Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron’s Ethan Fong and Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club’s Louis Tilly have finished Round Robin 2 level on eight wins from nine matches, both scoring 89%, as the 2026 HARKEN International Youth Match Racing Championship completed its round-robin programme on Pittwater on Saturday.
Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron’s James Hayhoe and Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron’s Robbie Wooldridge finished the second round on seven wins apiece (78%). Across both round robins, Fong and Tilly each recorded 15 victories from 18 matches, with Hayhoe and Wooldridge close behind on 14 from 18. Those are calculated combined records, rather than official tie-break placings.
Getting to the finish line on Day 3 demanded persistence from the sailors and race management team. Light morning winds kept competitors ashore before racing got underway in a north-easterly breeze reported at 10 knots shortly after midday. The fleet completed four flights before thunderstorms and shifting winds brought an interruption.
An initial attempt to resume racing was halted when a major wind shift forced the abandonment of Flight 22, Match 1. After further thunderstorms and heavy rain passed, the race committee displayed the attention signal at 1624hrs, allowing racing to resume. The breeze later built to a reported 13–18 knots from the north-east, and the remaining matches were completed before the official end-of-day announcement at 1810hrs.
For RPAYC, Tilly produced one of Saturday’s standout performances, winning all five of his matches. An early encounter with clubmate Daniel Kemp delivered a close finish: Kemp led at the top mark before Tilly made his move downwind after the final rounding to claim victory. Tilly also overcame Sophie Hart, Massimo Henderson, James Hayhoe and Angus Cameron.
Tilly’s late-afternoon clash with Hayhoe proved particularly consequential. Official commentary recorded a collision at the top mark and a double penalty for Hayhoe, allowing Tilly to move ahead. Hayhoe had earlier beaten Fong in a major contest between the leaders, but later suffered defeats to both Tilly and Wooldridge. Wooldridge was the other unbeaten skipper on Saturday, winning six matches from six, including victories over Kemp and Hayhoe. His final win against Heidi Ferguson completed a match deferred from the previous day’s programme. Fong added four wins from five matches on Saturday and signed off his round robin with victory over Kemp.
RPAYC’s Ash Napper added wins over Cameron and Henderson, passing the latter downwind to establish an advantage, while Kemp defeated Ferguson and Napper. Sophie Hart added a win over Napper following the weather interruption, demonstrating the competitiveness running through the ten-team fleet.
The completion of all 90 matches across two round robins leaves four leading skippers separated by only one victory in the combined records. Their head-to-head results promise an absorbing Sunday: Fong has beaten Tilly in both round robins, Tilly has twice defeated Wooldridge, and Wooldridge has beaten Hayhoe twice. The outcome of the semi-finals is far from settled by those earlier meetings.
Racing is scheduled to resume at 1000hrs AEDT on Sunday 15 November, when attention turns to the semi-finals, championship final and petit final. The official semi-final pairings will be available tomorrow morning after the daily briefing.
RPAYC thanks naming rights sponsor Harken Australia, the race management team, umpires and volunteers for their support of the championship and the sailors competing on Pittwater. The FINALS are scheduled at 10:00 am AEDT on Sunday 15 November.
Images: Credit DownUnderSail
Follow the regatta on social media:
https://www.facebook.com/royalprincealfredyachtclub/
https://www.instagram.com/rpayc/
View the 2026 HARKEN International Youth Match Racing page HERE
#Harken #YouthMatchRacing #Sailing2026 #RPAYC #MatchRacing
Interested in seeing more Racing News? Click here
