24 entry spots. 8 (mostly) identical Hobie Waves. 1 Champion(s).
Twelve months ago, the Hobie Wave Grand Prix racing format was an experiment. Utilising the simplest catamaran on the planet, take eight of these humble Hobie vessels, throw some of the country’s best and brightest sailors together with juniors, rookies, families and weekend warriors, rotate them through identical boats, then wipe the slate clean and send the best eight into a four-race Finals Series.
Somehow, it worked.
So naturally, we decided to do it all again…
The stage was set for the 2026 WaveGP a week out, with an absolutely unreal forecast on the cards for the weekend. With two days of a nor’east sea breeze—known locally as Baliya—racing was set to be short and sharp, with interchanges taking place on the beach directly in front of a roaring crowd.
Running under the same premise as last year’s inaugural event, 24 individuals/teams were divided evenly into eight groups of four, where they would complete Round Robin fleet racing. Each round consisted of three heats, meaning three firsts, three seconds, and so on.
A cumulative point score system was once again utilised, with 10 points awarded for first, 9 for second, all the way down to 3 points for eighth/DNF. For sailors who were unable to race on Day Two due to extenuating circumstances, average points from their Day One results would be awarded.
Upon registration, each athlete and team received a laminated race schedule, small enough to fit inside a PFD, showing exactly which boat they would sail in each of their Round Robin heats. Additionally, all members of the NSWHCA were provided with their 2026/27 membership sticker, along with an unreal blue cord 2026 WaveGP hat, featuring the colours of the eight identical mainsails.
Most significantly this year, however, all the racing would be livestreamed from the shore at Vincentia Sailing Club on Totally Immersed TV—the home of catamaran sailing in Australia.
It was a bold exercise, with plenty of troubleshooting along the way, but thousands tuned in to watch the racing unfold over the course of the weekend.
We thank you all!
Saturday
Sailors across Jervis Bay awoke on Saturday morning to a decent westerly blowing across the bay. However, it soon began to fade away as the first wafts of the nor’easter began to power up and take over the day.
Briefing was held at 11:30am, with all competitors receiving their personalised race schedules and a final rundown of how the weekend would unfold. Once the livestream was all set, and the VSC Committee Boat was mostly properly anchored, racing was ready to commence.
As the breeze continued to build throughout the afternoon, so too did the developing swell, and racing became tougher and far more exciting. Both the conditions and the athletes’ abilities were being tested, with the short, sharp racecourse leaving very little room for error.
Twelve races were held throughout the first day, giving every sailor four opportunities to bank some valuable points and begin their climb up the leaderboard.
Across those twelve heats, seven different athletes managed to bag themselves a bullet.
Courtney Smith led the charge, finishing Saturday with an impressive three bullets and sitting atop the leaderboard on countback. Hot on her heels was Bridget Bolewski, who finished the day with two 10-pointers of her own. Likewise was Darren Schmidt, who wasted no time making his mark in his first-ever outing at WaveGP.
Sharing the entry but sailing each of their races separately, Matthew McKenzie started their campaign with an absolute shocker. Andrew, however, quickly turned things around, backing it up in the second heat with a bullet before the duo added another during their fourth rotation.
Kerry Waterhouse came home with a bullet and two seconds, while Harry West & The Fish remained right in the hunt with a bullet and three thirds across their four races.
However, one of the performances of the day belonged to Sophie Bates.
In her first-ever race on the helm of a catamaran, Sophie went out and casually claimed herself a bullet. Not a bad way to start! Backing it up throughout the remainder of the afternoon, Sophie finished Saturday sitting comfortably inside the all-important Top 8.
With twelve races in the bank, plenty of points still up for grabs and absolutely nothing decided, the fleet headed ashore after an awesome opening day of WaveGP racing.
Saturday Night
With the boats packed away and racing done for the day, the sailors joined the volunteers, families and extended Vincentia Sailing Club community for the short trip down the road to Jervis Bay Brewing Co. A special mention to the young fellas, Austin and Oli, who celebrated their birthdays this week!
A few well-earned beverages were shared as everyone settled in, reflected on an awesome first day of racing and, no doubt, began doing the maths on exactly what would be required to make that elusive Top 8 come Sunday afternoon.
With another nor’easter on the cards and everything still to play for, attention quickly turned towards Super Sunday…
Day Two – Super Sunday
The second day promised another cracking nor’easter, with the all-important Finals Series scheduled to commence at 1pm. That left the morning to complete three more rounds of racing for all the athletes, and with places inside the Top 8 still very much up for grabs, there was plenty to play for.
Sophie Bates picked up exactly where she left off on Saturday, putting together one of the most outstanding mornings of the fleet. Sophie opened Super Sunday with back-to-back bullets, continuing an unbelievable debut weekend on the helm of a catamaran.
Bridget Bolewski was equally impressive, claiming bullets in the first and third rotations of the morning, while Adrian Mills finally snagged his first bullet of the series in the opening heat of the day. Marc Hooper followed suit in the second, while Fionnbarr Sweeney and Alex West & The Dog finished their fleet racing campaigns on a high, each bagging themselves bullets during the seventh and final rotation of the Grand Prix.
All of the fleet racing can be rewatched on the Totally Immersed TV livestream, and stay tuned for complete individual races from the CT coming soon!
