2026 Australian Contender Nationals at South Lake Macquarie Amateur Sailing Club - Overall
by Ross Hansen 16 Jan 21:05 PST
12-15 January 2026
2026 Australian Contender Nationals © Andrew Fisher
The final showdown saw Mark Bulka (Vic) take out the 2026 Australian Contender Nationals with 2 bullets in a cracking 20+ knot Nor Easter.
But he was pushed all the way by many over the event including Geoff Fisher (QLD) finishing in 2nd place and fast finishing Sam Ellis (NSW) snatching 3rd place off Simon Barwood (WA) in 4th & Andrew Webster (ACT) just hanging onto his 5th placing.
The final results sailed in champagne conditions had 5 different states represented in top 5 which really shows the coverage contenders have across Australia.
Overall Results: (top five)
1. Mark Bulka (VIC) - 10 pts
2. Geoff Fisher (QLD) - 23 pts
3. Sam Ellis (NSW) - 25 pts
4. Simon Barwood - 28 pts
5. Andre Webster (ACT/NSW) - 39pts
Emily Stilgoe (QLD) took out the female and Junior trophy too, well done.
Full results available here.
The whole event went so smoothly and will forever be in everyone's memories. The club ran such a professional event and really stamped themselves as a premier racing location at Sunshine SLMASC. Thankyou to race officers and volunteers amazing effort. All 10 races completed on time and without incidents.
Final day championship-defining races were brought to you by two powerhouses of the Contender class:
- RX Boatworks (Tony Arends): Our premier Australian builder. Tony's boats are the gold standard for quality and speed. We are incredibly lucky to have his support and craftsmanship right here in Australia.
- C-Tech: High-performance carbon fiber specialists from NZ. From masts to booms, C-Tech components are designed to handle the massive loads of a Contender while maintaining the perfect bend profile for maximum speed.
Presentation was a great occasion after sailing in club house catered professionally and then a belter southerly and storm hit once finished, summing up how perfectly the weather cooperated with the sailing.
The Big Prize: Went to Contender 271 Nick Wood- Freeman with a brand-new RX Boatworks rudder donated by Tony Arends! Wow what a prize! Thx Tony
One last big thank you to the brands that make this class thrive:
The best sailor won so congratulations to this years Australian Champion & 5 times world champion Mark Bulka.