Last week, 11 junior sailors from East Fremantle Yacht Club represented EFYC at the 2026 Zhik YouthSail Coaching Clinic and Championships. The event was hosted by Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club. It brought together young sailors from across Western Australia for a week of coaching, learning and racing. The sailors enjoyed some ideal conditions throughout the week. This gave them plenty of time on the water to work on their skills.
Building skills before racing
The week started with the YouthSail coaching clinic. Our junior sailors worked with experienced coaches and focused on key areas of their sailing. They worked on boat handling, racing skills and tactics. They also had the chance to learn from other young sailors on the water.
The coaching clinic was a great way to prepare for the championship racing. It gave the sailors time to practise new skills before putting them to the test. After the clinic, the focus moved to racing. The sailors took what they had learned onto the course and competed across the Open Skiff and RS Aero fleets.
Great results across the fleets
It was a fantastic week for EFYC, with several sailors finishing on the podium. We also had a number of top-ten results across the different classes.
Open Skiff Gold
🥇 1st – Alby Foster
5th – Charlie Wenn
6th – Lucy Smith
Alby Foster took first place in the Open Skiff Gold fleet. Charlie Wenn and Lucy Smith also had strong results, finishing fifth and sixth.
Open Skiff Silver
🥈 2nd – Kelsey Smith
7th – Alison Hodges
Kelsey Smith finished second in the Open Skiff Silver fleet. Alison Hodges also finished strongly, taking seventh place.
RS Aero 5
🥇 1st – Billie McCracken
🥈 2nd – Mia Anastazjew
🥉 3rd – Harriet Mellor
It was an outstanding result for EFYC in the RS Aero 5 fleet.
Billie McCracken took first place, followed by Mia Anastazjew in second. Harriet Mellor completed the podium in third.
This meant EFYC sailors took all three podium places in the RS Aero 5 fleet.
RS Aero 6
🥇 1st – Xavier Putt
🥈 2nd – Jordy Bellegarde
EFYC also had a fantastic result in the RS Aero 6 fleet.
Xavier Putt finished first, while Jordy Bellegarde took second place. This gave EFYC another two podium finishes for the week.
More than just results
While the results are a great achievement, YouthSail is about much more than finishing positions. Events like this give young sailors the chance to spend more time on the water. They can also learn from coaches, meet other sailors and gain valuable racing experience.
Every race brings a new challenge. Sailors need to make quick decisions, manage changing conditions and stay focused throughout the race. Most importantly, these events help young sailors build confidence. They can test themselves against other sailors and learn from both the good races and the tough ones.
For our EFYC juniors, the week was another important step in their sailing development.
Proud to see our juniors representing EFYC
We are incredibly proud of all 11 EFYC sailors who took part in the 2026 Zhik YouthSail Coaching Clinic and Championships.
A big congratulations to Alby Foster, Charlie Wenn, Lucy Smith, Kelsey Smith, Alison Hodges, Billie McCracken, Mia Anastazjew, Harriet Mellor, Xavier Putt and Jordy Bellegarde.
We also congratulate the full EFYC junior team for their efforts throughout the week.
From the coaching sessions to the final races, it was fantastic to see our young sailors getting out on the water, developing their skills and representing the club.
Well done, EFYC Juniors! ⛵️💜
We look forward to seeing what they achieve next.
Photo credit to Tidal Media