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The final day of the championship took a long time to start. Called for an earlier skippers briefing Friday morning the competitors discovered a deep fog covering the harbour. Wind was unstable and patchy, not giving much hope for racing.

After some waiting ashore a two-hour postponed flag was hoisted, until finally at 13:00 the fleet was sent to the water. A pressure front was passing the coast from Belgium and the chance was that it will allow to sail one race or pass by too quickly.

At the racecourse the wind was around 7-8 knots and Course Race Officer Dirk Sledsens (Royal North Sea Yacht Club in Ostend) had the mercy on sailors to not go into the Black flag start on the first attempt. After a start on Uniform and a general recall that followed the RC managed to quickly hoist the orange flag again and the final battle was on.

The tide was pushing the boats onto the starting line at about 3 knots of speed and two French Youth teams were leading the race. On the upwind marks France Youth of Ange Delerce was first and France Youth of Ian Garreta was third. Between them Another Affair was rounding in 2^nd.

Just after the rounding at the top marks the numbers have been called on the radio announcing that both French Youth teams have had a BFD, but the two teams continued racing. Getting to the downwind marks was tricky and the teams found it hard to get the boats going.

On the 2^nd upwind rounding the leaders got shuffled and this time between the French teams was Australian Porco Rosso in second. Without losing too much speed downwind they crossed the line after the two French teams which meant winning Race 12!

Supersonic had a good race – after the 4^th position at the 1^st upwind mark, the only top boat to gybe early, they got the 2^nd finish in the race. Charles Whelan on Breaking Bod managed stay in the front in this difficult race finishing third and concluding the event with a smile.

Team Ares rounded around 6^th place at the first upwind, then had an incident at the bottom with Another Affair who received a penalty. Next upwind they overtook slowed down Breaking Bod and Leviathan, both on the inside, and rounded in 5^th. From then they had to keep the pace and make it to the finish line in top 5. Which they did and secured their win!

Many great Aussie sailors have taken the challenge to win the SB20 World Championships over the years. Glenn Bourke (several attempts), Tom Slingsby and Nathan Outteridge (on the same boat in 2011), Michael Cooper, Chris Dare, David Chapman, Ian Brown and Malcolm Page – all of them got to 2^nd and 3^rd overall, but it took a young gun from Hobart to get it done in 2023.

Australians, however, have been part of the winning teams in the past: Steve “AB” White was with Craig Burton for all three wins (2008, 2009 and 2013). And Grant Rollerson was on Jerry Hill’s boat in 2011 and took the trophy home.

Portugal became the new Nation’s Cup holder as the best performing country. All four Portuguese teams finish the regatta in top 10 with Freedom of Martin Estlander in 4^th (64 pts), AP Hotels of Jose Paulo Ramada in 6^th (86 pts) and Solyd Sailing team of Vasco Serpa in 9^th overall (116 pts).

At the award ceremony Will Sargent first and utmost thanked his team and called them “the best team in the world”. “It was a very close event and it came down to the last race. There was a bit of match racing and a couple of penalties, but managed to go come out with a win, so we’re really excited,” –he added.

Lots of grateful words have been said at the prize-giving ceremony to the sponsors, the volunteers, the organisers and the Club staff. They’ve all done a fantastic job always with a smile and helping each other. Special thanks to PRO Rob Hoogstra for a fantastic week of sailing! The hospitality of Scheveningen Yacht Club has been brilliant and the work of Race Committee exceeded all expectations. Racing in strong currents is never easy and the RC has delivered five days of racing in various tricky conditions.

Hein Ruyten, the SB20 Class dealer in the Netherlands, and Promotex, GTYachting and the crane company from Belgium Aertssen contributed greatly to the success of the championship. Fantastic prizes from Dubarry of Ireland, Secrid and Sailmon, fun happy hours and parties all made another SB20 Worlds an unforgettable event!

Overall results:

Top Female team –RSZV (Rotterdamse Studenten Zeil Vereniging) of Donna-Tinke Huijsmans, Arthur Nankman, Tigo Ledeboer and Emma Van Ginkel (NED)

Top Masters team – PBII Twenty of Mark Gillett, Paul Hine and Richard Anderton (GBR). Paul and the team are also taking the last year’s prize that had been waiting for them in Holland. It turned out that Dutch team 3J’s were not yet eligible for the Masters category in 2022.

Top Youth team – Ares of Will Sargent, Eddie Reid, Paige Caldecoat, Eirini Marios (AUS).

Best Corinthian – Another Affair of Tiago Morais, Miguel Oliveira and Francisco Oliveira (POR).

3^rd place overall – Xcellent of John Pollard, Henry Wetherell and James Grummett (GBR)

2^nd place overall – Another Affair of Tiago Morais, Miguel Oliveira and Francisco Oliveira (POR).

