Three heavyweights of Australian sailing are shaping up for a genuine showdown at the 2026 Australian Sailing Awards, with the Male Sailor of the Year category set to come down to a two-time Olympic champion, an Olympic silver medallist and one of the busiest offshore navigators on the world circuit.
Matt Wearn OAM OLY of Western Australia, Grae Morris OLY of NSW/ACT and Andy Green, also representing NSW/ACT, will contest the title at Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour on Friday, October 30. Whoever takes it home joins a roll of honour stacked with Olympic and world champions.
Green's year was headlined by navigating Master Lock Comanche to line honours in the 2025 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, the centrepiece of a packed international campaign.
He guided Jolt to victory at the 2026 IMA Maxi European Championship, steered Mockingbird to first in the 2026 Chicago to Mackinac Race, took Katana to the win at the GL52 Ugotta Regatta, and brought Jolt home third at the 2026 Sardinia Cup. He also provided meteorology support behind Magpie's win at the 2026 Etchells World Championship in San Diego.
Closer to home, he helped TP52 Hooligan claim IRC Division 1 at Hamilton Island Race Week and the TP52 Australia Cup. Calm under pressure and meticulous in his preparation, he remains known for mentoring emerging navigators.
Morris, still just 22, has barely put a foot wrong since taking silver at the Paris Olympic Games. He held the men's iQFOiL world number one ranking from September 2024 through to May 2026, won the iQFOiL U23 World Championship in Portimão in September 2025 against a fleet of 95, and won the Sailing Grand Slam French Olympic Week in Hyères in April 2026.
He finished seventh at the 2026 iQFOiL European Championships, then built a commanding 43-point lead in the qualifying series at the Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta in July. The cut-throat nature of the finals series saw him finish with silver on the future Olympic waters.
He also won Sail Melbourne, the Australian Nationals and the New Zealand iQFOiL Nationals. A sixth-place finish at the 2025 Wingfoil Racing World Championships in Italy shows there's more than one string to his bow.
Wearn, fresh off back-to-back Olympic gold medals, returned to international ILCA 7 competition in 2026 and simply kept winning. Three Sailing Grand Slam regattas fell his way: the Trofeo Princesa Sofía in Palma, French Olympic Week in Hyères and the San Pedro Olympic Classes Regatta on the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic racecourse.
Representing Royal Perth Yacht Club at home, he won six races on the way to the 2026 Oceania and Australian ILCA Championships, marking his seventh national title, along with victory at Sail Melbourne. He also raced offshore aboard Leopard 3, finishing first in the RORC Caribbean 600 and second at the 2026 IMA Maxi European Championship.
A passionate ambassador for grassroots sailing, Wearn regularly shares his knowledge with Royal Perth Yacht Club youth sailors, coaches and members. A highlight of his year was the Questmas Cup, where he raced alongside junior sailors in RS Quest dinghies, a fitting measure of a champion who hasn't lost sight of where the sport begins.
