#SB20 – A remarkable season for the 'Sharkbait' crew of Ben Duncan, Brian Moran and Joe Turner has seen them dominate the top of the SB20 Ireland Sportsboat ranking ladder. Full ranking ladder available to download below as an Excel file. The Dublin trio had wins in all but one event in 2012 and topping the table at a maximum available 165 points, the first year that this has been achieved. The high quality of the fleet in Ireland made it no easy task however, and the team was consistently under pressure throughout the season from some exceptional sailors, with Mel Collins, Scott MacKeown and Aidan MacSweeny in 'Magic' finishing the season with a very solid second on the ladder, just edging out class stalwarts Peter Kennedy & Stevie Kane sailing 'Ridgefence' in third.

Only just missing out on the ranking-list chocolates (by half a point) was Aidan O'Connell on 'Ruby Blue', however with a win in the very last race of the season at Lough Derg he has bragging rights on the fleet over the Winter! Davy Taylor helming 'Boatmec' was a consistent performer and will likely have his machine well-greased for next years events. SB20 season newbies Ger Dempsy & Chris Nolan on 'Venuesworld.com' were also often found in the mix at the head of the fleet, whilst Darragh Sheridan, Shane Murphy and John Phelan sailing 'Dinghysupplies.ie' also missed a couple of events costing them places on the ladder, but still rounding out the season on the eighth rung. Darren Martin sailing 'Soda Bread' from the North (would it not get soggy?) and Rob Howe on board 'Milvus Milvus' rounded out the top ten in a 47 boat ladder for 2012, with many other familiar names not far adrift on points. (NB: The ranking list is calculated from the best 4 of the 5 regional events in any year, and always includes the Nationals at a 1.5x weighting, with points awarded for the first 30 boats in any event.)

Unlike many other classes, the SB20 has only had a slight decline in numbers over the last few years due to the relatively cheap cost of running a boat at a highly competitive level. A resurgence in the Southern fleet is envisaged next year when several new boats from Cork will be on the water, and much interest in the class has been from owners looking to downsize from cruiser sailing. Competitive second hand yachts with all the trimmings can be bought from around €9000, and when towed behind an average car getting to the fantastic SB20Ireland regional events couldn't be easier! The strict one-design ethos of the class ensures very close racing across the country, and it is up to the crew work of the teams to edge out any gains in performance...