Stacey Jackson and Matt Wearn OAM OLY have been crowned Female and Male Sailor of the Year at the 2026 Australian Sailing Awards in Sydney, while Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club made history as the first club to win back-to-back Club of the Year honours in Category A.
Jackson's win capped a strong year for women's sailing. She beat out two finalists who had each made history in their own right: Jiang Lin, the first woman to skipper an overall winner of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, and 2025 Australian Female Sailor of the Year Zoe Thomson OLY.
Jackson was part of the first all-female crew to complete a non-stop, unassisted circumnavigation of the globe chasing the Jules Verne Trophy, finishing in 57 days, 21 hours and 20 minutes and becoming the fastest Australian to sail non-stop around the world.
"It's a huge achievement for me to finally win the award," the Queenslander said. "I've been a finalist before, but to get the recognition for my offshore sailing, in particular competing in the Jules Verne Trophy, I'm hugely proud of it. I'm also so happy to have the discipline of offshore sailing promoted on a national level."
Western Australian Matt Wearn claimed the men's award for a fourth time after a dominant return to ILCA sailing, winning three Sailing Grand Slam events and securing his seventh Australian National Championship title.
"It's been great getting back into the ILCA," Wearn said. "Having eighteen months away from it after Paris gave me the perspective I needed to come back into the Olympic world."
He added that this year felt different from his earlier wins. "I think the success of this year probably makes it a little bit more special. 2024 was great with that performance at the Games, but it was four major regatta wins this year which is something I hadn't done before."
Wearn's coach, Rafa Trujillo OLY, picked up Coach of the Year for the third year running, recognised for guiding the double Olympic champion through his comeback to ILCA competition.
Kairos Racing took Team of the Year honours after a historic Congressional Cup win, with the team's skipper becoming the youngest sailor to claim the prestigious match-racing title.
Western Australian Genevieve Wickham won her second Para Sailor of the Year award, recognised for another strong year of international results.
Royal Freshwater Bay's commodore, Mark Tremain, credited the club's sustained success to its people. "It's a testament to all our members and staff and the time they put in, along with the endless hours of volunteer work, that goes towards making the club what it is," he said. "Through focusing on the love of the sport and fostering sailing at the grassroots level we have built a great culture at the club."
Goolwa Regatta Yacht Club won Club of the Year in Category B after lifting membership by 30 percent, while the South Australian Women's Keelboat Regatta retained the SheSails Award for a second year running.
Tasmanian Emma Hooper was named Volunteer of the Year for her work at Sandy Bay Sailing Club and her contributions to the Cadet Class at both national and international levels.
"I get involved with grassroots sailing because I've had a fantastic experience growing up as a young sailor and I want to pass on that love of sailing to the next generation," Hooper said. "Sandy Bay is a club overwhelmingly made up of volunteers, so I feel like this trophy might have my name on it, but it really belongs to all the other volunteers."
