SB20 European Championships - Fiercely competitive

by Katie Ashworth on 23 Sep 2012 SB20 European Championships 2012 are being held in Medemblik, the Netherlands from 21st to 27th September.

Zherebtsov/Luka, Greenhalgh, Hill, Van Driel, Burlton, Negri/Fonda, Carveth, Saxton; all names that could be engraved on the European Championship trophy on Thursday, after 13 races have been completed by the fiercely competitive SB20 fleet.

The stage is set for an excellent Championship which is generously supported by the long term Dutch SB20 Class title sponsor Magic Marine. The weather forecast promises a windy event; some sunshine is expected, but the season has certainly shifted from summer to autumn and the visitors to Medemblik from Italy are certainly feeling the cold!

The first two SB20’s built in the UK by White Formula, owned by Martijn Buitenhius (NED) and Oleg Zherebtsov (RUS) will be raced at the Championships. There is a lot of excitement surrounding the boats in the boat park; everyone is excited to see them racing tomorrow. Mark Richards, Alan Hillman and Jerry Hill of Sportsboat World will all be racing at the event. A presentation will be given to the fleet on Monday night to highlight all of the improvements to the new build SB20’s.

In 2007 Geoff Carveth, Sarah Allan, Ben Oakley and Mark Greaves (GBR) won the European Championships in Weymouth (UK). Five years have passed since the SB20 Class last organised a European Championships. During these 5 interim years the class has organised five exceptional World Championships within Europe. Geoff Carveth and Sarah Allan will both compete at the Championships in 2012, on different boats. Geoff recently won the Delta Lloyd Dutch Open Championships at Medemblik so enters the event as the form boat.

As fierce as the competition on the race course will be, the friendship and camaraderie of the SB20 fleet on shore will ensure a good time is had by all. Event website