Irish SB20 Class to Gather at Royal Irish Yacht Club for Tasmania Debrief & Euros Update

13th February 2018

While the bulk of the SB20 fleet are due back on the water in April, the INSS's Kenny Rumball has been racing his SB20 (above) all winter at both the DBSC Turkey Shoot and Spring Chicken Series Credit: Afloat.ie

SB20 Irish sailors will be back on the waterfront next month when the Royal Irish Yacht Club hosts the class dinner. Not only will new year exploits in Tasmania be a hot topic of conversation but there will also be plenty of chat on the staging of the SB20 European Championships at the Dun Laoghaire club in eight months time.

The class dinner will be held at the RIYC on 3rd March 2018 at 19.30hrs, just six weeks before the first races of the Dublin Bay Sailing Club summer season where the 15–boat fleet will be back on the water.

DBSC Thursday racing starts on 26 April and continues through to 30 August. More details on the 2018 season are here

March 3 will see a presentation of prizes and a de-brief from team Ireland from Hobart, Tasmania. Afloat.ie carried daily reports from the World Champs here.

Meanwhile, a new website is up and running here for the European Championships in Dun Laoghaire, an event touted by class president Colin Galavan as a 'rare opportunity to compete in a European Championships on home waters'.

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SB20 (formerly Laser SB3) information

Designed by Tony Castro, the SB20 is a British-built strict one-design 6.15m keelboat conceived as a wide appeal, affordable, competitive sportsboat for teams of three or four sailors. It is also, arguably, the most successful sportsboat in the world with 800 owners competing regularly in a programme of exciting local, national and international events.

Originally known as the Laser SB3, the SB20 continues to deliver on its pioneering promise: a boat that is fun, fast and easy to sail by anyone of any age; the best value-for-money sportsboat in the market.

The Laser SB3 was designed by Castro and launched in 2002. In 2007 the Laser SB3 was awarded ISAF Recognised Status and the first World Championships were held in Ireland in 2008. In 2012, Tony Castro appointed a new builder, Sportsboat World. At this time, the Laser SB3 was renamed the SB20 and building was returned to the UK from Malaysia. The ethos of the class continues.

The boat is a strict one-design class, economic to buy and campaign, easy to sail with a simple deck layout and electric downwind performance delivered by the generous sail plan. The boat has a lifting keel, can easily be launched from a slipway and towed behind a family car.

Previous SB20 World Champions

2008 GBR: Geoff Carveth, Roger Gilbert, Roz Allen & Sarah Allan

Host National Yacht Club, Dun laoghaire, Ireland

2009 GBR: Craig Burlton, Stephen White, Adam Heeley

Host Clube Naval de Cascais, Cascais, Portugal

2010 GBR: Jerry Hill, Grant Rollerson, Joe Llewellyn

Host Circolo Vela Torbole, Lake Garda, Italy

2011 GBR: Geoff Carveth, Andy Ramus, Ian Mills & Emma Clarke

Host Royal Torbay Yacht Club, Torquay, UK

2012 GBR: Geoff Carveth, Lesley Dhonau, Roger Hudson & Asenathi Jim

Host Hamilton Island Yacht Club, Queensland, Australia

2013 GRB: Craig Burlton, Stephen White, Adam Heley Host COYCH Club, Hyeres, France