Louis Tilly completed the perfect comeback on finals day, sweeping Ben Crafoord 3-0 in Sunday's final to claim the 2026 Australian Youth Match Racing Championship at Royal Geelong Yacht Club.
It was a complete reversal of fortune. Crafoord had beaten Tilly in all three of their round-robin meetings earlier in the regatta, but the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club skipper, sailing with William Hough, William Troop and Oliver Ross, won all five of his races on a grey day out on Corio Bay to take the title.
"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."
Tilly's team won the first two races of the final, leaving Crafoord needing three straight wins to retain any hope of the title. He never got close. Tilly took the third race to seal it, capping an unbeaten day that began with a 2-0 semi-final win over Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron's James Hayhoe.
Spinnaker troubles threatened to derail the final, but Tilly pointed to his crew's composure under pressure. "We were quick all day," he said.
The win builds on Tilly's recent Open Match Racing Regatta victory at the same venue, both triumphs coming in Royal Geelong's RS21 fleet. He admitted the team had quietly backed itself all along, despite Crafoord and Hayhoe drawing most of the pre-event attention.
"In our hearts we always thought we had it in us to take it out, and we went out there today and proved it," Tilly 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, who won 16 of 18 round-robin races before beating Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club's Angus Cameron 2-0 in the semi-final, took the runner-up finish in his stride. "Still happy with everything. Just got to keep on working hard and training," he said.
Hayhoe claimed third 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 programme. Mornington Yacht Club's Digby Taylor finished fifth, Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron's Massimo Henderson sixth, and Cruising Yacht Club of South Australia's Fraser Baker seventh.
Royal Geelong Yacht Club Commodore Phil Francis said the regatta justified the club's investment in its RS21 one-design fleet. "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," he said. "I think we've proven that it is worthwhile with some amazingly competitive racing."
Francis added that the club's Victorian Sailing Centre gave it further scope to attract national regattas, and that events like this one helped encourage ongoing participation.
Tilly, for his part, was already looking forward to a return visit. "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 championship was presented by DYSC Marine Supplies, supported by Garner Marine Services and Bull Sails, and hosted by Royal Geelong Yacht Club in conjunction with Australian Sailing.
