#sb20 – The first SB20 Grand Slam of the 2015 season welcomed an international fleet to Hyères, in the South of France, for a fantastically close regatta with some spectacular sailing conditions from May 1-3, 2015

As Afloat previously reported, the international entry featured 25 boats from eight different nations, and included new teams from Switzerland, Italy, Portugal and Russia. There were also two boats from Singapore – both a men's and ladies' crew – who were using the event as a warm-up regatta session before the Southeast Asian Games, which is being held in SB20s in Singapore in June.

The event got underway with three races on Friday, May 1 in light conditions. Winning honours were shared by the French youth entry 'Give Me 5 By FFV France Jeune', who took the first winner's gun, British entrant 'Xcellent' skippered by John Pollard, and the Russian 'BCG Sailing Team' of Vadim Pushev.

The second day of racing saw winds build to a strong Mistral of over 30 knots. Two exhilarating races were completed before race organisers from the COYCH sent the fleet back ashore as wind speeds increased. Class secretary Ed Russo on 'Black Magic' and 'Xcellent' each took a first place in the day's high-speed competition.

The final Sunday brought more moderate 12-15 knot winds, and three races were completed. 'Xcellent', 'BCG Sailing Team' and 'Give Me 5' each took a win, bringing the event to a super-close finish with the final placings decided on countback as John Pollard's team just edged overall victory from the Russian 'BCG' entry.

Third overall was the 'Give Me 5 by FFV' crew of Robin Follin, Emeric Michel, Gauthier Germain and Marine Boudot, who were also the top Youth team. Third and fourth places were also separated on countback. Overall winners John Pollard, Rob Smitt and Mike Schwarz were also awarded the Masters prize, sponsored by Hyde Sails, while the top Ladies' award went to '5G Racing' from Singapore, with Jovina Choo, Daniela Ng, Dawn Liu and Terena Lam receiving prizes from luxury skincare brand Clarins.

John Pollard, skipper of the winning team 'Xcellent', commented: "It was definitely glorious sailing weather, and it's the fastest I've been in an SB20 – we hit 19 knots downwind! Hyères is always a great place to sail, and a good fun regatta with so many international teams from Russia, Singapore, Belgium, France, Holland and England all making it a fantastic Hyères. It was a really quality fleet."

The Hyères event is the first Grand Slam of the SB20 season, before the fleet moves onto Torbole in Italy for three events – the second Grand Slam of the season from May 22-24, the Italian Nationals and then the 2015 SB20 World Championships from July 4-10. The class will also compete at Grand Slam events in Cowes, during Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week in early August, and Cascais in Portugal in September.

The SB20 is one of the world's most successful one-design keelboats, with over 700 boats currently sailed in 22 countries. It is distributed worldwide by Sportsboat World in Netley Abbey and was originally designed by Tony Castro of Hamble, Hampshire. The 2015 World Championships will be held in Torbole, on Lake Garda in Italy from July 4-10, and the UK National Championships from September 5-8 at the Royal Southern YC in Hamble.

Overall Results:
1st GBR 3724 Xcellent John Pollard, Rob Smitt & Mike Schwarz 24pts
2nd RUS 37007 BCG Sailing Team Vadim Pushev, Aleksandr MIkhailov & Timur Sabirzianov 24 pts
3rd FRA 3653 Give Me 5 by FFV Robin Follin, Emeric Michel, Gauthier Germain & Marine Boudot 29pts
4th FRA 3706 Black Magic Edward Russo, Cedric Chateau & Giles Favennec 29pts
5th ITA 3637 Diva XS Ferdinando Battistella, Andrea Casale & Andrea Battistella

#sb20grandslam – The SB20 class is looking forward to its first Grand Slam event of the 2015 season at the stunning venue of Hyères in the South of France, this morning.

This is the first of four Grand Slam events for 2015, with Grand Slam regattas also scheduled at Torbole in Italy, Cowes on the Isle of Wight, and Cascais in Portugal for the one-design 20-foot keelboat class.

New for 2015, the first Masters team will be awarded prizes from sailmakers Hyde while the top Women's team will win luxury products from skincare company Clarins.

