Ireland's Headcase has retained the J/24 World Championship title with a commanding final-day performance in Melbourne, Australia, securing a second consecutive world crown for skipper Cillian Dickson and his Irish crew.
The defending champions overturned a two-point overnight deficit to beat Australia's Checkmate by 12 points after ten races at the Epigen J/24 World Championship, hosted by Sandringham Yacht Club on Port Phillip.
Dickson, sailing with Ryan Glynn, Louis Mulloy, Sam O'Byrne and Marcus Ryan, produced a superb final-day sequence of first, third and second places to finish on 21 net points, ahead of Sean Kirkjian's Checkmate on 33.
Australia's Haywire, skippered by Ian Walker, completed the podium on 45 points.
Headcase Turns the Tables on Checkmate
The Irish crew had dominated the opening stages of the championship, winning the first two races and adding another victory in Race 4.
However, Checkmate fought back with consecutive victories in Races 5 and 6 to take the championship lead, leaving the Irish defending champions facing a closely contested final two days.
As Afloat reported on Tuesday, Headcase remained just two points behind the Australians after seven races, despite finishing 17th in Race 7, a result that became the Irish crew's discard.
With three races completed on Wednesday, Headcase immediately seized the initiative by winning Race 8, while Checkmate finished seventh.
The Irish boat followed with third place in Race 9 and second in the tenth and final race, completing an emphatic comeback.
The Australian challengers could manage only seventh, eighth and fifth places across the final three races, allowing Headcase to extend its winning margin to 12 points.
Back-to-Back World Titles for Irish Crew
The victory follows Headcase's historic triumph at the 2025 J/24 World Championship in Plymouth, where the crew became the first Irish team to win the title.
That achievement earned the sailors recognition as the 2025 Afloat.ie/Irish Sailing Sailors of the Year.
The Melbourne result confirms their standing among the leading international crews in the J/24 class, with four race victories and seven podium finishes from ten races.
The Irish crew also topped the championship's Corinthian classification.
Final J/24 World Championship Standings
- Headcase (Ireland) — 21 points
- Checkmate (Australia) — 33
- Haywire (Australia) — 45
- Amuse Bouche (USA) — 49
- Bangor Packet (USA) — 56
See the official championship results for complete race-by-race scores.
