UK B14 season preview for 2025
by Tony Blackmore 21 Feb 19:41 UTC
22-23 February 2025, stand 230
With the warmth of the Sydney Worlds, both weather and welcome, still fresh in the memory it feels like the B14 is on the cusp something grand.
UK TT Events - We have a fantastic variety of TT events in the UK this year at some new, to us, venues. Carsington and the Nationals at Mumbles are just two of them. Ably organised by our new event coordinator Claire.
2026 Worlds in Torbaydos! - We also have the Worlds venue announcement for June 2026 at Torbay Yacht Club. This is the first time since 2007 that the World Championships will be held in the UK and we are very excited about it. Initial reaction from the Aussie fleet indicated at least 12 boats were interested. And we have the great and the good of the dinghy sailing world looking to get into the class for it.
Second-hand Boats - With the Worlds in the UK next year it means second-hand boats become rare. We currently have four really top quality boats on the for sale list. 771 an epoxy Ovington boat (774 just won the worlds), 796 and 798 both the latest Seavolution boats and 731 which has just been refurbished by Chris and Lucy, B14 World Champs!
Dinghy Show 2025 - We are on stand 230, right next to the Hartly stand. If you have a B14 or fancy a go in one then come and see us at the show. We're here all weekend! We have two boats on the stand. 799 which is a year or so old and in pristine condition. It shows just what the latest boats can look like when pimped to within an inch of it's life! And the Rocket Ship boat this year is sail number 789. A great example of a regularly sailed race boat.
Class membership - If you own or sail a B14 then class membership is a great way to support the class. The class itself is a member of World Sailing. This membership ensures that we adhere to a common set of rules both for the boat and for all our sailing events. We have very active national committees in the UK and Australia who work hard to maintain the value of the boats through well organised events, Nationals, Europeans and World Championships.
Seavolution UK - A great class builder who invests a massive amount of time and effort (and money!) into making sure that the class is fully supported in terms of new boats when required and specialist spares. They carry a stock of everything you could possibly need to maintain one of these great skiffs.
So there we are, plenty happening with lots to look forward to. Not least of all sailing the fastest hiking skiff in the world!