Dr Lyndall Patterson, whose Hunters Hill sailing career began in junior dinghies, has been inducted into the Australian Sailing Hall of Fame.
Patterson received the honour at the 2026 Australian Sailing Awards in Sydney on Friday, 30 October. Offshore racer Stacey Jackson was named Female Sailor of the Year at the same ceremony, while Matt Wearn received the men’s award.
Hunters Hill Sailing Beginnings
Patterson grew up on Sydney’s north shore and began sailing with her younger brother, Michael Coxon, at Hunters Hill Junior Sailing Club. Established in 1961, the club originally operated at Onions Point, near the mouth of the Lane Cove River, before relocating to Woolwich in 1971. Her first Australian championship victory came at Gosford in 1966, when she was 11 and competing in a Sabot dinghy. Patterson subsequently won women’s world sailing titles in 1977 and 1978, including the inaugural Women’s World Sailing Championship in 1977.
The titles continued into masters competition. She won the Laser Radial Grand Master World Championship at Hayling Island, England, in 2010 and was named Australian Female Sailor of the Year for 2010–11. Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, where Patterson is a member, credits her with six world titles across five decades.
Patterson returned to international competition at the 2026 ILCA 6 Masters World Championship in Athens, held from 30 May to 7 June. She finished first in the Great Grand Masters women’s division with 135 points and placed 13th overall among 51 competitors in the mixed Great Grand Masters fleet. The championship featured 10 races, with the official ILCA 6 entry list recording 156 entries from 24 countries.
Jackson’s Circumnavigation Earns National Honour
Jackson’s national award followed her participation in The Famous Project CIC, an eight-woman crew that completed a non-stop, unassisted circumnavigation aboard the maxi trimaran IDEC Sport. The crew completed its voyage on 26 January 2026, becoming the first all-female team to finish a non-stop, unassisted circumnavigation in pursuit of the Jules Verne Trophy. The journey lasted 57 days, although the crew did not break the overall trophy record.
Australian Sailing recognised Jackson as the fastest Australian to sail non-stop around the world. The Queenslander, representing Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron in the national awards, is also a member of Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club. Jackson won ahead of Jiang Lin and Zoe Thomson, the 2025 national Female Sailor of the Year. Jiang had become the first woman to skipper an overall winning yacht in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.
Patterson’s Hall of Fame induction formed part of a national awards programme that has included the Hall of Fame since its establishment in 2017. The honour recognises achievements across sailing, including competitive performance and contributions by coaches, designers and other participants. Hunters Hill Sailing Club also featured in the 2026 state awards as a finalist for NSW & ACT Club of the Year – Category B. The award went to Carcoar Dam Sailing Club.
Published 5-November-2026