As every sailor was well aware, the endgame for the Round Robin fleet racing was simple:
Make the Top 8.
It didn’t matter whether you finished first, fourth or eighth. Once the Finals commenced, the slate would be wiped completely clean.
You just had to make it.
And after seven rotations and 21 races, the numbers were finally crunched.
Harry West & The Fish finished the Round Robin stage in the top spot on 64 points. Bridget Bolewski jumped into second, catching Kerry Waterhouse on countback, with both sitting on 63 points.
Courtney Smith finished P4 on 59 points, two points ahead of Sophie Bates on 57. Andrew & Matthew McKenzie secured P6 on 55 points, while Darren Schmidt and Marc Hooper were locked together on 54 points, with Schmidty taking P7 on countback.
On paper, that was our Top 8.
But this is where things changed dramatically.
Following the very unfortunate early withdrawal of Kerry Waterhouse & Hot Rod Waterhouse, another position in the Finals became available.
Sitting in ninth on 53 points was young Jackson Bolewski.
However, with Bridget already safely qualified for the Finals and Jackson sitting agonisingly outside, there was only one way for both Bolewskis to get onto the water. Bridget elected to forfeit her individual position and team up with the young fella for the Finals Series.
That opened the door once again.
Next in line, sitting tenth on 50 points, were Henry & Grantly Pellew.
And just like that, our eight finalists were locked and loaded.
The Finals Series
By the time the Finals commenced at 1pm, the nor’easter had well and truly filled in, with a blissful sea breeze pumping across the Moona Moona and providing the perfect arena for four short, sharp races to decide the 2026 WaveGP Champions.
Everything that had happened over the previous 21 races was now irrelevant.
Four races.
Eight Waves.
One Champion(s).
Darren Schmidt came firing out of the blocks in the opening Final, starting his championship campaign with a bullet. Andrew McKenzie crossed closely behind in second, with Courtney Smith taking third.
The second heat belonged to Courtney, who snagged herself a bullet with Sophie Bates only two boat lengths behind in second. This time it was Matthew McKenzie who brought the family entry home in third.
Heat Three saw Schmidty strike again, collecting his second bullet of the Finals Series. Sophie continued her incredibly consistent run with another second, while Andrew finished third.
Across the board, the Finals results were completely mixed. Almost every sailor had their highs and lows, and with just one race remaining, absolutely nothing was sewn up.
Heading into the final heat, Schmidty held the lead. Matthew & Andrew McKenzie sat second, while Sophie was positioned in third.
One race to decide the lot.
Matthew came out firing.
After a dominant start, he grabbed the lead and simply never gave it back, controlling the final race from start to finish. Courtney fought her way back after a seventh in the previous heat to cross the line in second, while Marc Hooper saved his best race of the Finals until last, finishing the series with a third.
And with that, the calculators came back out.
After four Finals races, Matthew & Andrew McKenzie had done enough.
The McKenzie brothers were crowned the 2026 NSW Hobie Wave Grand Prix Champions, finishing on 35 points—just a single point ahead of Darren Schmidt on 34.
After 25 races across two days, the Championship had quite literally come down to the final heat.
Courtney Smith completed the overall podium on 31 points, clawing her way back into third with a sensational result in the final race.
Divisional Honours
Courtney’s outstanding weekend also saw her take out the Women’s division, finishing two points ahead of Sophie Bates, while Bridget Bolewski rounded out the Women’s podium after finishing ninth overall in the Round Robin stage.
Harry West took out the Junior division following his winning partnership with The Fish, with the pair going on to finish sixth in the Finals Series. Jackson Bolewski claimed second Junior and seventh in the Finals on 18 points, while Henry Pellew finished third Junior and rounded out our Finals sailors with 16 points.
The Family division went the way of Bridget & Jackson Bolewski, with Henry & Grantly Pellew finishing as runners-up.
Then there were the rookies.
And it would be pretty hard to look past Sophie Bates.
The first-time skipper absolutely blew the fleet away, winning multiple races and mixing it with some of the country’s most experienced Hobie sailors throughout the entire weekend. Sophie was deservedly crowned the 2026 WaveGP Rookie of the Year, while Oliver Lundh claimed runner-up honours in his first-ever catamaran regatta.
Finally, there could only be one recipient of the prestigious Bottoms Up Award.
Young local Joel Hodder sailed valiantly throughout the weekend as the youngest solo sailor in the entire fleet, earning himself one of the most coveted pieces of silverware WaveGP has to offer.
Where To Next?
And with that, another WaveGP was in the books.
What started twelve months ago as a bit of an experiment has quickly become something much bigger. Twenty-four entry spots. Eight mostly identical Hobie Waves. Juniors lining up against seasoned campaigners. First-time catamaran sailors winning races. Families racing together. Spectators lining the beach. And, for the first time, thousands of people tuning in from home to watch it all unfold live.
We reckon there’s plenty more to come.
The WaveGP Championships will return to Jervis Bay at the same time next year, but with interest beginning to build outside the Bay, we’d love nothing more than to take WaveGP on the road.
And perhaps that journey has already begun…
This weekend will see the first-ever WaveGP Championships held in the USA, with Jervis Bay local Bridget Raftery flying the flag for Team Australia.
From eight humble Hobie Waves on the shores of Moona Moona to who knows where next.
Stay tuned.
WaveGP is only just getting started.
