SB20 Northern Area Championship 2026

Published 15:05 on 3 Jun 2026

SB20 Northern Area Championship 2026 at Sunderland Yacht Club 9th & 10th May

Sunderland Yacht Club welcomed the competitors to the 2026 SB20 Northern Area Championship.

With most visitors lifted in and safely moored in Sunderland Marina on Friday afternoon the fleet of seven boats was rigged and ready to sail on Saturday morning.

For many crews it was the first SB20 sail of the year. With some crews sailing the SB20 together for the first time. Including the all female crew on Chaotic sailed by the Sunderland Yacht Club Commodore Mrs Liz Arkle.

Although the forecast was for strong NNE wind and steady rain the competitors were enthusiastic to get out on the water.

The race officer re-laid the windward/leeward course in Whitburn bay as the forecast breeze arrived. The 20/30 mph NNE wind against the out going tide quickly increased the existing sea state into a 2.0m swell which proved to be a little too challenging for the fleet with only four boats managing to complete the first race which was finally won by Salty Surprise sailed by Tom Neilson from Sweaty Betty sailed by Dave Atkinson.

Despite a significant number of competitors engaging in spinnaker trawling no fish were officially recorded as landed. Much to the dismay of the pod of dolphins who arrived just in time to enjoy the colourful underwater spinnaker flying display.

In view of the worsening conditions the race officer (Mr Phil Lingwood) decided to abandon racing for the day and get everyone safely back ashore.

The early finish enabled access to the clubs hospitality which was significantly enhanced by the free bar, courtesy of Mr David Atkinson who was sailing his SB20 Sweaty Betty with his international crew.

In the interests of contrast, Sunday dawned with bright sunshine in a clear blue sky. The cool NNE wind had significantly reduced as had the prevailing sea state.

Racing started bang on time with the competitors contending with a flooding tide and a fresh northerly breeze. The fleet of seven boats remained tightly bunched throughout race two with the crew on Mojo sailed by Dave Matthews managing to win from Game of Thrones sailed by Adam Savage.

The race officer relaid the windward/leeward course for race three as the breeze significantly reduced and began tracking right.
Skill and judgment was required to negotiate the softening breeze as the tide began to turn, resulting in a race of big gains/losses and a large distance between the front and back of the fleet. Game of Thrones sailed by Adam Savage managed the conditions best, winning race three from Salty Surprise sailed by Tom Neilson.

The breeze strengthened slightly as it slowly continued to track right and appeared to stabilise for the start of race four. The outgoing tide required competitors to keep further back from the start line to avoid the danger of OCS.

The more stable conditions resulted in closer racing during race four with the fleet more tightly bunched once more. The crew on Mojo managing to win race four from Game of Thrones.

With sailing finished for the day the visiting boats were swiftly lifted out by the Sunderland Yacht Club shore team (AKA Mr Jimmy Carter) and the competitors retired to the clubhouse for the prize giving presented by the  Sunderland Yacht Club commodore Mrs Liz Arkle.

The overall results proved to be very close with the race officer referring to count back for a number of places.
The overall winner being Mr Adam Savage sailing Game of Thrones from Mr Tom Neilson sailing Salty Surprise.

Adam thanked Sunderland Yacht Club for a great weekend and hoped to see everyone sailing their SB20 in the North again as soon as possible.

Results

1st Game of Thrones Mr Adam Savage
2nd Salty Surprise Mr Tom Neilson
3rd Sweaty Betty Mr David Atkinson
4th Mojo Mr David Matthews
5th Frankie the Rhino Mr Tony Woods
6th Chaotic Mrs Elizabeth Arkle
7th Bullet Mr Ken Ward/ Mr Luke McGill

Last updated 15:05 on 3 June 2026