1^st place overall – Ares of Will Sargent, Eddie Reid, Paige Caldecoat, Eirini Marios (AUS).

Photos from the prize-giving ceremony (© Laurens Morel)

Overall results: https://worlds2023.sb20class.org/notice-board/results/

The penultimate day of the SB20 World Championship opened with a clear start of Race 9. Northerly wind of 8 knots has put the starting line almost perpendicular to the coast and the combination of light with the falling tide created a challenge for the boats to get speed upwind.

Stretching from the far right to the far left, further into the sea, looking for more wind the boats crept toward the marks. Boats sailed with a beautiful background of Scheveningen skyline in misty air, almost foggy.

After reaching the top mark it was getting even more tricky. The tide was pushing the boats down the coast at almost 90 degrees and early gybes were crucial. Bad tactical decisions on the downwind could cost a number of places.

Great performance in Race 9 by France Youth team of Ian Garreta, who weren’t leading on the first beat and top mark rounding. They guessed the right combination for the downwind and have been rewarded with a bullet. Martin Estlander on Freedom and Nils Razmilovic on Glasgow Kiss followed in 2^nd and 3^rd.

Second race was particularly tricky and it was team Freedom who stayed in the lead from the first rounding until the finish. Sailing closely behind them were Aussie Youth team Ares who scored second and Glasgow Kiss in third. Team Freedom find themselves in 4^th overall with 2 bullets and two podium finishes.

For Nils Razmilovic and his team this event has been a rollercoaster. Having scored a bullet in Race 2 and at least three more podium finishes the team had an early start in Race 4 and got penalised in Race 11. After four days of intense racing Glasgow Kiss dropped to 16^th position, sadly, with little hope for the podium, but maybe “the magic right shift” will do its magic! They finished 2^nd overall in the pre-Worlds event last month, just 3 points behind John Pollard.

Yesterday’s leaders Another Affair struggled with today’s conditions and didn’t get to pick up the pace until the second race of the day, when they finished 5^th. Their other two results today in 9^th could have both been discards, but according to the Sailing Instructions only 1 discard will be granted at this World Championships. Currently in 2^nd they have a good chance to be on the podium.

Team Xcellent of John Pollard haven’t scored in the top 3 today, but had two consistent races with 5^th and 4^th finish. In Race 10 they stretched so far left on the downwind and sailed almost along the beach. That cost them a number of places and they finished 10^th. They are currently in 3^rd.

France Youth team of Ange Delerce, who were 6^th yesterday moved up and are now 5^th with a good chance to finish this event on the podium. Sailors from the South of France they have a good experience sailing in light wind which is predicted for the final day.

Difficult day for Jose Paulo Ramada on AP Hotels, who scored 13^th, 8^th and a 5^th. With one bullet in Race 5 and no black flags they discard their worst result in 15^th. This puts them 7^th overall after yesterday’s position in 5^th. Paul McCartney on Porco Rosso has climbed up to 8^th overall since Wednesday after a they won a redress request in Race 7 having been mistakenly black flagged.

Vasco Serpa on Solyd Sailing also struggled in Race 9, but two following races were more consistent and they were 4^th in both. With a bullet in Race 3 and no BFDs they are closing the top 10 on penultimate day of the championship.

Team Ares had the best performance today. Despite the tiredness and difficult conditions they stayed focused and concentrated. After today’s 10^th, 2^nd and 1^st they were rewarded with the top position on the board!

“We had a great day today on the water, it was a tricky day. We started off with not the best race in 10^th place, but then we paced the last race together with a 2 and a 1. And we find ourselves on top of the leaderboard divided by only 4 points at the top. Really happy with how the team is performing and hope for a couple more good results,” – said Will concluding about today’s racing.

In our yesterday’s report we mistakenly assumed that with more than 10 races the teams will get a second discard. Without the second discard looks like top four or five teams have a good chance to win the event. It’s going to come down to some really exciting last racing day in a lighter breeze. Don’t miss the action and follow the tracking via Sailmon app or by joining via link below!

Follow the Dutch SB20 on Facebook and Instagram as @sb20_netherlands.

Tracking available through Sailmon: https://sailmon.com/racing/sb20-world-championships-scheveningen

Photo credits: Laurens Morel. You can find all high-resolution photos here.

Different winners in all four races of Day 3 with the most consistent sailing from Another Affair (POR3723) who continue to lead on the overall standings.

Great job by the Race Committee to conclude 4 races today with wind stable to acceptable limit with shifts on the racecourse. With every day of the championship the low tide happens later and later in the day, so starts are still super tricky. The day opened with a general recall, but quickly switched to Black flag, which caught a couple of boats in Race 5.

