Please select your home edition
Edition
Savvy Navvy 2024

2024 SB20 Tasmanian Championship at the Crown Series Bellerive Regatta - Preview

by Jane Austin 9 Feb 03:40 UTC 23-25 February 2024
The SB20 fleet in the 2023 Banjos Shoreline Crown Series Bellerive Regatta © Jane Austin

Tasmania's Nick Rogers, sailing Karabos, will begin his campaign to take two major SB20 titles in 2024 when he hits the water in the Banjo's Shoreline Crown Series Bellerive Regatta.

The Bellerive Yacht Club is hosting the 20th anniversary of the local regatta, from Friday 23 to Sunday 25 February, with the event incorporating the 2024 SB20 Tasmanian Championship.

Rogers, and his experienced crew of Cole Dabner and Simon Burrows, have been the in-form boat over the last few years in the Combined Clubs Summer Pennant Series, and will be looking to take yet another state title before chasing down the elusive SB20 Australian Championship four weeks later.

Rogers, one of Australia's top one-design sailors, is certainly in the mindset to achieve the 2024 title double after winning the prestigious Prince Philip Cup in the Dragon Class at Metung Yacht Club in Victoria in January with crew Lucas Upton and Leigh Behrens both of Hobart.

However, Rogers won't have it all his own way with Will Sargent, the current Tasmanian, Australian and World championship title holder likely to be participating in the regatta following his win (as crew) in the Youth Division of the SB20 Asia Pacific Championship last weekend in Dubai.

Paul McCartney (Porco Rosso) is also lining up for the Tasmanian championship and will be primed for the event following the World Championship in Dubai next week where he will be sailing with Ed Snowball from Hobart and David Chapman from Sydney.

SB20 World Council and Australian President Scott Glanville expects close racing in the regatta noting the rivalry across the fleet.

"I think we have four or five teams that could potentially win the title.

"We have world class sailors like Will Sargent, Ed Reid, Nick Rogers and Matt Bugg in the mix and with the SB20 Australian Championship just over a month away, the teams will be looking to impress in the States. Phil Reid (Mind Games) and Steve Catchpool (Rebellion] are both regulars on the River [Derwent] and also have their boats sailing fast," said Glanville.

Matt Bugg, who won silver in the 2.4mR Class in the 2016 Rio Paralympics, is all set for the 20th anniversary event with his crew of Robert Jacobs and Ben Goldfinch sailing Stormtrooper.

"I'm looking forward to this year's Crown Series as it's going to be our first serious regatta with our newly refitted SB20.

"We are hoping that a few changes to the boat will help us stay in touch with the faster boats in the Class and a multi race weekend event is always a good opportunity to improve our skills and gauge our performance against the rest of the fleet.

"I've been racing in the Crown Series on and off (mainly on) for the last 20 years and it always provides challenging conditions and a fun atmosphere at the Bellerive Club afterwards.

"It also usually has the added benefit of being held on my birthday, so I automatically get a leave pass from the family to go sailing," said Bugg.

The SB20 fleet will sail up to eight windward/leeward races in the Championship.

Follow the 2024 Banjo's Shoreline Crown Series Bellerive Regatta official website here and via Facebook here.

Related Articles

SB20 Middle East & UAE Nationals preview
Members and non-members are welcome to enter. Terms apply Dubai Offshore Sailing Club is set to bring the excitement of SB20 racing to the UAE with the upcoming SB20 Middle East & UAE Nationals - proudly sponsored by Wicked. The prestigious and nail-biting race runs from 30 November to 2 December 2024. Posted on 12 Nov
Hamble Winter Series 2024 Race Week 1
Two completely contrasting days of weather The 43rd running on the Hamble Winter Series started with two completely contrasting days of weather. Posted on 9 Oct
SB20 Worlds 2025 in Singapore preview
100 days to go until the event It feels like just yesterday that we were counting down to the SB20 Worlds in Singapore in February 2021, only to see a global conundrum to force its indefinite postponement. Posted on 8 Oct
Cascais Vela 2024
Cascais bids farewell to summer with over 200 sailors participating This Sunday marked the end of another edition of Cascais Vela, a championship that has annually filled Cascais Bay with boats at the end of August for more than two decades, and this year brought together over 200 sailors across five classes. Posted on 4 Sep
25th SMU-RM Western Circuit Sailing Regatta
TWCSR successfully concludes its 25th edition The 25th edition of the Western Circuit Sailing Regatta (WCSR) concluded with outstanding success, underscoring the event's remarkable legacy. Posted on 20 Aug
Cowes Week Day 7: A classic finale
Downwind finish against the tide on the Royal Yacht Squadron line A spectacular final day of racing at Cowes concluded with a classic downwind finish against the tide on the Royal Yacht Squadron line, with competitors sailing tight into the beach off the Green in a thick and fast procession that lasted for hours. Posted on 3 Aug
Cowes Week Day 6
Close racing and clear winners Competition is always close across many Cowes Week classes, but few can rival IRC Class 3, where Adam Gosling's JPK 10.80 Yes! and David Franks' J/112e Leon have been match racing each other all week and are only two points apart at the top. Posted on 1 Aug
Cowes Week Day 5
Gladiator wins Britannia Cup In a stunning performance Tony Langley's TP52 Gladiator beat 34 of the highest rated IRC yachts competing at Cowes Week to lift the prestigious Britannia Cup, after a long postponement while competitors waited for a stable wind to materialise. Posted on 31 Jul
Cowes Week Day 4
The short series has now concluded, with nine of the 12 scheduled races completed Today dawned bright and sunny with a northerly breeze that faded during the morning as the land heated up, but a stable sea breeze failed to materialise, forcing racing for all classes to be abandoned. Posted on 30 Jul
Cowes Week Day 3
Sun, spectacle and tight finishes Racing today kicked off in a dramatic fashion, with the fastest yachts at the regatta, competing in IRC Class 0, starting close inshore and manoeuvring only a few boat lengths from the beach, before heading east from the Royal Yacht Squadron line. Posted on 29 Jul
Savvy Navvy 2024Maritimo 2023 S600 FOOTER