Narrow Margins and Shifting Leads at the Nationals

27 February 2026

Narrow Margins and Shifting Leads at the 2026 Etchells Australian Nationals

The 2026 Etchells Australian National Championship delivered three days of tightly contested racing on the Swan River, hosted by the Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club, with multiple crews taking turns at the front before the title was decided by the slimmest of margins.

Day 1: Light Air Patience Tested

The regatta opened in patchy, testing conditions, with sailors waiting for breeze to settle before racing got underway. When it did, the fleet immediately showed its depth.

The Croc and The Don were prominent in the opening exchanges of Race 1, while Chilly Bin and Barracuda stayed in close contact. Azure, Ratpack and Forte fought hard through the shifts, keeping the scoreboard tight.

Race 2 reshuffled the order again. Ratpack showed early speed, but Azure capitalised on a late shift to secure the win. Highlander and Forte also posted strong results, ensuring no single crew established a commanding early lead. After the opening day, points were tightly bunched, with several boats well within reach of the top spot.

Day 2: Pressure Builds

More consistent breeze on Day 2 brought intensified tactical battles. The Croc strengthened its position with composed front-of-fleet sailing, while Briar Patch produced one of the day’s standout performances, edging Chilly Bin in a close contest.

Ratpack, Highlander, Yo! and others remained firmly in the hunt, trading places across races as small gains upwind or at mark roundings translated into significant shifts on the leaderboard. By the end of the day, the overall standings were still tight, setting up a decisive final series.

Final Day: Title Decided by a Sliver

Going into the concluding races, The Croc, helmed by Michael Manford, held the advantage after a consistent regatta. However, Azure, skippered by Chris Pratt, remained within striking distance.

The final races delivered exactly the drama expected from such a compressed leaderboard. When the series concluded — and following a protest decision — Azure edged The Croc to claim the national title by the narrowest of margins.

Skipper Grantham Kitto secured third overall aboard Ratpack, capping a consistent series that kept pressure on the leaders throughout. Behind the podium, boats including Highlander, The Don, Briar Patch and Chilly Bin all recorded top-race finishes during the regatta, reflecting the depth and competitiveness of the fleet.

Depth Across the Fleet

Across nine races, no crew dominated from start to finish. Instead, the championship was defined by adaptability to shifting river conditions, disciplined starts and minimising high-score finishes.

With multiple race winners, constant leaderboard changes and a final result settled by the smallest of margins, the 2026 Etchells Australian Nationals reinforced the class’s reputation for close, tactical one-design racing at the highest domestic level.

Reflections on the 2026 Nationals from the Swan River Fleet

Sailors

As always in Etchells, the fleet was full of successful sailors:

Mike Manford with Dean McAullay and Nick Gray - past Open and Corinthian National Etchells Champion
Peter McNeil – past World Etchells Champion
Dirk van der Struyf – past Corinthian National Etchells Champion
Peter Robson – UK and European Beneteau 40.7 champion
Ethan McAullay – AUS Laser team (and top 20 Laser sailor in the world)
Chris Pratt - dual Olympian, Barrenjoey Pin and multiple national Finn champion.

Racing and Vakaros

This was another Etchells regatta using the Vakaros systems. The highlights were:

The system was turning on well in advance of start times giving sailors long notification times of start times and the race officer used the plots of boats going upwind to inform course angle settings.
The RO always started with a ‘P’ flag and there were no General Recalls meaning minimal time between races.

On the River

Locating racing on the Swan River was a great innovation. It made the racing more visible, more local and less brutal on equipment. The river turned on all its weather – light and shifty south easterlies, a couple of still Fremantle Doctor breezes and a challenging northly for the last day. The Race Committee used the whole river and had great course lengths.

Presentation

A classic Etchells presentation at Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club. A packed room of competitors, volunteers and guests, with a sit down meal and plenty of humour and good sportsmanship. The first three boats and Peter Ahern’s ‘Yo’ are invariably swapping places on the podium at State level and the goodwill between them was palpable. A great ending to a terrific Etchells regatta.

In the words of Etchells Swan River President Dirk van der Struyf, "A wonderful festival for Etchells sailors with 17 races across the States and Nationals. Incredibly tight racing with variable conditions made for a spectacular sight on the beautiful Swan River. Congratulations to all sailors and volunteers for making these regatta’s a huge success."

Final Results

AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP - The Skip Etchells Trophy
1st Chris Pratt, Ethan McAullay, Michael McAullay, Azure AUS1400
2nd Michael Manford, Dean McAullay, Nick Gray, The Croc AUS1402
3rd Grantham Kitto, Ethan Prieto-Low, Adam Brenz-Verca, The Rat AUS1462

AUSTRALIAN CORINTHIAN CHAMPION
Chris Pratt, Ethan McAullay, Michael McAullay, Azure AUS1400

AUSTRALIAN MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIP – The Roger Dane Trophy
Chris Pratt, Ethan McAullay, Michael McAullay, Azure AUS1400

AUSTRALIAN GRAND MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIP
Michael Manford, Dean McAullay, Nick Gray, The Croc AUS1402

Results

News & Media

Thanks for the media coverage and photos, Tom Hodge Media

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