No races were sailed on Day 1 of the SB20 World Championship in Hyères on Monday 19 October. A steady 25 knots of wind at the start of the day meant the AP over A flag went up first thing in the morning. With the fleet ashore, we took the chance to meet some of the teams.
Hyères World Championship 2026 © João Saraiva Mendes
Passionate about the future of the sport
UAE – TEAM KIDZINK: BORGHESI, Charlotte | NARDI, Samuel | SALVA, Federica | VINCENZI, Riccardo
Charlotte Borghesi, sailing as Team Kidzink, made sailing history by becoming the first female helmswoman and skipper to win the SB20 World Championship, as well as marking the first UAE victory in the competition.
Hyères World Championship 2026 © João Saraiva Mendes
She taught her husband how to sail, and sailing is now a family passion. Her son William, now aged 12, was sailing Optimists, but she realised he was getting bored and, because he is such a strong young boy, she put him on an SB20 – and the results are great. He won the Pre-Worlds in Hyères, and her 11-year-old daughter is currently training on Lake Garda with Simone Ricci.
Charlotte sails in many classes and would like to see more young people in the sport. During the Worlds in Dubai, she lent one of her six SB20s to a youth team to give them a chance to race. Children are often focused on Optimists, but the best way to learn is by sailing different classes.
Hyères World Championship 2026 © João Saraiva Mendes
“I think Ed Russo has done a great job for the Class by involving the FFV (French Sailing Federation), and thanks to this French programme there are now many young French teams. He has been a real role model for me. This hasn’t been done in any other class. We could do more for women and have an all-female class. The class rules state that there needs to be 50% of the team female. Many women might be intimidated. Luna Rossa have youth and women teams coming through and they are winning. Luca Devoti has given an SB20, Pesciolinato, to young Italian sailors, giving them the opportunity to sail.”
GBR – THREE SAD OLD BLOKES: HILL, Jeremy | LLEWELLYN, Joe | ROLLERSON, Grant
Jerry Hill is back with the same Corinthian team, Joe Llewellyn and Grant Rollerson, sailing as “Three Sad Old Blokes” – the team that won the 2010 World Championship on Lake Garda in a fleet of 105 boats. Jerry is one of the founding figures of the SB20 Class, which was launched in the Hamble/Cowes community back in 2002. Together with Alan Hillman, Jerry was also instrumental in taking over the production and distribution of the SB20 from 2012 to 2018, after the Class ended the LaserPerformance contract. “I really like the SB20, where you can sail with friends, have a good time and enjoy the event.”
NED – DEN BOER CCI RSCV
The young student team from the Netherlands sailing on DEN BOER CCI RSCV is from the Rotterdam sailing association and has been training together since the beginning of the year. “The boat is powerful and as students we get to sail together, which is fun. It’s amazing to be racing against 66 boats, because before, at Cowes, we were 23 boats.”
Hyères World Championship 2026 © João Saraiva Mendes
GBR – POLLARD, John | BHOGAL, Krishan | CHAPMAN, David
David is a professional Australian racer on John Pollard’s boat “Xcellent”. He has been sailing SB20s for 11 years. “It is a 20-ft sportsboat with a very forgiving hull shape, and simple. The sails are all the same. Best thing is you can step into the boat and go! But obviously the young teams practise a lot, which is giving them even better results. The whole atmosphere is great and people are friendly, which is part of the attraction.” He adds: “I was sailing on Lake Garda and someone in a bar offered to let me sail on an SB20 he was going to buy, and we ended up winning the Australian Nationals.”
Skin in the game
Team Ed Russo is a local French team with Yannick and Boniface, who have been sailing SB20s for 15 years. Zoe is a sailing instructor in Bormes-les-Mimosas.
Hyères World Championship 2026 © João Saraiva Mendes
Technology supporting the racing
Every boat is equipped with a GPS tracker, adding a technological dimension to the championship and enabling the fleet’s movements to be followed throughout the racing.
Photos: ©João Saraiva Mendes
How to follow the action
Everything about the event is on the official SB20 Worlds Hyères 2026 website. During the championship, daily written reports will be published here on the SB20 Class website, while our Facebook and Instagram pages will cover the action on and off the water, with daily videos on social media and our YouTube channel.