Hobart to host SB20 Australian National Titles in March 2015
by Keryn Nylander on 19 Nov 2014
SB20 racing on the River Derwent in Hobart with Wrest Point Casino behind. Jane Austin
Hobart is gearing up for another fantastic summer of yacht racing with a highlight in 2015 hosting the SB20 Class Australian National Titles in March.
The event will coincide with Hobart hosting games as part of the ICC’s World Cricket Cup at Bellerive Oval, putting the SB20 boats firmly in the spotlight to a worldwide TV audience with the course being a backdrop to the famous oval.
Derwent Sailing Squadron will host the SB20 Nationals from 4th to 9th March on the River Derwent and the club together with the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania is also pitching to get the World Championships in January 2017.
Hobart is currently home to 21 boats, the largest SB20 fleet in Australia.
One of the most high profile sailors to participate in the Nationals will be Tasmania’s own yachting export Nick Rogers, a multiple world and national champion in Dragons, Etchells, Magic 25’s, mirrors and dinghy’s....who in the past few years made the switch to SB20s with great success. He was third in 2012, and fourth last year but is hoping to go one better and take out the title on his home course in Karabos.
The current National Champion is Chris Dare on Flirtatious. Chris Dare won the Nationals comfortably last year in Mooloolaba. He will probably be sailing with Oli Tweddell, an Australian Sailing Squad Finn sailor, trying for the Rio Olympics.
Olympic bronze medallist Ian Brown, helming One Design Sailing from Sydney, who dominated the 2013 series, winning six of the 12 races sailed out of Sandringham Yacht Club, will also be competing.
Others to watch out for include:
- Scott Brain, who came from Division 1 keel boat racing where he successfully competed in ocean and coastal races and is the former Tasmanian class champion.
- Kirsty Skinner, second overall in the SB20 Worlds in the UK in 2011.
- David Graney, one of Tasmania’s most versatile yachtsmen and a prominent member of the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania, is a former champion sailor in International Mirror dinghies and International Dragons. He currently races the SB20 sportsboat Wedgewood.
Further details at visit the SB20 Tasmania Facebook page or contact, Caroline Walker, Secretary:
Phone: +61 6223 1977 (work – DSS)
Mobile: +61 08 163 569 (Caroline)
Fax: +61 6223 7765 (DSS)
Email: caroline@SB20.com.au
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