2026 ILCA national championships: International heavyweights headline stacked fleet at Bay of Islands
A large contingent of elite overseas sailors will line up alongside the cream of the New Zealand ILCA fleet for what promises to be four days of high-quality racing at the 2026 ILCA national championships in the Bay of Islands.
The event has attracted just under 100 boats, featuring the strongest ILCA line-up seen in this country for many years.
The ILCA 7 fleet is imposing, with international entries including several of the current top sailors in the world: Britain’s Mickey Beckett, Ireland’s Finn Lynch and Ewen McMahon, Dutch sailor Duko Bos, Singapore’s Ryan Lo and Japan’s Haruto Koroda. The overseas stars will face stiff competition from leading local sailors, including world number 10 and former world championships bronze medallist George Gautrey, along with rising talents Caleb Armit — the defending national champion — and George Pilkington.
In the ILCA 6 open fleet, American star Erika Reineke and Australia’s Frances Beebe are among the early favourites. Paris 2024 Olympian Greta Pilkington will spearhead the New Zealand challenge alongside former ILCA 6 men’s world champion George Lane. They are expected to be pushed hard by a strong group of youth sailors, including 2025 under-17 women’s world champion Chloe Turner and recent youth world championships representative Tom Pilkington.
The ILCA 6 masters title will be contested by 2025 champion Phil Wild, who returns to defend his crown, while Ellie Tapper and Kiera Dimock are among those competing in the ILCA 4 fleet.
Racing begins tomorrow (15 January), with the first two of a scheduled 10 races set to get under way at 1pm.
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