Hyères, on the Cote d'Azur, is famed as a superb sailing venue – just last week it hosted some of the world's best sailors at the ISAF World Cup event, welcoming top Olympic and Paralympic class competitors to the glamorous South of France. The SB20 class is returning to the venue for their third Hyères Grand Slam, and can look forward to three days of racing with up to 12 races scheduled by organisers COCYH, and spectacular sailing conditions forecast of strong breezes with plenty of sunshine.

The fleet has attracted 25 entries from eight countries, including France, Portugal, Russia, Germany, Britain, Monaco, Switzerland, and as far afield as Singapore but unfortunately none from the Irish fleet. Competitors include Alexey Muraskhkin, who won last year's Torbole Grand Slam event, and Class President Edward Russo.

"This is an exceptional location and we're expecting some exciting, high-octane racing over the next few days," commented Ed Russo, SB20 World Council President. "We are particularly pleased to welcome Hydes and Clarins onboard as category sponsors for this year's Grand Slam series, and are sure that the Masters and Women's teams will enjoy some superb competition in this international fleet."

The SB20 is one of the world's most successful one-design keelboats, with over 700 boats currently sailed in 22 countries. It is distributed worldwide by Sportsboat World in Netley Abbey and was originally designed by Tony Castro of Hamble, Hampshire. The 2015 World Championships will be held in Torbole, on Lake Garda in Italy from July 4-10, and the UK National Championships from September 5-8 at the Royal Southern YC in Hamble.

#sb20 – There was not much enthusiasm on the SB20 dock Saturday morning due to the wet and dreary climate. The breeze of 20 to 25 knots in the first race soon brightened up everybody's mood once the kites went up. Sin Bin (Michael O Connor, Owen Laverty, Kevin Johnson) dominated the first race winning the slightly biased pin off the start line. Sin Bin showed great boat speed to comfortably lead all of the way to the finish. Sin Bin looked to be back on form following their Spring Warmer win. After the first downwind leg Rugby Blue (Aidan O'Connell, Killian Collins, Ben O' Donohoe) and Corona Extra (Graeme Grant, Ronan Downing, Breffni Jones) pulled away from the rest of the fleet and engaged in a duel up the next beat with Corona Extra climbing to second by the next weather mark. This is where the top 3 finished with Venuesworld.com (Ger Dempsey, Chris Nolan, Rory Groves) winning the battle of the pack to take 4th. Overall results downloadable below as a jpeg file.

The breeze moderated for the second race with the tide becoming more of a prominent force to the east, carrying the boats north to the weather mark. Corona Extra pulled out a sizeable lead on the first downwind leg only to see the lion's share of it disappear on the second beat when a 30 degree shift to the east pulled everybody on the right side of the course up to their transom. Corona Extra just held off The Bear (Kieran Dorgan, Jason Losty, Ewan O' Keffe) at the second leeward gate to lead them to the finish. Sharkbait (Darren Martin, Simon Murray, Andrew Killops) held off Venueworld and the rest of the pack for third.

