Oceanbridge NZ Match Racing: Exciting Semi-Finals precede 3-0 title win by Hyde

Waitemata Racing Team win Oceanbridge 2026 New Zealand Match Racing Championship Pictured from left: Mason Mulcahy, Oliver Lloyd, Nelsen Meacham, Josh Hyde, Nick Drummond, Jack Frewin and Marin Armstrong-Wills © RNZYS / Robyn Ashton

Josh Hyde and his crew have won the 2026 Oceanbridge New Zealand Match Racing Championship, defeating Ethan Fong 3-0 in the final at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. Harry Thurston completed the podium, beating Noah Malpot 2-0 in the petit final.

The victory marks Hyde's first New Zealand Match Racing Championship title, adding his name to an honours board that includes Dean Barker, Nick Egnot-Johnson, Chris Steele, Phil Robertson, Gavin Brady and many more of the sport's biggest names.

Hyde, representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, sailed with Nick Drummond, Jack Frewin, Mason Mulcahy, Marin Armstrong-Wills, Nelsen Meacham and Oliver Lloyd in an event that brought the national championship back to the Farr MRX keelboats for the first time since 2011.

Both semi-finals went the distance. Hyde entered Sunday with a 1-0 advantage over Thurston, but consecutive wins put Thurston ahead 2-1. Hyde responded with two victories to secure his place in the final.

Fong produced an equally determined comeback against Malpot. Trailing 2-0, he won three consecutive races to advance to the final against Hyde.

A final between Hyde and Fong was perhaps always on the cards. Both have come through the RNZYS Youth Training and Performance Programmes and have faced each other countless times, with the outcome usually anyone's guess. This time, Hyde carried the momentum of a highly successful international season into the final. His victory at the Chicago Grand Slam and overall success in the US Grand Slam Series earned him an invitation to the prestigious 2027 Congressional Cup. He rounded out that run with a 3-0 win over Fong to claim the national title.

"The team really enjoyed racing on home waters in the MRX fleet. It was a fresh and welcome change to the format and valuable preparation for international events. Opportunities to match race bigger boats are fairly limited down under, so it was great to get that experience and come away with the win," says Hyde.

"Next up is a tour for us: the Helly Hansen International in Sydney, the Warren Jones Regatta in Perth, and then onto the WMRT Final in Amaala, Saudi Arabia."

For Thurston, a podium finish surpassed his modest pre-event ambition of reaching the semi-finals. After pushing Hyde to five races in their semi-final, Thurston and his crew secured third place with a 2-0 win over Malpot.

Sam Scott secured fifth place with a 2-0 playoff win over Erica Dawson.

The move from Elliott 7s to the 10.3-metre MRXs provided a fresh test of boat handling, coordination and tactics. It also offered younger crews valuable experience in larger keelboats, which feature widely on the international open match racing circuit.

For Dawson's Emirates Team New Zealand representative crew, the regatta provided an opportunity to develop communication and match racing skills together.

"Doing the match racing nationals is a great opportunity for us involved in the youth and women's America's Cup to get time racing together as a team. We will use this event to work on our communication skills as a team and to build match racing skills and understanding," Dawson said before racing.

"We spend so many hours training indoors on an AC40 simulator, it will be fun to get on the water!"

The field also reflected the enduring contribution of the Squadron's youth development pathway.

Around 70% of the sailors competing over the weekend have come through the RNZYS Youth Training Programme pathway. With America's Cup sailors, world champions and talent across generations, the fleet highlighted the depth of sailing talent the programme has produced over its 39 years.

Next year marks the Emirate's Team New Zealand Youth Training Programme's 40th anniversary, and the RNZYS is calling out to all alumni to get involved and make it a really special occasion. RNZYS Sailing Manager Ella Sagnol said "We'd love to see alumni return to race in next year's championship, reconnect with old teammates and help celebrate a legacy that has produced some of the world's best match racing athletes."

RNZYS thanks naming sponsor Oceanbridge, MRX Yachting, the race management team led by Race Officer Paula Satterthwaite, and the umpire team led by Chief Umpire Ryan Parkin for their support in delivering the championship. With the first day's racing lost, one round robin was removed from the schedule. The race management and umpire teams worked tirelessly together to deliver two round robins and the full knockout stages within a compressed two-day window.

Final placings — skippers and crews

Josh Hyde — Nick Drummond, Jack Frewin, Mason Mulcahy, Marin Armstrong-Wills, Nelsen Meacham and Oliver Lloyd.

Ethan Fong — Lucas Day, Hugo McMullen, Ollie Gilmore, Wilbur Stanley and Sam Clarke.

Harry Thurston — Guy Pilkington, Robbs Hielkema, Arnau Farras-Knowles, Jon Barnett and Theodore Graham.

Noah Malpot — Rye Brady, Zak Merton, Luca Smith, Tayne Haag and Will Mason.

Sam Scott — Finn Balchin, Tim McCulloch, Ben Roff, Macgregor Jones, James Hopkins and Alissa Marshall.

Erica Dawson — Molly Meech, George Lee Rush, Serena Woodall, Lachlan Wills, Matt Steven and Helena Sanderson.

For event information and results: visit the event website