Glasgow Kiss took the lead followed by AP Hotels and Trio (NED3445). Ares, Another Affair and SquiB followed closely. On the second upwind rounding AP Hotels took the lead from Glasgow Kiss and finished first. Team Xcellent did a great job and finished second leaving the Singapore team in third.

Pleasant surprise for Race 6 was a clear start on uniform flag! The sky turned grey, but without the wind picking up. Already on the second downwind the sun came back to brighten the racecourse for spectacular photos. First on the upwind mark were team Freedom (POR3803), followed by Skipjack (NED3575) and France Youth Team of Ian Garreta (3653).

For the 2nd rounding the leaders changed with PBII in first, followed by Porco Rosso (AUS3827) and Freedom. In this sequence they reached the finish line. Exciting moment for Paul Hine and the team on PBII winning this race as they have never scored a bullet at a World Championship. This also puts them in top 10 two days before the end of the championship. Well done, Poor Bouy-20!

Maximum number of boats that jumped the line on Black flag reached six in Race 7. It was won by team Ares who sailed a very consistent race. They took early lead on the first rounding and dominated the fleet for the rest of the game. John Pollard and France Youth of Ange Delerce put some pressure on Will Sargent and his team, but they did a great job keeping the focus and sailing their best. Race 8 had a clear start with the wind dropping to 6-7 knots. Ian Garreta (FRA3653) was in the lead on the first downwind together with MXTC (NED3714) and Supersonic (UAE3363). Tricky light wind and the incoming tide decided the last race of the day with team Freedom (POR3803) finishing in first, Ian Garreta in second and Nils Razmilovic on Glasgow Kiss in third.

Another Affair sailed the most consistent day – with no big mistakes, no BFDs and staying always in top 3-5 places. Their worst result overall is 7^th in two races, one of which becomes a discard, so they still have some room for an error. Team Ares, however, are only 4 points behind and Another Affair will have to keep their consistency for two more days.

Tiago Morais and his crew of father Miguel and son Francisco Oliveira have been sailing in the SB20 Class for a number of years. Representing Club de Vela Atlántico from the North of Portugal they frequently travel to Cascais for SB20 events. In the season of 2022-2023 they crowned the overall Winer Series and finished three out of five events on the podium.

Fellow Portuguese team AP Hotels won the opening race of the day, but all-Portuguese crew of Jose Paulo Ramada didn’t manage to keep the pace for the rest of the day. They had 13^th, 7^th and 15^th finish in Race 8. This pushed them down to 5^th place with Freedom moving to the 4th. Intense level of sailing here in Scheveingen is tiring and staying focused after 6-7 hours on the water is not easy.

John Pollard had an up and down day with the worst result in 11^th and best in 2^nd place. “Variable conditions today, but we managed to stay out of trouble! We had no black flags and four sufficient results, so we are looking good for the rest of the week,” – said Tactician James Grummett onboard Xcellent who close the Top 3.

After this long and tiring day the sailors were welcomed on the beach for a fun raffle sponsored by Dubarry of Ireland and Sailmon. Nice food and beautiful sunset concluded the day in bright colours that made any bad memories from racing fade away. With 8 races completed including one discard the fleet enters the second part of the championship. Thursday is promised to be windy and Friday, on the contrary, very light.

For Wednesday the first warning signal is at 11:25 and the RC changed the number of potential races to four.

Follow the Dutch SB20 on Facebook and Instagram as @sb20_netherlands.

Tracking available through Sailmon: https://sailmon.com/racing/sb20-world-championships-scheveningen

Photo credits: Laurens Morel. You can find all high-resolution photos here.

Day 2 of the 2023 SB20 World Championships opened with a light breeze and storm on the forecast. The pressure was on for the Race Committee to start at scheduled 11:35, but it was not until after 12:30 that racing got going.

Light wind caused the delay and the day promised to be tricky again with the tide working not in fleet’s favour. Race 3 started on uniform flag, but too many boats were over the line pushed by the tide onto the racecourse. Many favoured the pin end to avoid the crowded Committee end of the line. After a general recall a burst of laughter was heard in the air as the Black flag went up for the second attempt of Race 3.

Team Ares (AUS3828) took a good start in the middle, then struggled to get to speed and find stable wind. Irish TED of Michael O’Connor (IRL3809), Solyd Sailing team of Vasco Serpa (POR3801), Tiago Morais on Another Affair (POR3723) and Martin Estlander on Freedom (3803), John Pollard on Xcellent (GBR3814) all favoured the left handside. Race 2 winners Glasgow Kiss (SGP3750) had a bad start and got stuck in the middle.

With a good start on the pin end 80% of the race could happen on one tack benefiting from the tide that was still going down. Then, a technical approach on port tack to the mark would make it a winning combination.

