Australian Sharpie National Championship
The Australian Sharpie is a three-person racing dinghy descended from the 12-square-metre class of the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. Its national championship is a carnival that rotates around the country, with strong fleets in South Australia and the west.
Photo: Don Ramey Logan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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The Australian Sharpie National Championship is the national title of one of the country's classic racing dinghies — a three-person Sharpie descended from the 12-square-metre class of the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. Run as a travelling carnival that rotates around the states, it is a fixture of the Australian dinghy calendar, with especially strong fleets in South Australia and the west.
What it is
The championship is organised by the Australian Sharpie Sailing Association and run as a carnival — typically seven championship races preceded by a couple of invitation races — hosted by a different club each year so the title travels the country. That rotating format means crews load their boats onto trailers and travel interstate to contest it, which gives the event a real sense of occasion.
What is an Australian Sharpie?
The Sharpie is a three-crew racing dinghy with genuine Olympic heritage: it evolved from the 12-square-metre Sharpie sailed at the 1956 Melbourne Games. Over the decades it became a distinctly Australian one-design, sailed hard by a crew of three and demanding sharp teamwork and boat-handling. It sits among the classic racing dinghies in the range of sailboat types, and remains popular and competitive, particularly in South Australia and Western Australia.
How to follow
Results and event information are published by the Australian Sharpie Sailing Association. With the championship moving between clubs — Adelaide, Hobart's Derwent Sailing Squadron and Perth's Mounts Bay Sailing Club among recent hosts — it is worth checking which state is hosting in a given year. For newcomers to the class, our guide to getting into sailing in Australia is a good start, and the sailing terms glossary covers the language of the racing.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the Australian Sharpie National Championship?
- It is the national title of the Australian Sharpie class — a three-person racing dinghy. The championship is run as a carnival that rotates from state to state each year, organised by the Australian Sharpie Sailing Association, and typically consists of seven championship races preceded by a couple of invitation races.
- What is an Australian Sharpie?
- The Australian Sharpie is a three-crew racing dinghy that evolved from the 12-square-metre Sharpie class, which was sailed at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games. Over the decades it developed into a distinctly Australian one-design, and it remains a popular and competitive class, particularly strong in South Australia and Western Australia.
- Where is the Sharpie National Championship held?
- It rotates around the country, hosted by a different club each year so the title travels between the states. Recent and upcoming championships have been held at clubs including Adelaide Sailing Club, the Derwent Sailing Squadron in Hobart, and Mounts Bay Sailing Club in Perth, which hosts the 83rd championships over the summer of 2026–27.
- How competitive is the Sharpie class?
- Very. As a three-handed dinghy sailed hard, the Sharpie demands strong teamwork and boat-handling, and its national carnival draws deep fields of experienced dinghy sailors. The rotating-venue format means crews travel across the country to contest it, which adds to the event's standing on the calendar.
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