2018 Was ‘An Exciting Year’ For SB20 Class

29th October 2018

Peter Kennedy (right) with Stephen Kane (centre) and Hammy Baker from Strangford Lough are this year’s National champions Credit: Afloat.ie

#SB20 - This year was an exciting one for the SB20 class and one that we can look back on with pleasure, says class president Colin Galavan as the 2018 season came to a close.

Galavan offered his congratulations to the season’s big winners, including Team Ridgeway — Peter Kennedy, Steve Kane and Hammy Baker — who won the Nationals on Dublin Bay, and the Northern and Southern double for Michael O’Connor’s Sin Bin, also third overall at the Europeans.

Looking to 2019, the class looks forward to a return to racing in Howth, starting with the Spring Series followed by the first regional event on the calendar.

Next year will also see a return to Team Ridgeway’s home waters at Strangford Lough Yacht Club, while Dun Laoghaire’s regatta week promises to be a highlight of the summer.

Galavan says plans are in motion to run a ‘sprint series’ of single-day racing over two weekend, comprising a large number of quick 20-minute races.

The class AGM at the Royal St George Yacht Club next month (Friday 23 November from 7.30pm) will be an opportunity for members to take stock of 2018 and consider the season ahead.

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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