Fifty four boats sailed in the 2022/2023 Victorian ILCA Laser Open and Youth Championships from Mordialloc Sailing Club on Port Phillip on the weekend of 3 and 4 December. The five scheduled races were sailed in light to moderate winds and flat seas which was a change from the tough conditions in Melbourne on preceding weekends.

2022 -23 Victorian Champion Casey Imeneo with Mordialloc SC Commodore Drew Henry

The largest fleet was the ILCA6 (Radial) fleet with 31 boats. Casey Imeneo from McCrae and Sorrento sailing clubs displayed good boat speed and tactics in recording two firsts and two seconds to be the clear ILCA6 winner. Casey had  returned to Australia just a week before the event from sailing in the gold fleet in the European ILCA Laser championships in Hyeres,France and an extensive 2022 program of Regattas and training overseas with the Australian women's ILCA6 squad. Second and third overall were two under 17 sailors who had sailed the World ILCA 6 Youth championships in Texas in mid 2022. Hamish Gilsenan from Albert Sailing Club finished second overall on a countback of race results from Patrick Cummin from Davey's Bay Yacht Club. Fourth and first Masters sailor was Owen McMahon from Royal Brighton. There were three under 17 and two under 19 youth in the ILCA6  top ten which is a positive sign for the ILCA Laser class in Victoria.

The ILCA7 class was closely contested across the weekend. Jack Eickmeyer from Mornington Yacht Club, the Australian ILCA Laser representative in the 2022 World Youth sailing championships, won the last race to finished runnerup 1 point behind Matt Blakey. Matt is the current Australian ILCA7 Masters champion and this was his fourth consecutive ILCA7 Victorian title. Third was Robert Wilson from Port Melbourne Yacht Club who finished two points clear of the fourth and fifth placegetters.

ILCA Lasers in rigging area at Victorian State Laser titles

The smaller rig ILCA4 class was contested by 13 junior sailors under 16 and one under 18 years of age. Aidan Simmons from Indented Head Yacht Club was the clear ILCA4 winner, with four race wins. Aidan was the 2021 and 2022 Australian Optimist class champion, and was sailing his second Victorian ILCA Laser championships. Second overall with a win in race 2 was Riley Cantwell from Sorrento Sailing Club, with Jack Vermeer from Mornington third. All three placegetters and a number of the other juniors sailing ILCA4's had advanced from sailing Optimist class boats in the previous two years

Well done and thanks to our Victorian Laser Association Regatta Manager Peter Merritt, and the members of Mordialloc Sailing Club and other clubs who put on a well organised and enjoyable State Championship series.

The next big regattas for the ILCA Laser class in Australia are : 

• Sail Sydney at Woolhahra Sailing Club in mid December, with 74 Iasers entered as at start of December 
• the Australian Laser  Open and Youth championships at Georges River Sailing Club, NSW in early January, with 165 entries as at start of December including 2021Australian Olympic Laser sailors Matt Wearn and MAra Stransky and some overseas competitors.
• Sail Melbourne Regatta at Royal Brighton in mid January