UAE Team Kidzink Win SB20 World Championships Title as Dubai Crews Take Top Places

16th February 2024

The overall SB20 World Championships title was won by the host nation's Charlotte Borghesi, sailing with Pippa Kenton-Page, Goncalo Lopes and Artem Basalkin on Team Kidzink Credit: Mikey Brignall

The SB20 Triple Sailing Championships came to a close after five days of exciting races with Team Kidzink winning the final title. The championship was held at the Dubai Offshore Sailing Club (DOSC) from 29th January to 2nd February 2024.

The overall title was won by the host nation's Charlotte Borghesi sailing with Pippa Kenton-Page, Goncalo Lopes and Artem Basalkin on Team Kidzink. After a 13-race series and a closely fought battle for the podium, UAE-based teams Desert Eagle and Superbella achieved the second overall and third place respectively. Superbella attained the position after overtaking Rental Car, which had been in third place overall for the previous two days.

The Middle East Championships (1st to 3rd of December 2023) and the Asia Pacific Championships (2nd to 4th February 2024) had also witnessed an impressive performance from talented sailors.

Racing on the final day of the SB20 World Championships at the Dubai Offshore Sailing Club Photo: Mikey Brignall

The fifth and final day of the SB20 World Championships saw the first race starting at 2:15 PM, and the wind was stable and consistent, ranging from 6 to 9 knots. Off to a turbulent start, the weather stabled out with admirable conditions, providing an ideal day for sailing.

Charlotte Borghesi, skipper of Team Kidzink, expressed her joy, saying, “It is still a bit amazingly surreal right now. We left it to the very last minute to make it stressful. You just see the tip of the iceberg, but we have been together as a team for two months, in training, working on the boat, on each other. We went out, we didn’t aim to win any race, we just wanted to do our best, in every race, and we did that. We never won a race. It just shows you, you never have to go out thinking to win.“

Race Director Alan Ruigrok, who hails from Skerries in County Dublin, said, “It’s been an absolute honour to host the SB20 world championships. Thank you to all participants, sponsors, and support staff who made this event possible. We’ve had a fantastic week here in Dubai, showcasing the amazing sailors across the world and their impeccable talent and dedication to teamwork, qualities that make our sport so admirable. We look forward to hosting more amazing events at the Dubai offshore sailing club.“

The next event for DOSC is the Dubai to Muscat Sailing Race, starting on the 24th February 2024.

Results below

Race Results

You may need to scroll vertically and horizontally within the box to view the full results

Published in SB20

Tagged under

SB20

About The Author

Afloat.ie Team

Email The Author

Afloat.ie is Ireland's dedicated marine journalism team.

Have you got a story for our reporters? Email us here.

We've got a favour to ask

More people are reading Afloat.ie than ever thanks to the power of the internet but we're in stormy seas because advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news sites, we haven’t put up a paywall because we want to keep our marine journalism open.

Afloat.ie is Ireland's only full–time marine journalism team and it takes time, money and hard work to produce our content.

So you can see why we need to ask for your help.

If everyone chipped in, we can enhance our coverage and our future would be more secure. You can help us through a small donation. Thank you.

You might also want to read...

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