The F18 National & World Championships are about to be launched at Jervoise Bay Sailing Club, just south of Fremantle, over the Australia Day long weekend.
If you missed all the action during last weekend’s F50 Sailing Grand Prix in Fremantle, or if watching the F50s travelling at blistering speeds around Bathers Bay whetted your appetite for Formula 1 Sailing, then you will not want to miss the F18, 2026 Australian National Competition followed by the 2026 World Championship starting this coming weekend.
Jervoise Bay Sailing Club? I hear you ask! It’s just 15 minutes south of Freo, at Woodman Point. A well kept secret.
The Nationals are sailed 24-26 Jan, and the Worlds 27Jan-3 Feb.
The Sailing Club has a great setting, right on Cockburn Sound. Here’s some pics from today, showing some of the F18s arriving as we speak..
Anticipation is building as the locals prepare to host one of the most prestigious events in international sailing: the Nationals of course, but the 2026 Formula 18 World Championship in particular!
The Formula 18 class is a non-foiling, formula-design class, which started in the early 1990s and quickly grew to World Sailing. The 18 feet (5.52 metre) catamarans are crewed by two people, both helm and crew trapeze, as this supplied pic shows.
While visiting the Sailing Club today, we caught up with Anthony, from Tasmania, with his F18, ‘Athena’. He’s ready to compete in both events. He and his father brought their F18s over the Nullabor to be in the West for this not-to-be-missed event.
From 24 January to 3 February 2026, the pristine waters of Jervoise Bay Sailing Club will become the epicentre of high-performance multihull racing, welcoming elite F18 sailors from around the globe. Right next to Anthony was an F18 from The Netherlands.
The action begins with the Australian National Championship (24-26 Jan), where the nation’s top crews will battle it out in a fiercely contested regatta that sets the tone for the week ahead.
Immediately following, the spotlight turns to the biggy, the Formula 18 World Championship (27Jan– 3 Feb).
Over eight days of intense racing, international champions, rising stars and seasoned veterans will go head-to-head in fast, tactical, and physically demanding conditions that Jervoise Bay is renowned for.
What you get here are consistent sea breezes, open ocean racecourses, and a spectacular coastal backdrop. Spectators can expect thrilling starts, close mark roundings, and dramatic finishes as crews push their boats and themselves to the limit.
Anthony explained to us that F18s can hit around 50 km/h in the right conditions. Not the 100 km/h the F50s were edging in the SailGP in Bathers Beach last weekend, but pretty damned fast all the same – with just two sailors holding on tight!
Anthony also said he expects there’ll be up to 80 F18s competing, which means the organisers can run two fleets of 40 in the comp.
Whether you’re a passionate sailor, a sports fan, or simply looking to witness world-class competition on the water, the 2026 Nationals and F18 World Championship promise an unforgettable spectacle for fans and the simply curious!
Event Details
For more on The World’s, look here
A few words of PARKING advice
It’s going to be sailing fun. But PARKING will be at a premium.
We asked the Sailing Club for their advice for fans wanting to take in all the F18 action, and here’s what they have advised us:
‘Unfortunately, there’s no parking available at the club. Spectators will need to park along the roadside or at the Cockburn Power Boat Club area and shuttle in.
‘But the good news is, the club bar will be open every day. The Sailing Club will have food trucks there from 3pm and a coffee van each morning on the 25th, 26th, 30th, 31st Jan, 1st and 2nd Feb. As well as entertainment on each of those dates.’
Origins of the name Jervoise in Jervoise Bay
Btw, for those wondering why it’s called ‘Jervoise Bay’, well it transpires Captain William Jervoise was Captain of HMS Success at the time it ran aground on a sandbank in Cockburn Sound in around September 1829, just after Captain James Stirling had set up the Swan Rover Colony. In the process of repairing the ship, the restorative powers of Jarrah wood was discovered and soon led to the export of Jarrah from the new Colony. Makes one wonder though, if Captain Jervoise hadn’t run aground whether he’d ever have had a bay in Cockburn Sound named after him. Perhaps, perhaps not! Thanks to Fremantle Historian, Mike Lefroy for sorting out this conundrum for us.
By Michael Barker and Jean Hudson @jeansodyssey
Jean Hudson is our Shipping and Sailing Correspondent and also a regular feature writer, reviewer and photographer here on the Shipping News. You may also like to follow up her informative Places I Love stories, as well as other feature stories and Freo Today photographs, right here.
Michael Barker is the Editor, Fremantle Shipping News
Except where indicated otherwise, photographs by Fremantle Shipping News
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