Home of the SB4 and the SB20
Two decades after the successful launch of this strict one-design sailboat, we have appointed a new Builder – DEVOTI SAILING – Luca Devoti himself an Olympic sailor of considerable repute has built his company making Fins and other dinghies and is now the builder of the ILCA Olympic Laser… Building over 1000 boats/year the SB20 is going to benefit from a European Builder with considerable experience able to cater to a higher demand. Improved production will deliver value-for-money, whilst keeping the cost as low as possible.
SBW and Tony Castro will continue to support the Sb20 community and assist Devoti efforts to improve the management of the Class, improve the quality and location of the events and deliver a set of improvements to the boat , keeping the Sb20 “current” and attractive and yet still a strict One-Design for the competitors enjoyment and benefit.
Our Team
Designer
Tony Castro
I grew up in Lisbon, Portugal and thanks to my father started sailing on his boat, a 10m sloop called “Beau Geste”. At 8 years old I started sailing school and at 10 years old I was a young instructor at the Naval association teaching the young kids to sail!
Soon sailing Lusitos, Cadets, and then Moth. At around 12 the “Snipe” came into my sailing life eventually wining the Junior National championships 4 years later. In the meantime as crew I won the Senior National championship in “Vouga” (a kind of Soling) and “Sharpie12m”.
In the meantime I had the pleasure of being the first person to trapeze in a FD in Portugal. I could hardly pull that genoa by myself !! What a beautiful boat that was.
Less successful was my adventure in a “Star”, being too young, too light and not enough experience! but that boat remained my dream boat to this day…
Luckily we had many older Portuguese sailors quite good internationally so I learned a lot by studying them, something I used to do quite professionally for such a young kid. Asked lots of questions and watched their preparations before a race.
Some years later I was sent to Scotland to study Naval Architecture and sailing in bigger boats became the norm. First in a half tonner “Scampi III” and later a One Tonner “Billycan” . By 1973 I did my first Admiral’s Cup. Followed that by becoming a Navigator and sailing all over the World, also crewing on “Windward passage” ,“Equation” “Saudade” and so on.. phenomenal boats!
After some glorious years working with Ron Holland, I designed “Justine III” and won the One-Ton Cup with 6 bullets , first one ever on a World Championship since 1896. The rest is quite a long story…including the party consuming 159 bottles of champagne! Joe English son was baptised on the cup the next day!
Throughout my professional life I always liked to design smaller boats. More difficult and less margin, or no margin for mistakes.. I recall wining the “National 18” national championship in Ireland and designing also the wining “Flying Fifteen”. Also helped design a new mast section for the “Star”.
Later immensely enjoyed working on the Sydney Olympics “470” appendages for the bronze medal winners of my Portuguese friends.
It was thanks to the friends I made in Ireland that I got the chance to design the first modern “sportsboat”, the “ 1720 Cork One Design”.
This was the boat that got Laser excited about doing a smaller boat and the SB20 was born..!
My desire is to continue to serve the SB20 community the best way we can and assist DEVOTI SAILING to deliver the best boat possible, pushing for improvements that maintain the SB20 “current” and attractive to sail, whilst respecting the strict One-Design principle.