The Irish team TED faced setbacks in the first race of the last day of the 2025 SB20 European Championship on Friday, but under pressure, Royal St.George's Michael O'Connor, Davy Taylor, and Ben O'Donoghue held their nerve when it mattered most. A strong fourth place in the final race was enough to secure them 3rd overall, tied on points with the French Youth team.
Ireland's second team in Ostend, Belgium, of Ger Dempsey, Colin Galavan and Artem Basalkin were crowned as the top Masters team.
Ger Dempsey, Colin Galavan and Artem Basalkin were crowned as the top Masters team at the 2025 SB20 European Championship in Belgium Photo: Anna Zyk
The Championship came down to a nail-biting final race, where the title was decided in a head-to-head battle. The top two teams fought until the very end with every shift, wave and tactical move shaping the outcome of an unforgettable regatta in Ostend.
"It was a very tight day between the top boats," - said Hendrik Witzmann after the prize-giving ceremony. "Our strategy was to wait for the last race and try a bit of match racing with Xcellent. We managed to drag them back, but they fought hard and clawed their way through the fleet. Congratulations to them and to the organisers of this fantastic event - great hospitality. We hope to see everyone in Dubai!"
Will Sargent reflected on a tense final day of racing that kept everyone guessing: "It was just so shifty and wind direction was different, tide direction, everything was different today. No one really knew what was going on," - he explained. The first race saw big splits across the course, with surprise leaders emerging while top contenders were left scrambling. "A lot of the really good teams were out the back. At the end of the day, most of the front teams climbed back, but it was pretty stressful, especially for us and John."
In the second race, Desert Eagles switched to "full match race mode" against Xcellent. Both boats had bad starts, but the UAE team managed to gain the first cross and pushed their rivals down the fleet. "We probably got them close to 30th at one point… they did a really good job of clawing back."
Sargent credited his growing experience with North Sea tides, having first encountered them during his World Championship win in Scheveningen. "To be honest, that Worlds [2023] was the first time any of us had really seen tide in our lives, but we're a bit more across it these days. We're a bit older and more mature."
He praised the variety of conditions across the week: "It was pretty prime Aussie conditions - big waves, big wind - for most of it, but today was completely different, light and tricky. It was nice to have all the conditions in one event."
Will gave a nod to their new SB20 by Devoti Sailing: "Our new Devoti boat was really, really good, we were really happy with it straight out of the box. There's no obvious speed advantage or disadvantage, just higher quality. The boat looks really nice and I think it will last longer, which is good for the Class."
Henry Wetherell from Team Xcellent reflected on the drama of the final day: "The first race was very, very shifty - you could be anywhere from first to 10th in every 20 seconds. Luckily we got a good shift at the end on the downwind which gave us a 4th, so we were still in the fight going into the final race. But then we had a tricky start and Hendrik was attacking all over us, which is what he needed to do. We made a big comeback, but fell short by three points. So, well done to Hendrik, Will and Tom!"
Team Xcellent have been leading up until the final race. Starting on a high, claiming the Practice Race, they won the first three races until they got their first result in 5th and continued to score bullets in the following races. It was after the tiring third day, when the current was really pushing the boats, that the unfortunate BFDs started to scatter across the fleet. One of those hit Xcellent and became their discard, so there was no room for error in the remaining races.
"It's been a great year so far for team Xcellent and we've been winning a lot – the SB20 Worlds in Singapore, the Winter Series, the Portuguese and the UK Nationals," – said John Pollard. "There is no stopping for us and we are planning to do "November in Hyeres" regatta this year in the lead towards next year's SB20 Worlds, where we will try to defend our Champions title."
The Irish team TED faced setbacks in the first race of the day, but under pressure they held their nerve when it mattered most. A strong 4th place in the final race was enough to secure them 3rd overall, tied on points with the French Youth team.
The prize-giving ceremony awarded the teams in the following nominations:
Top 3 Youth teams, where the FFVoile Youth team of Paul Loiseau, Aristide Delin, Camille Pfaff and Manen Giannantonil won first place.
The top 3 Masters team, where the Irish team of Ger Dempsey, Colin Galavan and Artem Basalkin won first place.
Top 3 Female teams, where the all-female team from Malta of Gabriella Mifsud, Anna Basalkina, Mattea Ciantar and Emilie Gregory won first place.