First rounding saw the Dutch team 3J’s (NED3754) in the lead followed by Freedom (POR3803) and Supersonic (UAE3363) arriving on port tack. Among the top teams on first upwind mark were Leviathan (IRL3433), PBII (GBR3820) and TED (IRL3809) with Solyd Sailing and Xcellent chasing closely. The boats got some nice speed going downwind and those who stayed on the right side of the downwind course made a good decision.

With PBII retired after first downwind due to a BFD there was one less competitor in top 10. Breaking Bod (GBR3758) and Leviathan took the right side upwind, which has cost them a few places.

From afar it looked like the battle for the 2^nd rounding would be between Freedom (POR3803) and Xcellent (GBR3814), but it was Vasco Serpa who got the winning combination right and rounded first. 3J’s lost four positions and rounded in 5^th.

On the downwind Solyd Sailing were coming to the bottom gate in close with Freedom, but Freedom went too far left missing the layline and letting Vasco round in first. From then it was a short run upwind toward the committee boat for the finish, which Vasco and his team nailed brilliantly. Xcellent and TED followed on a photo finish in second and third. 3J’s climbed to 4^th position and Another Affair (POR3723) who sailed a very consistent race were 5^th, with Freedom arriving in 6^th.

Race 4 didn’t start until around 14:30 with RC trying to set the starting line for nearly an hour. Shifts of 50 degrees and wind dropping made everyone worried about the potential cancellation of Race 4. The dark horizon made additional pressure of a passing storm that promised 20mm of rain coming from the English Channel.

The boats stretched a bit more on the starting line, but it still looked very messy on the RC end. The wind shifted more to the south against anticipated Westerly.

The right handside of the course had a number of Dutch teams after the start on the RC end, but again many boats favoured the left. With the threat of the wind getting closer to 0 and the coming storm the RC took a decision to go with the Black flag at the first attempt of Race 4. Again, it cost some of the top teams painful BFDs. Unfortunately the case for Glasgow Kiss and Breaking Bod, who both retired from the race after the start.

On the 1^st upwind rounding Dutch youth team from Rotterdam (NED3290) took the lead, Another Affair and Kesbeke (NED3716) closely chasing them. In top 10 you could see a number of Dutch boats including Vliegensvlugge Vlieg (NED3446), Broach | TU Delft | Buitenhuis Advies | SuBtiel (NED3340), MXTC of Marco van Driel (NED3714) and others.

With the wind shift to the west predicted with the storm, the left handside of the downwind now looked better. After the first downwind rounding on the 2^nd upwind Another Affair made a smart move and stayed on that side for a long as they could. Xcellent was climbing on the opposite side. This worked well in the previous race, but not so well in the new conditions.

2^nd upwind rounding witnessed the same positions approaching with NED3290 of Donna-Tinke Huijsmans and Another Affair sailing very close. Tiago Morais on Another Affair (POR3723) managed to round first and another Dutch boat Kesebeke followed in 3^rd. John Pollard arriving in 4^th and Dutch Vliegensvlugge Vlieg in 5^th.

As the wind was dropping to nearly 4 knots at times the last downwind was super tricky for the leader to keep their pace. Having played the downwind very well and gaining a lead Another Affair secured the finish and won Race 4.

Youngsters on NED3290 followed right behind them with Kesbeke closing the top three. The AP over A was immediately hoisted after the finish of the first boat and the fleet rushed back ashore to shelter from the coming storm.

Good day for many Dutch teams which shuffles the overall positions on the leaderboard and makes a new Top 10. After four races the championship can be considered completed and with so many BFDs across the table the fleet is looking forward to the first discard after 5 races.

Looking at the National performance the Portuguese teams have a strong lead with three teams in top 10. Tiago Morais, helmsman onboard Another Affair, commented:

“You notice that the leaderboard has changed since yesterday. All the 4 winners were different, yesterday we had the Aussies and the French youth teams, today we were fast and the Dutch teams too, so the competition is very high. I’m happy to sail on the North sea, because I’m used to sail in the river and I am used to sailing with a current. The Portuguese are doing pretty well – Zé Paulo (AP Hotels, currently second) is sailing very well and Vasco (Solyd Sailing, 8^th overall) is having a consistent racing. Yesterday we were leading the Nations Cup and hopefully we can keep that lead until the end of the championship.”

After four races the top 10 is mixed with domination of Portuguese boats, but with potential discard after 5 races there are many teams that might appear on this table in the next three days. Click here for full results.

For Wednesday the first warning signal is at 11:25 and the RC changed the number of potential races to four.

Follow the Dutch SB20 on Facebook and Instagram as @sb20_netherlands.

Tracking available through Sailmon: https://sailmon.com/racing/sb20-world-championships-scheveningen

Photo credits: Laurens Morel. You can find all high-resolution photos here.