2026 Storm Bay Apparel SB20 Australian Championship at Derwent Sailing Squadron - Day 1

Porco Rosso loves a solid breeze and a good downhill run - 2026 Storm Bay Apparel SB20 Australian Championship © Jane Austin

Export Roo skipper Michael Cooper may have had the odd gap year or two from SB20 sailing, but today's results prove he hasn't lost his touch with the former national champion leading the 2026 Storm Bay Apparel SB20 Australian Championship after the first day of racing.

Sailing with the 2025 Tasmanian Sailor of the Year, David Chapman and fleet newcomer, Harry West, Cooper looked comfortable on his home waters, winning two of today's four races to finish the day on nine points, two points ahead of defending champion Porco Rosso (Paul McCartney).

Ares (Eirini Marios) finished the day in third place on 14 points and is leading the Women's division.

The wind was flicking about a bit on Day One - 2026 Storm Bay Apparel SB20 Australian Championship - photo © Jane Austin

Aeolus, skippered by Tasmanian ILCA sailor and Australian Solidarity Sailing coach, Indy Cooper, is sitting in fourth place after starting the day in style with a win in race one.

Karabos (Nick Rogers) is in fifth place after taking an arbitration penalty for an infringement which occurred while he was performing penalty turns for an earlier incident.

The fleet raced in a southerly 10-12 knot breeze which flicked about a bit and occasionally reached 15 to 18 knots, and along with the outgoing tide, kept the sailors on their toes on the River Derwent.

Cooper, known for her athleticism on the boat, was sailing alongside her father Brett, also a former national champion, which was a highlight for the young sailor.

It's a very tight fleet on Day One of the regatta - 2026 Storm Bay Apparel SB20 Australian Championship - photo © Jane Austin

"It was pretty epic, especially with a new team, it was pretty nice to get a race win, I wasn't expecting it, but it was a great feeling.

"We didn't have a great start, so we just focused on getting clear air and just doing the one percenters from the start.

"We were forced to go right from the start, and so we just committed and played the shifts on the right hand side and that ended up working quite nicely.

"It's been fun sailing with Dad [Brett], I haven't sailed with him much before so it's actually quite nice.

"It's been nice learning from him especially about how to sail the boat downwind," said Cooper.

The Hutchins School Warwick Dean is leading the Youth Division - 2026 Storm Bay Apparel SB20 Australian Championship - photo © Jane Austin

Another stand-out performance on Day One of the regatta was from Warwick Dean - The Hutchins School Sailing Academy, skippered by Charlie Birch, who is sailing with Phineas Gray, Sam Hooper and Edward Steedman.

Birch and his crew are in seventh place, behind Rebellion (Stephen Catchpool), both equal on 31 points, and is really making his presence felt in the glamour fleet.

"We went into Day One not really sure how we would go, with all of the different boats and people that we haven't sailed against before, but we did really well in the first race and came back well in the third.

"During the pennant we have been really working on how to sail an SB, but in this regatta, it's the first time we have sailed together as a team.

"We are keen to see how we go in the Youth category, to see if we could take the win, but it's tough competition.

"Overall, it's good to think that we can do well in this bigger fleet, especially when you compare all their experience to ours.

"We'd like to say a big thanks to Mr [Nick] Corkhill for really getting around us for this event and for getting two boats out here on the water - he pushed really hard for that, so we are very thankful to him," said Birch.

Aeolus on the way to a win in Race One - 2026 Storm Bay Apparel SB20 Australian Championship - photo © Jane Austin

Derwent Sailing Squadron Race Officer, Colleen Darcey, worked the fleet hard to get in four races, and was impressed with the quality of the SB20 sailing.

"Today's conditions were better than expected; we got four races in which gave us an opportunity to get ahead with the racing, especially with the lightening conditions ahead for the next two days.

"The fleet was fantastic today, and apart from Race Four with a few eager beavers causing a general recall, the starts were really good - we had really enjoyable racing and everyone sailed magnificently," said Darcey.

Six races remain in the ten-race regatta with racing staring at 11am on Saturday and Sunday.

Results after Day 1:

Full results here