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Irish SB20 Sailing Class News & Regatta Results
SB20 Russians Masterful as World Champs Turn Flukey
#sb20 – Nine sequences, six competitors black flagged and disqualified, two general recalls, two postponements, two course changes, an abandonment and a partridge in a pear tree. A mini-series could be made on the highs and lows of day four…
SB20 Young Gun Closes Gap on Russian Leader
#sb20 – At the half way point at the UON SB20 World Championships at Hamilton Island, the Russian team spearheaded by Oleg Zherebtsov and his helm Rodion Luka is still leading the international fleet of 42 sportsboats. In a first-class…
SB20 Euro Champions Make Move for World Title
#sb20 – Lighter breezes and one of the biggest tides of the year combined to create tricky conditions for the 42 international crews contesting the UON SB20 World Championships yesterday , and the race management team who were kept busy…
Youngster Takes Early Lead at SB20 Worlds
#sb 20 – Racing kicked off today in the Hamilton Island Resort area in Western Australia for the 2012 SB20 World Championships hosted by Hamilton Island Yacht Club. Early results are in, showing youngster Ben Saxton having early success with…
SB20 World Champs Head for France
#SB20 – The SB20 Class World Council have announced the class will host their sixth World Championships in Hyères, France in 2013. Racing will take place between Monday 9th and Friday 13th September and will be hosted by the internationally…
SB20 Sportsboat Class Announces 2013 European 'Grand Slam' Sailing Circuit
#sb20 – Sportsboat World promoters of the SB20 one design sportsboat announced the launch of a SB20 Grand Slam circuit that will take place in Europe in 2013. The SB20 Grand Slam will consist of three events that have been…
Duncan Tops SB20 Ireland 2012 Ranking Release
#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…
Irish Entries Lacking for SB20 Whitsunday Worlds
#SB20 – With a month until the SB20 World Championships entries close there are no Irish takers for the Anitpodean event so far. Today marks one month to the close of paperwork for this year's UON SB20 World Championships when…
Duncan Retains SB20 Title on Belfast Lough
#sb20– The battle finally ended yesterday evening on Belfast Lough to decide the Irish national championships for the SB20 Sportsboat class. Gold and Silver fleet results are available for download below. The margin being only 2 points between the front…
Duncan and Collins Slug it Out at SB20 Nationals
#sb20 – Trench warfare is best used to describe the fight going on at the front of the SB20 Sportsboat fleet for Day 2 of the nationals on Belfast Lough. There is no letup whatsoever between Mel Collins and Ben…
Duncan Leads SB20 Nationals in Belfast Lough
#sb20– Heavy rain and bad visibility greeted the SB20 fleet yesterday in Belfast Lough for day 1 of the Class Nationals. Wind from the south coming off the Ballyholme shore made for gusty and shifty racing for the fleet. Strangford…
Squib Champion to Contest SB20 Title on Belfast Lough
#sb20 – Hosted this year by Royal Ulster Yacht Club this weekend's SB20 nationals in Belfast Lough, will feature up to 30 boats Based at Bangor Marina, the eight race series will kick off on Friday lunchtime in what is…
Galway Bay SB20 Hat-Trick for Duncan & Co
#sb20 – Ben Duncan, Brian Moran and Joe Turner again showed great pace in the SB20 Western Championships at the weekend knocking up four 1sts and a 6th to win by a 5 point margin. The result is Ben's third…
Flawless SB20 Sailing Display from SharkBait on Tralee Bay
#SB20 – The first SB20 event was held at TBSC over the weekend of June 30th/July 1st. Although the fleet was small the racing under PRO Peter Moore of the host club was of the highest quality. On Saturady the…
Sharkbait Wins National Yacht Club's SB20 Eastern Champs
#SB20 – Howth Yacht Club's Sharkbait Ben Duncan (3287) sailing with Brian Moran and Paul Adamson won the first of the 2012 SB20 sportsboat championships with three wins in a series cut short by strong winds at the National Yacht…
New Name, New format as 'SB20s' Kick off 2012 DBSC Season
#SB20 – Andrew Algeo's Flutter took overall honours but only by one point in the first outing of the reformatted DBSC SB20 Sunday races with second and third being determined by countback between three boats. 19 boats turned out for…

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