Offshore at 16: Will Farnell, the ORCV's Youth Sailor of the Year 2025
Will helming on Smuggler with Tim Davis / Photo provided by Will Farnell
The Ocean Racing Club of Victoria (ORCV) is proud to announce Will Farnell as the recipient of the 2025 Youth Sailor of the Year award—a young sailor whose love for the sea runs generations deep and whose commitment to the sport has already made waves far beyond his years.
At just 16, Will has clocked up more offshore miles than many adult sailors. But his story doesn’t start with trophies or accolades—it begins with family.
Will's sailing roots stretch back to Bendigo, where his grandfather Harry Farnell first discovered sailing. After the family moved to Geelong, “Pa” became a member at the Royal Geelong Yacht Club and passed his passion for the water down to Will’s father, and eventually to Will and his sister.
Will on the helm of his father's boat Valiant / Photo by Tom Smeaton, Provided by Will Farnell
“My first memories of sailing are going out on Pa’s Van de Stadt 23 on Wednesday nights,” Will reflects. “I was about ten. It was just me and him—or maybe one other person. That’s where I really started learning. We’d rig the boat together after school, and I began understanding how everything worked.”
Will (far right) with father Jason (far left) on 'Pa's' boat with fellow sailing friends Charley S and Josh G / Photo provided by Will Farnell
In 2017, he took up cadet dinghy sailing, but it was keelboats that really sparked his curiosity. While most of his peers were learning to trim sails on smaller boats, Will—thanks to those early Wednesday night sails—was already managing winches and learning how to make tactical decisions.
That head start has seen him rise quickly. In the past three years alone, he’s:
- Completed three Apollo Bay races, with his dad, Jason Farnell on their Adams 10 - Valiant
- Competed in his first ocean race at just 14
- Delivered Iain Murray 37 Dark and Stormy to Sydney
- Returned Chutzpah (Reichel/Pugh Caprice 40) from Hobart to Melbourne
- Crewed on Smuggler (TP52) during a race for the Festival of Sails—after jokingly asking to join while walking past and also completed a delivery with them, with Tim Davis on board
Will credits his time offshore with building not just sailing skills but discipline and self-reliance. “In cadets, you go home to a warm bed. In ocean racing, you’ve got to stay dry, stay warm, and take care of yourself—so others can rely on you too.”
He’s already completed ORCV’s Foredeck Essentials Course, led by Peter Dowdney—“I learned the most about dip-pole gybing,” he says—and spent the last two years working at his local shipwright (DYSC Marine Supplies) in Geelong, deepening his network and staying close to the action.
Those who’ve raced alongside him describe him as calm, curious, and quietly determined. He doesn’t shout his achievements. He listens, watches, asks questions—and takes every opportunity seriously.
Asked how he felt about receiving the award, Will is characteristically humble: “It’s something to be proud of. I’m grateful.”
What’s next? “I’d love to do a race around the world. Maybe go to Europe and just keep sailing—regattas, deliveries, whatever I can. I don’t want to work inside.”
With plans in motion for a future double-handed Hobart campaign with his dad, and likely entry into this year’s Devonport race aboard Dark and Stormy, Will is proving that age is no barrier to big ambitions.
From backyard boat builds to the bows of TP52s, Will Farnell is charting a course that’s all his own—and the ORCV couldn’t be prouder to see him grow on the journey.
By Melissa Warren/ORCV Media