The third race of the day saw the breeze drop to approx. 10/ 12 knots negating any chance of planning downwind. Thankfully the rain eased off as the breeze calmed down. Corona Extra got off the middle of the line fast and caught the first shift to jump into the lead. The downwind legs where considerably more trying with narrow lines of breeze streaking down the course. Corona Extra lead to the finish with Venuesworld.com building on their consistency with a comfortable second followed by Dinghy Supplies grabing a decent result of third to help ease the pain of the previous 2 sevenths.
The crews hit the bar early to try and warm up after the wet days sailing. With the prawn festivel on in Howth that weekend, the club surpassed itself with a fantastic meal that evening. The first days sailing left Corona Extra out in front on 4 points followed by Venuesworld.com on 10 points and Sin Bin on 17 points with effectively the rest of the fleet just behind them, all looking to discard a race from their first days sailing to get back in the hunt. The Sunday was a much sunnier affair with enough of a light breeze for the day, varying between 5 to 10 knots.
Race 4 saw Corona Extra get buried off the line and sucked to the back of the fleet rounding the weather mark in fourteenth. The race was won by Dinghy Supplies building on their third in race 3 followed by Seriously Bonkers (Stephen Lee, Peter Lee, Michael Galvin) in second and Venuesworld.com maintaining their consistency with a third.
Race 5 was won by Sharkbait with Bad Kilcullen (Stefan Hyde, Enda O'Coineen, Jimmy Dowling) taking second and Dinghy Supplies taking third. The race was dominated by 2 persistent shifts to the east which accounted for a lot of snakes and ladders with the fleet. After allowing for a discard, this left Corona Extra with a much narrower overall lead of 3 points on 10 points overall after scoring 2 sixths in races 4 & 5. The very consistent Venuesworld.com held second place on 13 points with Dinghy Supplies now after charging up to third on 14 points.
Race 6 featured a wobbly and puffy light breeze which contributed to lead changes at every mark between Seriously Bonkers, Dinghy Supplies and Bad Kilcullen. Corona Extra was reeling in the lead pack at the first leeward mark but only managed 4th by the second windward. Seriously Bonkers hit the weather mark handing the lead to Dinghy Supplies with Bad Kilcullen and Corona Extra hot on their heels and a good jump ahead of the remaining fleet. This lead to a double cover gybe from Corona Extra when Bad Kilcullen gybed on top of Dinghy Supplies. This manoeuvre switched the positions around with Dinghies and Bad getting their air blanketed by Corona Extra. Corona Extra lead to the finish with Bad Kilcullen taking second and Dinghy Supplies taking third. Venuesworld.com came sixth in the last race which moved Dinghy Supplies up to second overall ahead of Venuesworld.com. Corona Extra won the regatta by a six point margin on 11 points overall.

#sb20 – Stephen Lee (SB20 - 3484) went overboard at the SB20 sportsboat Eastern championships in Howth at the weekend. Here he describes the lessons learnt from his early season 'salt water bath' on Saturday.

Firstly, let me make it absolutely clear, I don't think anyone did anything wrong, there are no ill feelings toward anyone involved and the only purpose of this is to learn from the incident and hopefully do things better in the future. I love our sport and I don't want to wrap it up in cotton wool or discourage clubs from hosting events due to some perceived safety risks at the end of the day it is always the sailors decision to take to the water.

What happened...

On the first downwind leg of Race 1 on Saturday (decent waves and strong wind), heading down on Starboard gybe and approaching the gybe line, we were surfing pretty fast down the backs of the waves. We setup for the gybe and I steer into it (still at full speed on the back of a nice wave), three quarters of the way through the gybe, I've gybed the main and I'm sitting on the new side. When I start to straighten up we get hit by a smaller wave and it throws me off-balance and I go over the side. I managed to grab the end of the granny rail as I go over but have to let go after a few seconds because I'm now being dragged alongside underwater. At that point I'm now floating in the water, free of the boat and watching it sail away. I did try to swim towards the boat for a little while but it was moving far too quickly. My next concern was to make sure any other boats coming downwind could see me and avoid sailing over me. Thankfully there was only one boat coming down my line and I manage to get their attention and they keep well clear and avoid me. After their gybe they call back to me if I'm ok, to which I reply that I'm fine (more on this later) and continue on their run. Meanwhile Dad and Michael are recovering a trawled spinnaker and making their way back up wind to me. At this stage I've been in the water for 6-8 minutes and the rest of the fleet have disappeared off to the leeward gate. Dad and Michael very successfully get back to me and help me back onboard and we head for shore.

The lessons...

1) As soon as you know that you have a man overboard situation, get on the radio and alert the race committee.

- In our situation we didn't do this and the first thing the race committee knew of the situation was when we radioed our retirement. They can't do anything if they don't know about it!

2) Any other boats that see what's happened should get on the radio and alert the race committee. What if the radio goes overboard with the crew member....

3) Any boats that see crew in the water should abandon their race to recover the person in the water. Remember, you will get the position back by redress.

- In this situation Dad and Michael were well capable of coming back to get me, but it may not be the case with if the spinnaker had wrapped around the keel or there had been two less experienced crew aboard.

