Three very different seasons on the water have produced three finalists for Female Sailor of the Year at the 2026 Australian Sailing Awards: a round-the-world record holder, a history-making Rolex Sydney Hobart skipper and the reigning champion.
Stacey Jackson (QLD), Jiang Lin (NSW/ACT) and Zoe Thomson OLY (WA) each delivered landmark results across offshore and Olympic sailing this year, making it one of the most keenly contested categories of the night.
The awards will be presented at the Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour on Friday, October 30. Winners join an honour roll stacked with Olympic medallists, world champions and genuine legends of the sport.
Jackson made history in January 2026 as part of the first all-female crew to sail non-stop around the world. She completed the Trophée Jules Verne aboard the maxi trimaran IDEC Sport with The Famous Project CIC in 57 days, 21 hours and 20 minutes, her third lap of the globe after two Volvo Ocean Races with Team SCA and Vestas 11th Hour Racing. The record also makes her the fastest Australian ever to sail non-stop around the globe.
She backed that up by representing Australia at the RORC Offshore Double Handed World Championship in Cowes alongside James Whelan, finishing 12th in a 21-boat fleet, as well as second in the TP52 Gold Cup, fourth at the Sardinia Cup aboard Jolt 3 and fifth in ORR Division 1 at the Pacific Cup aboard Merlin. A veteran of 17 Sydney Hobarts, she also helped form 'Women Racing' with long-time sailing partner Katie Spithill to represent Australia at the inaugural New York Yacht Club International Women's Match Racing Championship.
Jiang Lin's season will be remembered for one result above all. She became the first female skipper in the 80-year history of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race to win the overall IRC title, steering the double-handed JPK 10.230 Min River with Alexis Loison to the Tattersall Cup ahead of a fleet of 103 boats, also becoming the race's first double-handed winner.
Jiang backed it up with second overall in the Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore, victory in the Wild Rose Pointscore and fourth in the double-handed division of the Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race. The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia named her both its Female Ocean Racer of the Year and Double-Handed Ocean Racer of the Year. She has also become a role model for women aiming to skipper their own boats, sharing her story through the CYCA's Offshore Pathways Information Evening Series and volunteering on the club's start boat.
Zoe Thomson OLY, last year's Female Sailor of the Year, climbed to seventh in the World Sailing ILCA6 rankings on the back of sixth at the 2025 ILCA European Championships and ninth at the Sailing Grand Slam Trofeo Princesa Sofía Regatta. She was the first Australian at the 2025-26 ILCA Australian Nationals, finishing third overall, and placed fifth at Sail Melbourne. She also represented Australia at French Olympic Week, finishing 15th, and the San Pedro Olympic Classes Regatta, finishing 22nd.
Alongside her campaign, Thomson coached at Westsail, mentoring emerging sailors as she continues chasing selection for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. Whoever takes the title on October 30, the standard set by this trio leaves no doubt that women's sailing in Australia has never been stronger.
