ILCA 4 Worlds July 2025 - San Pedro, Los Angeles summary
In July this year, I competed in the ILCA 4 World Youth Championships in LA. There was a total of 140 in the boys fleet and 100 in the girls fleet from 38 countries. Australia had one of the largest representations with 13 in total.
I arrived in LA early to take part in a training clinic, held by a European coach, prior to the regatta starting.
The regatta consisted of 2 races per day, 6 days in a row. The first day was reasonably light winds, with most other days seeing above 15 knots when the sea breeze came in. Being one of the lighter sailors in the fleet, I did find the higher winds challenging to remain competitive with the bigger sailors in the fleet, which was to be expected.
I came 106th, which I was disappointed with, but also realise that I have only been in the ILCA since the start of the year. I believe I learned a lot from this regatta, particularly the big line starts (there was 70 boats on the start line) and also the need to improve my fitness for these long regattas. The next major regatta is the Aus nationals in Tasmania which will be held in January 2026. Time to get the hiking bench out:)
Murray Duthie