Victory for Ben Crafoord's youth team
by Frank Quealey 6 Sep 04:33 PDT
Ben Crafoord, Eddie Reid, Jacob Marks and Max Nearn (CYCA) win the OCIUS Youth Match Racing Championship 2026 © CYCA / Ashley Dart
The Australian 18 Footers League's 2026-27 season fleet will feature some of the best young sailing talent in Australia when the 18ft skiffs racing begins on Sydney Harbour next month.
While the full list of teams is yet to be officially announced, three of last year's young stars who will be back in 2026-27 are Ben Crafoord (skipper of Rag & Famish Hotel), Jacob Marks (skipper of Sixt) and Max Nearn (bowman on Rag & Famish Hotel).
All three recently competed strongly in the international 18ft skiff regatta at Lake Garda, Italy. Crafoord's Rag & Famish Hotel finished in 3rd place and Marks' Sixt was 4th in the 20-boat fleet. Both won races at the regatta and were consistently in the top four placegetters in each race.
Back in Australia, last week Crafoord, Marks and Nearn, along with Eddie Reid, added another title to their impressive bios when they won the 2026 Ocius NSW Youth Match Racing Championship, which was conducted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia.
The CYCA has hosted every NSW Youth Match Racing Championship since its inception in 2001. For the 2026 championship, it was joined by Ocius as the Naming Rights Partner.
The CYCA reported, "The final day of the 2026 OCIUS New South Wales Youth Match Racing Championship has delivered a thrilling conclusion at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, with CYCA's Ben Crafoord, Eddie Reid, Jacob Marks and Max Nearn defeating RSYS's James Hayhoe 3 - 2 to claim the title."
"After finishing the opening day just one point behind the leading pair, Crafoord produced a strong performance throughout Sunday's finals racing to progress through a closely contested semi-final before overcoming Hayhoe in the championship decider."
"Crafoord faced Louis Tilly in semi-finals, with the pair trading wins through the opening four races. Crafoord claimed the deciding fifth match to secure a 3-2 victory and a place in the final."
"Hayhoe's semi-final against CYCA's Craig Wright followed a similar pattern. The two competitors exchanged victories throughout the series before Hayhoe claimed the fifth and deciding race to progress to the final with a 3 - 2 win."
"The championship final proved to be another tightly fought contest. Hayhoe took the opening two matches, putting himself in a strong position to claim the title, however Crafoord responded to win the next three consecutive races and complete an impressive comeback to secure the 2026 Ocius NSW Youth Match Racing Championship."
Ben was naturally happy with the victory, "It was great to win with Eddie, Jacob and Max, they were fantastic and sailed exceptionally well. It was also Jacob and Max's first match racing regatta."
"The match racing in Elliott 7s is obviously very different to the 18s as you are not going near as fast and you only have one boat to worry about, not an entire fleet." Adding, "I think it's great to sail as many different boats as possible, you get to learn different skills and race other people you may not come across."
Come October 11, Ben and Max (Rag & Famish Hotel) and Jacob (Sixt) will be in strong competition as both teams line up for the opening race of the Australian 18 Footers League's 2026-27 season.