RPAYC Shines at the 2025 Australian Sailing Awards
The Australian Sailing Awards last weekend were a wonderful celebration of achievement across our sport, and RPAYC was proudly represented in several major categories.
Volunteer of the Year – Australia: Julia Hornsby
A highlight of the evening was seeing Julia Hornsby named Volunteer of the Year for Australia. Julia’s leadership, commitment, and the depth of her contribution — particularly through the Hansa World Championships — have had a real and lasting impact on our Club and on sailing more broadly. This national recognition is richly deserved.
Lifetime Achievement Award – Ted Anderson
We were also delighted to see Ted Anderson receive a Lifetime Achievement Award, acknowledging decades of service, mentoring, and involvement in sailing. Ted has guided and influenced generations of sailors, and this honour reflects the respect he has earned throughout the community.
Young Sailor of the Year (Male) – Finalist: Louis Tilley
Congratulations to Louis Tilley, recognised as a national finalist for Young Sailor of the Year (Male). Louis continues to lift the standard in the WASZP class and brings great pride to RPAYC through his performances and dedication.
Club of the Year – National Finalist
RPAYC was honoured to be a finalist for Australian Sailing’s Club of the Year, following our earlier success as NSW Club of the Year. This acknowledges the combined efforts and commitment of our members, volunteers, staff, coaches, Board, and Flag Officers throughout the past season.
These achievements — across volunteers, lifelong contributors, emerging talent, and the Club itself — mark an outstanding period for RPAYC and reflect the strength of our community.
Congratulations to all nominees and award recipients. We are very proud.
Robert McClelland
Commodore,
Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club
Mayo, Thomson and Royal Freshwater Bay the big winners at Australian Sailing Awards
James Mayo and Zoe Thomson have been announced as the Male and Female Sailor of the Year award winners respectively at the 2025 Australian Sailing Awards tonight in Sydney.
Mayo beat out a strong field to claim the 2025 title, largely driven by his success at major regattas across several classes.
His ‘Team Magpie’ won their second consecutive Etchells World Championship in January, he Skippered Master Lock Commanche to Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore victories and was aboard Rainbow when it came third at the J-Class World Championships.
It was the team results that meant the most to Mayo this season.
“One of the proudest moments for me was crossing the finish line at the Etchells Worlds and I had tears of joy for GT (teammate Graeme Taylor) who had just won his first world title. I was privileged enough to win one back in 1999 and we had two seconds together by very narrow margins, so to see him win that was incredible.”
Western Australian ILCA6 sailor Thomson had a standout season in 2025, claiming her first overall international win at the Sailing Grand Slam regatta in Palma, Spain. Thomson’s 2025 season highlights include a win at Sail Melbourne, 12th at the World Championships and seventh at the Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta, on 2028 Olympic waters.
It was Thomson’s first Female Sailor of the Year Award, and she reflected on what made the difference in her most consistent season yet.
“It’s just all the lessons you reflect on after an Olympics, and the process it took to get there. We also got a new Coach this year who is very high-performance driven and is behind a really great culture we’re building within the team.”
It wasn’t the only time Thomson got to celebrate on the night, with her home club Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club taking out the prestigious Club of the Year (Category A) Award and fellow club member Rob Hubbard winning Official of the Year.
In other major stories from the night, Mayo’s Team Magpie swooped the pool winning Team of the Year and Australian Sailing Team ILCA7 Coach Rafa Trujillo claimed his second consecutive Coach of the Year Award.
Tasmania’s Chris Symonds reclaimed the Para Sailor of the Year Award he won five consecutive times from 2019-23, and off-water contributions were acknowledged with Volunteer of the Year winner Julia Hornsby among them. Hornsby played an integral role in the hugely successful delivery of the 2025 Hansa and Para World Championships at Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club through her role as the Chair of the Organising Authority.
“It’s a great surprise because I’ve been volunteering for a long time and I meet the most wonderful people and athletes doing it,” said Hornsby.
“It’s wonderful that my club are so supportive of everything, and it’s something I would just keep on doing regardless because I love it.”
Australian Sailing extends its sincerest congratulations to all Awards recipients and offers its thanks and gratitude to all finalists for contributing so significantly and positively to the Australian sailing community.
2025 Australian Sailing Award Winners
Female Sailor of the Year – Zoe Thomson (Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club and East Fremantle Yacht Club, WA)
Male Sailor of the Year – James Mayo (Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron and Royal Prince Edward Yacht Club, NSW/ACT)
Team of the Year – Team Magpie (Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, Royal Prince Edward Yacht Club, NSW/ACT)
Para Sailor of the Year – Chris Symonds (Wynyard Yacht Club, TAS)
Youth Sailor of the Year – Rory Meehan (Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron, QLD)
Coach of the Year – Rafael Trujillo (Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron and Australian Sailing Team, QLD)
Club of the Year – Category A – Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club (WA)
Club of the Year – Category B – Saltwater Veterans Sailing Project (NSW/ACT)
Innovation Award – Airlie Beach Race Week (Whitsunday Sailing Club, QLD)
Instructor of the Year – Lucas James (Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron, VIC)
Official of the Year – Rob Hubbard (Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club, WA)
SheSails Award – South Australian Women’s Keelboat Regatta (Cruising Yacht Club of South Australia, SA)
Sport Professional Award – Jacqueline Ellis (Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club, NSW/ACT)
Sport Promotion Award – Making Waves Foundation (NSW/ACT)
Volunteer of the Year – Julia Hornsby (Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, NSW/ACT)
Article by Australian Sailing: https://www.sailing.org.au/news/mayo-thomson-and-rfbyc-winners-at-australian-sailing-awards