The Cayman Islands Sailing Club saw big numbers this past weekend at the 2025 Mark Clarke ILCA Nationals.
The event, hosted from 6-7 Dec., delivered a competitive seven-race series that brought together 20 sailors for the championships.
The competition was divided into results for the individual classes – ILCA 4, ILCA 6 and ILCA 7 – and the overall national championship, which was determined using a handicap system to level the field across all three rig sizes.
In the ILCA 4 class, which had nine competitors saw Ebba Collins take first place, followed by Cailan Lloyd in second and Lucas Calleja in third.
The ILCA 6 class had three competitors and saw Cayman Olympian Charlotte Webster claim the top spot, with Grzegorz Kukula in second and Preston Mandish finishing third.
The ILCA 7 class, the male Olympic class for sailors, featured eight competitors, with Raphael Harvey securing first place, followed by Andres McDermot in second and Jesse Jackson in third.
When the overall results were tallied, factoring in all twenty sailors and the handicap system, it was Webster who clinched the overall National Championship title.
Harvey finished the weekend in second place overall and McDermot rounded out the top three overall finishers.
‘Highest turnout of ILCAs’
Peta Adams, race officer for the Cayman Islands Sailing Club, said this year’s event marked the highest turnout of ILCAs – formerly known as Laser sailboats – she has ever witnessed for the ILCA Nationals.
Raphael Harvey, coach and programme director at the Cayman Islands Sailing Club, noted that the strong presence of youth sailors this year was a significant highlight, with 11 taking to the start line.
He remarked that historically the nationals have been adult-dominated, so having this many youths participating “only bodes well for the future of Cayman sailing”, noting that six other youth sailors were unable to attend due to being off-island.
The weather presented a challenging yet fair test for the competitors, with the wind forecast over the two days ranging from 10 to 15 knots, peaking in strength on Sunday.
“The wind was also oscillating a lot, which pose another element of difficulty for the sailors, who I am happy to report fared well over the two days,” Harvey said.
Cayman’s next significant activity on the international sailing calendar will be the Youth Sailing World Championship in Vilamoura, Portugal, from 12-20 Dec. and will feature sailors Ciara Murphy and Lyndon Pickering.
