The 2026 RYA National Match Racing Championship delivered three days of spectacular competition as eleven teams duelled for supremacy at London’s Queen Mary Sailing Club. The event culminated in a dramatic final between brothers Ben and Jamie Tylecote, with Jamie’s crew ultimately claiming the coveted title.
Bringing together the UK’s top match racers alongside an international entry from Ireland, the racing aboard Royal Thames Yacht Club’s fleet of Sonar keelboats was incredibly tight. More than half the teams emerged from the round robin stages with genuine ambitions of taking a shot at the championship.
Excellent conditions across all three days from 16 to 18 October 2026 provided the perfect backdrop, with relatively steady winds of 10 to 15 knots, occasional gusts into the 20s, and rain holding off until after racing concluded.
Event Director Jessica Beecher, RYA Racing Development and Universities Officer, praised the conditions and competition. “We had perfect weather all weekend that was optimal for match racing, challenging but with no need to reef, and the teams were able to use spinnakers and sail the boats how they wanted. All of the sailors got so much racing in, everyone was really happy with their weekend,” she said.
Beecher added that the favourable conditions allowed more racing than originally planned, with semi-finals decided by first to three wins rather than two. “It was really tight competition and out of the top six anyone could have won because it was very, very close racing.”
Competitors ranged from top match racers to a team of sailors all aged 14 to 16, skippered by Felix Garlick, who won the Under-19 RYA Youth Match Racing 2026 title. Although some of the young team had never match raced before or done any previous Sonar sailing, other teams were generous with their time and mentored the young sailors, who celebrated winning a repechage race.
At the end of the round robin, Matt Greenfield and Jamie Tylecote topped the leader board with a 90 percent success rate, each claiming nine race wins out of 10. Ben Tylecote and Julian Fung sat in third and fourth overall respectively with seven race wins each. A repechage for teams in ninth to eleventh was won by the team of Luke Knezevic.
The quarter finals produced emphatic 2-0 results across the board, with Matt Greenfield defeating Ireland’s Tom Coulter, Jamie Tylecote overcoming Oli Hale, Ben Tylecote beating Matt Tayler, and Julian Fung dispatching Terry Hacker.
Ben Tylecote and Matt Greenfield took their semi-final all the way to five matches, with the result settled in the final throws of the last race. Greenfield had been leading but needed to clear a penalty on the downwind leg to the finish, then hit the pin mark as well, costing his team the race and a place in the final.
In the other semi-final, Jamie Tylecote dispatched Julian Fung’s team 3-0, setting the scene for a gripping final against his brother Ben. Each brought a sibling insight into the other’s thinking, along with extensive match racing experience from training and competing together. Both brothers, along with several other sailors at the event, have honed their skills through the youth and keelboat coaching available at their home club Rutland Sailing Club.
Ben took the first race win before Jamie equalised and then edged ahead. Ben levelled the scores again before Jamie and his team of Max Sydenham, Gracie Joslin, and Sam Osborne took the deciding race to become the 2026 RYA National Match Racing Champions. Superior boat speed and handling ultimately made the difference.
Winning skipper Jamie reflected on the achievement. “The training at Rutland has given us a great platform for sailing and match racing. It was really fun racing against Ben and they sailed great after a really close semi-final. Rutland Sailing Club allowed us to train all summer preparing for the Youth Match Racing Worlds in Denmark, and all of that carried over to this event, meaning we came in-form and ready to go.”
Jamie also praised his crew. “My team was also brilliant. Gracie and Sam meant our boat handling was perfect and having Max trimming was awesome, especially as he only agreed to fill in this week and it was his first match racing event ever. Not a bad way to start!”
A repechage for fifth to eighth places was comprehensively won by Oli Hale. In the Petit Final between the event’s top World Sailing ranked match racers, Greenfield, ranked 34th, defeated Fung, ranked 40th, by 2-1 to claim third overall.
The Royal Thames Yacht Club was thanked by the RYA for chartering their Sonar fleet and RIBs, along with Queen Mary Sailing Club for hosting. Appreciation was also shown for the volunteer race officials who made the event possible, including PRO Ann Roy assisted by Kirsty Eaton, Chief Umpire Alan Baser, and the umpire team of Greg Eaton, Paul Robson, Steve Proctor, Conall Bryce, and Steph Gunn and Will Massey.
It was a winning weekend for British match racers both at home and abroad. Christian Hamilton, formerly a regular competitor at the RYA National Match Racing Championship, sailed with match racing legend Ian Williams, record holder for the most wins of the GBR title, to claim victory at the Bermuda Gold Cup.
The Bermuda Gold Cup is the penultimate stage of the 2026 World Match Racing Tour, which is scheduled to conclude at Amaala, Saudi Arabia alongside the final of the Women’s World Match Racing Tour. Both events offer an equal prize purse of 200,000 dollars, with the women’s event representing the largest prize ever offered for an all-female sailing competition.
Next up on the UK circuit is the sold-out RYA Schools Match Racing Championship over the weekend of 20 to 21 November 2026. The discipline continues to grow, with resources and information available for those looking to get involved.