Having been on the wet side of this I will definitely be practicing all of the above in all of my future sailing.

Thanks to everyone involved for a great Easterns and I look forward to see you all in a few weeks at the Royal St George.

#hyc – The final weekend of Howth Yacht Club's Key Capital Spring Warmer series provided another cracking days sailing yesterday writes Daragh Sheridan of HYC. There was a little less breeze than the previous weekend but there was no fall off in the excitement levels due to some great surfing conditions on the big Easterly rollers.

In the joined Class 1 and 2 Paddy Kyne's Maximus took the honours with a first and third in the final two races. He was followed in second by the star of the photos from last weekend The Big Picture (Mike and Richie Evans). Third was Dave Cullen's Checkmate being helmed by Simon Knowles as Dave Cullen was abroad.

In the largest fleet of the series Michael O'Connor on Sin Bin had a brilliantly consistent series to discard a second place to win the SB20 class for the second year running. In second was Jerry and Jimmy Dowling's Bad Kilcullen followed by Dinghy Supplies and Shane Murphy. The event provided a fantastic opportunity for the class to get in shape for their Eastern Championship to be held in Howth next weekend.

In the J24 class it was two visitors who had travelled the furthest who took the honours. First prize was Steve Atkinson from Carrickfergus followed by Martin Reilly from Sligo. In third spot was the local HYC K25 team who are preparing for a crack at the J24 Europeans later this year.

In the Squibs it was two locals to the fore with Fergus O'Kelly in first from Dave Sheahan.

The final weekend also saw the running of the Royal Alfred Niobe Trophy continuing a long standing link between the Alfred and Howth Yacht club. This saw a number of Puppeteers get their season underway with a familiar winner in the guise of Dave Clarke.

#hyc – The second weekend of Howth Yacht Club's Spring Warmer series provided conditions in complete contrast to the previous week's light airs, with very strong winds testing the competitors and boats throughout the two races. Whilst it was a day to be conservative, most of the competitors in the  Key Capital sponsored series could not resist the challenge of the gusty conditions and pushed their boats to the limit for the first race.

In the busy combined Class 1&2 fleet, Paddy Kyne's 'Maximus' won the first race with a minute to spare from the Kelly/Boardman half-tonner 'K1' and they then swapped positions on the finish line of their second race. In the J24 Class, Steve Atkinson's 'Bád' won the first race but Martin Reilly's 'Crazyhorse' was the only boat that managed the fierce conditions to complete race 2.

The SB20s races were unmatched for excitement and will undoubtedly provide the sailors and their boats with a great early season warm up for their Eastern Championships which are to be held in Howth directly after this series finishes. In the Squib Class, local sailor Fergus O'Kelly is declaring his intent to compete at the front end of the 2015 Squib Nationals later this year by leading the class after the first 3 races of this series.

#hyc – Competitors at the Key Capital Spring Warmer series in Howth Yacht Club were treated to glorious sunshine on the opening weekend of the season but unfortunately for all, the wind gods weren't as generous writes Daragh Sheridan.

In Race 1 in Class 2's Dave Cullen's beautifully turned out Checkmate got off to a winning start from Maximus in second and K1 in third.

The SB20 fleet was led from start to finish by Michael O'Connor in Sin Bin despite a great second beat by Ger Dempsey on Venues World. The podium was completed by Jerry Dowling's Bad Kilcullen.

The J24 fleet had shown great commitment in getting entries from as far afield as Sligo, Carrickfergus and Lough Ree. It was a dominant performance by Steve Atkinson in Bad winning both races with Martin Reilly's Crazyhorse and Finbarr Ryan taking a second a third place in each of the two races.

Local Squib guru Fergus O'Kelly heads the fleet with two first places. Second is Brian O'Hare and Alain Deladienee followed by HYC's Dave Sheahan.

Unfortunately the SB20s and Class 1 & 2 only completed one lap before the wind shut down forcing the race committee to abandon their second race.

Hopefully we will see greater number out for the second Saturday as more boats get launched and there is no Leinster match competing for competitors attention.

