By Harry Fisher, Down Under Sail
Louis Tilly and his Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club crew of William Hough, William Troop and Oliver Ross have won the 2026 Australian Youth Match Racing Championship, sweeping Ben Crafoord 3-0 in today’s final at Royal Geelong Yacht Club.
The RPAYC team won all five of their races on a grey final day on Corio Bay, with Tilly crediting his crew’s performance that helped him to recover from difficult positions.
Crafoord had won all three of the pair’s round-robin meetings, but Tilly reversed that record when the national title was on the line.
“It’s incredible. The three guys in front of me have just done an incredible job all week,” Tilly said.
“They really put in the hard yards today. They made me look pretty good.
“They definitely got me out of a couple of hard situations today, and just being able to sail the boat quick and get around Ben in the finals in some of those races.”
The championship was presented by DYSC Marine Supplies and hosted by Royal Geelong Yacht Club in conjunction with Australian Sailing.
Tilly began Sunday with a 2-0 semi-final win over Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron’s James Hayhoe before meeting Cruising Yacht Club of Australia skipper Crafoord in the best-of-five final.
His team then won the opening two races, leaving Crafoord needing three consecutive wins to take the title, however Tilly was too strong, clinching the third to complete an unbeaten day.
While the scoreline was decisive, Tilly described having to recover from problems with their spinnaker sets, crediting his crew again for resolving issues quickly and getting the boat moving again.
“We were quick all day,” he said.
The victory added a national title to Tilly’s recent Open Match Racing Regatta win at Geelong, with the team again finding success in RGYC’s RS21 fleet.
Tilly said his crew had always believed they could beat Crafoord and Hayhoe, who had attracted much of the attention heading into, and during, the championship.
“In our hearts we always thought we had it in us to take it out, and we went out there today and proved it,” he said.
“We had a big meeting last night and early this morning, and we really sat down and thought about how much we wanted it.
“Today was definitely about grit and determination.”
Crafoord reached the final with a 2-0 semi-final win over Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club’s Angus Cameron, which followed 16 wins from 18 round-robin races.
He remained pleased with his team’s regatta despite the final result.
“Still happy with everything. Just got to keep on working hard and training,” Crafoord said.
Hayhoe secured third place with a 2-0 win over Cameron in the petit final. Cameron finished fourth after his five-win Saturday earned the Western Australian team a semi-final place.
No additional racing was held to decide fifth to seventh, with organisers moving straight into the knockout program. Mornington Yacht Club’s Digby Taylor finished fifth, followed by Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron’s Massimo Henderson in sixth, and Cruising Yacht Club of South Australia’s Fraser Baker in seventh.
RGYC Commodore Phil Francis said the championship had demonstrated the value of the club’s investment in its RS21 fleet and its ability to host national competition.
“When we bought the RS21s there was a lot of debate about whether spending that amount of money on a fleet of one-design boats was going to be worthwhile,” Francis said.
“I think we’ve proven that it is worthwhile with some amazingly competitive racing.”
Francis said the club’s Victorian Sailing Centre provided further opportunities to attract national regattas, while events such as the youth match racing championship helped encourage ongoing participation.
For Tilly, the venue also made an impression.
“We love this boat, we love the place,” he said.
“This regatta’s been so incredible, and we’ve just had such a great time that we’re really keen to come back.”
The 2026 Australian Youth Match Racing Championship was presented by DYSC Marine Supplies, with support from Garner Marine Services and Bull Sails, and hosted by Royal Geelong Yacht Club in conjunction with Australian Sailing.
FINAL PLACINGS
1. Louis Tilly – Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club
2. Ben Crafoord – Cruising Yacht Club of Australia
3. James Hayhoe – Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron
4. Angus Cameron – Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club
5. Digby Taylor – Mornington Yacht Club
6. Massimo Henderson – Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron
7. Fraser Baker – Cruising Yacht Club of South Australia
