B14 - the inclusive skiff
by Ryan Gerrish 21 Jan 2025 09:38 GMT
Launch time during the B14 Worlds 2025 on Sydney Harbour © Andrew Lee / @aclee.photo
Reporting from Sydney after the 2025 world championships, our reporter 'down-under' has pulled together some stats that shine a light on the inclusivity of this great class. Have a read... and if you're interested, perhaps after stepping out of a youth or squad class or just wanting to sail a great boat that can accommodate such a wide range of sailors, take a look at the B14!
As always, the UK class association be at the RYA Dinghy Show 22/23 February where we'll have a boat on the stand and a chance to meet Lucy and Chris who will be talking about the championships and hopefully, we'll find out what made them so quick in all conditions!
The World Championships Sydney 2025 were special for so many reasons, but also for highlighting several firsts: First ever mixed crew to win the Word Championship title - well done to Chris Bateman and Lucy Loughton sailing Squirrel from Ireland.
Chris and Lucy were also the:
- Youngest ever team to win the World Championship title at a combined age of just 54.
- Lightest ever team to win the World Championship title at a combined crew weight of just 138 kg.
- First non-British and non-Australian team to win the World Championship title representing Ireland.
Chris and Lucy's achievement is even more impressive considering they had only sailed their B14 together twice before putting it into the container bound for Sydney.
The B14 attracts a range of ages, heights, weights, and genders. We are proud to be an inclusive high-performance skiff class for everyone.
At the 2025 pre-worlds and world championship:
- 50% of teams were mixed gender.
- 4x mixed teams in the top ten at the worlds including first place on the podium.
- 4x teams had female helms with 1x female helm in the top ten at the worlds.
- The youngest competitor was 15.
- The oldest competitor was 71.
- The oldest combined crew age was 120.
- The youngest combined crew age was just 33.
Over the years the B14 has seen mixed crews on the podium including at the Sydney worlds in 2000 (second place), Plerin in 2013, Carnac 2019 (both third place) and of course first place in Sydney 2025!
The B14 fleet celebrates its female sailors with "champagne in the shower," a tradition that sees the females flee the final pack up in the boat park for a bonding session over a few bubbles, this year sponsored by Gerrish Legal, a female-founded law firm!
The B14 truly is the inclusive skiff and teams from all backgrounds, genders and sizes can be truly competitive across even the windiest of conditions seen at Sydney in 2025.
If you're interested in joining the B14s in the UK/Europe, get in touch with Crispin Taylor through FB or visit the UK/Europe B14 page www.facebook.com/groups/30388050183 or www.b14.org for more information.