Royal Irish Yacht Club sailors Ger Dempsey, Colin Galavan and Arten Baskin were denied a final opportunity to improve their position at the SB20 World Championship in Hyères, France, when strong mistral winds brought racing to an early end on Friday, 23 October.

William Borghesi of the UAE's Kidzink Youth was crowned world champion, becoming the youngest skipper in the SB20 Class to win the title. His victory continues a family success story: his mother Charlotte Borghesi became the first female skipper to win the SB20 world title in Dubai in 2024.

"All I cared about today was William, and I just couldn't focus on our sailing or our boat during the race," Charlotte said.

Irish Crews Finish 18th and 47th at SB20 Worlds

Dublin Bay's Royal Irish Yacht Club crew of Dempsey, Galavan and Baskin finished 18th overall in the 66-boat fleet aboard Venuesworld.com (IRL 3739), completing the six-race championship on 83 points after discarding their final-race 34th place. Their standout performance was an impressive second place in Race 3, supplemented by a tenth in Race 5. The Irish trio recorded finishes of 33rd, 18th, second, 20th, tenth and 34th in a championship heavily affected by strong winds. Ireland's second entry, Bango GF (IRL 3065), sailed by Ben Graf, John McGonigle and Kevin Fenton of Lough Ree Yacht Club, finished 47th overall on 216 points, with a best race result of 39th. With no further racing possible on the final day, Thursday's standings became the championship's final overall results.

Stormy Finish in Hyères

Light westerly winds gave way to heavy showers and winds reaching 28 knots. Racing was abandoned as wind directions changed, and a subsequent attempt to restart was frustrated by a westerly mistral reaching 32 knots. After around three hours, the race committee displayed AP over A, signalling no further racing that day.

Spray and Pray – An SB20 crew battles steep seas and strong mistral winds at the 2026 World Championship in Hyères, where William Borghesi became the youngest skipper to claim the world title. Photo: João Saraiva Mendes

France's Socare Marbrerie, helmed by Olympic 470 sailor Julien Bunel, finished second despite mast damage sustained in an incident with another boat during the sixth race. French Corinthian entry Lynx took third, while Ares won the women's category.

Event representative Ed Russo thanked the 66 teams from 16 countries and five continents, describing a championship affected by strong easterly winds followed by a mistral blowing 20–25 knots with gusts around 30 knots.

Kidzink Youth had established an early lead before the weather intensified. The Afloat SB20 news hub carries the earlier Irish and international reports.

The next SB20 World Championship is scheduled for Torquay, Devon, from 3–11 September 2027. Further information is available from the 2027 championship website.

Results are downloadable below