Eight sailors from Mornington Yacht Club have returned from Sweden after representing Australia and Oceania at the 2026 Team Racing World Championships in Stockholm, completing a journey that began with qualification almost a year earlier. 

Lachie Weber, Lottie Wormald, James Jackson, Will McKenzie, Lulu Di Sciascio, Jack Furey, Heath Jones and Maddy English earned their opportunity through the Australian 2K Team Racing National Championships before being nominated by Australian Sailing and selected to compete on the world stage. 

 With an average age of just 21, the Australians were one of the youngest teams in a highly experienced international fleet that included Olympic and World Championship sailors. 

The racing itself presented a significant learning curve. 

Competition was held on Riddarfjärden in the heart of Stockholm, surrounded by the city’s buildings, islands and varied topography. The venue produced highly changeable wind direction and pressure, adding another tactical challenge to an already demanding form of racing. 

The championship also used a compact digital M course with defined boundaries, creating an arena-style racing environment similar to that seen in competitions such as SailGP. For many of the Australians, racing within strict boundaries was unfamiliar, with small mistakes capable of quickly changing the outcome of the short, fast races. 

 Despite a challenging start to the championship, the Mornington team made noticeable gains as the week progressed. 

A highlight was a race victory over Japan, while later in the series the Australians produced increasingly close contests against teams from Sweden, Finland and the United States. 

One of their strongest performances came against the American combination that would ultimately win the World Championship. Australia led the eventual champions through to Mark 5 before the race swung back in favour of the Americans. 

Those moments became an important measure of the team’s progression. As familiarity with the boats, course boundaries and Stockholm conditions increased, starts improved, communication sharpened and the Australians increasingly found themselves competing closely with some of the strongest teams at the event. 

The week also included a visit from the Deputy Australian Ambassador to Sweden, providing a memorable opportunity for the team to share their experience of representing Australia internationally. 

Getting the eight sailors to Stockholm was itself a significant community effort. 

More than 100 people attended a fundraising trivia night at Mornington Yacht Club ahead of the championship, with the wider campaign also supported by the MYC Foundation, Ronstan, club members, families, local businesses and supporters. 

 That backing helped turn qualification into an achievable international campaign for the young team. 

 The experience will also extend beyond the World Championship. Several members of the team are involved in coaching within Mornington Yacht Club’s junior and youth programs and will now bring lessons from Stockholm back into the club environment. 

For the eight sailors, Stockholm was about much more than a final finishing position. It was an opportunity to represent Australia, race against some of the world’s most accomplished sailors and progressively close the gap throughout a demanding international championship. 

For a team with an average age of just 21, it was also an important step in what they hope will be a much longer journey in the sport. 

Words: Mornington Yacht Club