Corona Extra Takes SB20 Rankings Title for the 2014 Season

22nd October 2014

#sb20 – After the SB20 Midlands event in Lough Derg that was unfortunately blown out last weekend, the discard was applied to the 2014 results to decide overall rankings writes class president Justin Burke. Three points separated the top three teams after a season that saw four different regional event winners.

Being the only team to win two regionals, Dinghy Supplies (Daragh Sheridan, Shane Murphy & John Phelan) are sure to feel hard done by in missing out on the overall ranking by .67 of a point.

Corona Extra's (Graeme Grant, Ronan Downing, Tara Flood/ Breffni Jones) consistency pulled them through to take the title counting a 1st, 5th, 2nd and a 4th.Yachtsman.ie (Davy Taylor, Marty O'Leary, Lisa Neary & Rachel Williamson) edged third away from Shark Bait (Darren Martin,Roger Pannell & Simon Murray) by a single point.

Other than some frost-bite sailing out of the National Yacht Club (NYC) in November most SB's have been packed up for the winter.

The first Regional event planned for 2015 is the Easterns in Howth Yacht Club which will be preceded by the spring warmer out of the same club. This is sure to provide the fleet with some breezy conditions in preparation for the 2015 worlds which are being held on Lake Garda in early July. The fleet will be arranging a training event for any and all boats prior to the worlds in order to maximise the best results for the Irish competitors.

Over 10 Irish boats are currently planning on attending the worlds at one of Europe's premiers sailing venues. With the 2016 worlds already confirmed for Cascais, Ireland are lodging a strong bid and are hopeful in securing the 2017 worlds.

The remaining dates and locations for the 2015 Irish circuit will be published once they have been confirmed with the respective clubs.

Published in SB20

Tagged under

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