2020 SB20 Tasmanian Championship on the River Derwent - Preview
by Jane Austin 12 Feb 2020 12:15 NZDT
15-16 February 2020
The Tasmanian SB20 fleet provides lots of action in the Banjos Shoreline Crown Series Bellerive Regatta © Jane Austin
The 2020 SB20 Tasmanian Championship will be decided on the River Derwent in Hobart this weekend, 15-16 February 2020.
The event, which is part of the Bellerive Yacht Club's Banjo's Shoreline Crown Series Bellerive Regatta, will be another tough battle for the local boats with some of the top performers from last year's SB20 World Championship back on the water to contest the two-day event.
The Porco Rosso team, skippered by Paul McCartney with Ed Snowball, will be defending their title which they won convincingly from Frazer Read (Pinch) and Nick Rogers (Karabos) in 2019.
Porco Rosso welcomes back current SB20 Australian Champion David Chapman (Chappo) who was onboard as tactician and mainsheet trimmer in Singapore last week, due to the unavailability of Elliott Noye. The team placed third in the SB20 Singaporean Nationals and eighth in the Asian Grand Slam and Asia Pacific Championship, after illness robbed them of a day's racing.
"While having Chappo onboard isn't a permanent change, we are in effect a new crew working to gel as quickly as we can. Chappo gives me confidence in my helming which is important as I haven't been on the stick for a while. Communication is fast and direct, so we need to be on the ball and ready to respond, even if we aren't exactly sure why sometimes," said McCartney. Chapman will be sailing with team on the last twilight race this week before the Championship gets under way.
Challengers on the racecourse who will be in on the hunt for the perpetual trophy include Andrew Smith (Imp), who will be back on the water after a solid break following his 2019 international campaign, while 2017 Australian SB20 Champion and world-class sailor Brett Cooper (Aeolus), is always tough to beat on the Derwent.
Both will face some stiff opposition from SB20 Australian Class President Stephen Catchpool (Rebellion), David Graney (Wedgewood), Phil Reid (Mind Games) and Scott Glanville (Blue Gull), who have been consistent performers in the pre- and post-Christmas summer pennant series. The start line will see one all-female crew and three youth teams including two from The Hutchins School Sailing Academy.
Race results can be found here