events that celebrate 50 years since the formation of ILCA (the International Laser Class Association). This year sees the re-naming of the Laser to the ILCA.
The first thing UKLA has done in 2021, apart from planning all these great events, is to produce a yearbook that does justice to this great racing dinghy. The yearbook is now on its way to UKLA members and will soon be available in an online version via the UKLA website.
So what's in the yearbook?
The chairman Rob Cage gives an overview for last season and for the forthcoming season - Rob has been an active participant in the Masters ILCA 6 fleet for many years and now brings his formidable experience and skill reshaping UKLA into a 21st-century fully functional class association. Ken Falcon and Dot Beadsworth have been extraordinarily dedicated to their roles over the years, but now with a new committee in place, it is ready to face new challenges.
One of the most extraordinary amateur sailors of his generation, Tim Law, looks back on his experience sailing the Laser. Tim, twice open National Champion, is still competing at the highest level on the master circuit and is looking forward to another season. In this entertaining article Tim captures brilliantly the feel of racing in an era of weight jackets, multicoloured boats and, sometimes 'winging it'...
With the Olympics scheduled for July we take a behind-the-scenes look with an in-depth interview of Chris Gowers. Chris, coach not only to Elliot Hanson but also Nick Thompson and Paul Goodison, talks frankly to Mark Lyttle, an Olympian in his own right, about the highs and lows of coaching some of the greatest sailors of this era. No 'winging it' here, it's all very professional.
As UKLA class measurer, Alan Davis is the best person to walk us all through what is and isn't class legal. We all have to remember that this is a strict one design dinghy and the various disputes should not be allowed to dilute this. Alan lays out how to identify equipment that will not only enable you to compete in UKLA events but will also command a good used sale price - Don't forget ILCA/World Sailing legal boats will have a much higher resale value and you can be sure you will be racing against other boats made to the same spec.
Tony Woods gives some great advice to class captains. Getting the simple things right can make for great racing and help build a thriving ILCA community at your club. While Sam Pearce gives a great account of how a group of inexperienced women ILCA sailors from Wembley Sailing Club got together to learn more about racing and have fun...
Two wonderfully contrasting articles explore different ways we can help encourage and develop women's sailing. In 1972 Wendy Fitzpatrick was the first ever winner of the UK Nationals. With grit and determination (and a bit of luck with the weather) beat some very grumpy blokes. Molley Tulet is a young ILCA6 sailor who has done a fair bit of training with UKLA and has a different perspective on women in the sport. Tim Hulse is now the UKLA's training officer and outlines his plans to bring a lot more high quality coaching to the clubs around the country. Check out his great Podcast on the UKLA website. Many club sailors are probably not aware that UKLA run training sessions for hundreds of young and not so young sailors - another great reason to support UKLA.
Together with some very useful articles by Simon Rowell on reading the weather, Jon Emmett on exercise and nutrition, Max Hunt on equipment, and reports/results the yearbook presents a very comprehensive look at the state of ILCA sailing. Digital version is available here: https://issuu.com/ukla-sailing/docs/ukla_yearbook_for_online_7s
If you have a Laser or an ILCA why not join the UKLA (£38) - we can help you and your club build the fleet, improve your racing and have fun.