#sb20 – The Irish SB20 class has announced its 2015 programme that includes an expanded Dublin Bay racing programme with a 'user friendly' combination of ten Sunday races and four Saturday races all over preferred windward–leeward courses on the capital's waters.

Dun Laoghaire will host one SB20 regional event hosted by the Royal St George YC. The SB20 Nationals will sail from the nearby Royal Irish YC.

Download the full SB20 Irish fixtures programme for 2015 below.

Topping this off is the biennial Volvo Dun Laoghaire race week which means a whole summer's racing without ever leaving Dun Laoghaire.

National Yacht Club sailor James Gorman is the new Dun Laoghaire class captain who has overseen the new programme.

Howth YC is hosting the popular Spring Warmer sails and class president Justin Burke says this season starter 'dovetails nicely into the SB20 Easterns the following week'.

Royal Cork YC will host the SB20 Southerns and this will be the final warm up before the SB20 Worlds in Lake Garda where a large fleet is expected.

A new venue for the SB20 class will be in Northern Ireland at Whiterock on Strangford Lough Yacht Club in September.

The final event of 2015 will again be on the midland lakes in October.

#sb20 – The SB20 keelboat class will hold its 2017 World Championships at the prestigious Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes. 

It's somewhat disappointing news for Irish sportsboat sailing following a competitive tender process from five international sailing clubs including three Irish ones from Cork, Galway and Ulster.

The SB20 World Council voted for the RYS to host the championships. Event dates will be confirmed early in 2015.

As Afloat.ie previously reported last August, Irish SB20 Class President Justin Burke had been urging Irish clubs to get behind the sportsboat bid and bring the Championships here for a second time.

Ireland previously hosted the inaugural worlds – when the class was known as the SB3 – in 2009 at the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire attracting a massive fleet of 163 boats divided into two flights.

Ed Russo, President of the SB20 World Council, commented: "We are excited about the opportunity of the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes hosting the 2017 SB20 Worlds. The Solent is where the first SB20 fleet began and we expect a significant number of participants from the 13 fleets around the world to return to the founding waters for this event."

The Royal Yacht Squadron is one of the most prestigious yacht clubs in the world, the host club of the very first America's Cup race (held around the Isle of Wight in 1851), and founder of the famous Cowes Week regatta. With its spectacular canon start-line at Cowes Castle, the Squadron hosts top level racing events on the Solent waters each year.

Rear Commodore (Yachting) Jonathan Perry commented: "The Royal Yacht Squadron is delighted to have been selected to host the SB20 World Championships in 2017. The Solent provides challenging sailing conditions for this truly international class, which we look forward to welcoming to Cowes."

The SB20 class is an international one-design keelboat sailed by three or four people which offers incredibly close 'level' racing, attracting both amateur and professional sailors of all ages. It is a familiar sight on the Solent, and provides superb value for money with class starts and one-design fleets at major regattas such as Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week, as well as its own class championships and Grand Slam circuit.

The SB20 class has over 750 boats sailing worldwide with established fleets in the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Ukraine, Russia, Dubai, Singapore and Australia, and regularly attracts fleets of over 100 boats for international events. A global fleet is expected for the 2017 World Championships as well as a strong UK entry.

The SB20 will hold its 2015 World Championships at Torbole, on Lake Garda, Italy and in 2016 in Cascais, Portugal, giving the fleet three superb venues for the next three overall World Championship contests, which also include Youth, Masters and Ladies titles.

#sb20 – The Irish SB20 fleet has voted to remove the obligation to carry an outboard engine and fuel on the six–metre sportsboat class during racing. The class has also ditched the crew weight limit.

According to class president Justin Burke, the removal of the engine rule (rule C.5.1(6)) in favour of a new rule to carry two paddles instead has been a debatable point among class members. 'Some see an engine as a fall back safety option and others see it as a danger' he told Afloat.ie

The rule will save weight of up to 21 kg and its abolition follows a similar path taken by the intenational class where the 'outboard engine rule' was amended four years ago at the SB20 Worlds Championships.

In other changes, there will be no restriction on crew weight, there will be no weigh in and no requirement to be 270kg or less to race except for the SB20 national championship.

A 2015 calendar will issue shortly.