Pathfinder Homes B14 European and Global Championships 2026 - Form Guide
B14 Europeans and Nationals at Torquay © Tania Hutchings / www.50NorthPhotography.co.uk
The B14 fleet this week meet for their 18-month rotational cycle to see which team will reign supreme and which hemisphere will win the all-important Ashes. For the Ashes, presented for the Global Championships, it will be a case of the best three teams overall from the UK/Europe against three teams from Australasia.
The format is the Open European Championships 18 - 20th June serving as a warm-up followed by lay-day leading into the main event, the 10 day Global Championship at the Royal Torbay Yacht Club. Nine and 10 races respectively with two discards per series if all races sailed. 19 adrenaline fuelled races over a period of 10 days.
In the left corner we have the Australians and in the right corner we have the Europeans. As we all know the windier it is, the more the Aussies like it. However, the joker in play is light airs specialists The Nude AUS800 Richie Reynolds/Lissa Macmillan that sing in the light to moderate conditions.
Weather forecast for the first week is looking light to moderate gradient SW breezes. Which will if we get some heat and sea breezes to spice it up. Heavier teams will be hoping that is the case. Whatever the outcome, it will be a case of some great close racing.
There is also the classic fleet (pre-2001 hulls) within the main fleet and this will be hotly contested.
B14 Europeans and Nationals at Torquay © Tania Hutchings / www.50NorthPhotography.co.uk
So, for the form guide we'll list a few of the main players to consider...
Team Harken GBR 801 (5 - 1): Nick Craig/Toby Lewis, multi-World champions needing no introduction. They will only be doing the Europeans and Nick has a work commitment he has to attend during the Globals. Going into the Europeans they have form and will be seen by many as one of the benchmark teams to beat.
Wonkey Donkey GBR 797 (6 - 1): Mark Watts/Matt Johnson, previous World and current National and European Champions. They have been mixing it with Team Harken and have the potential of showing a big performance across the breeze range. This could be there moment. Potentially one of Europe's Ashes team.
Team Seavolution/North Sails GBR 799 (6 - 1): Mark Barnes/Jack Kilburn, serial TT winners and Inland Champions. Barnsie needing no introduction has been one of the class's serial race winners and with Jack are showing good speed. These two went head-to-head toe-to-toe with Wonkey Donlkey last time out and finished on equal points prior to and after the discard came in to play. Question is, has Barnsie fully recovered from his injury? If so, they will be ones to watch and potentially one of Europe's Ashes team.
The Nude AUS 800 (8 - 1): Richie Reynolds/Lissa McMillan known as the super lightweight team and boy do they deliver in the light stuff. However, in the heavy stuff where shear righting moment is key, these guys tend to slip back a bit. If the big winds do not kick in, they could well be in the mix for the podium. One of the AUS Ashes Team.
Pathfinder Homes GBR 774 (8-1): Ralph Singleton/Lucy Loughton, with Ralph jumping in to the back end with Lucy and her current World Championship winning platform, they have shown great speed at the events they have attended this year and will be ones to watch. They should be contenders for the Ashes team.
Bandit AUS 793 (9-1): Glenn Caldwell/Karen Branch, a seasoned team that have shown good results over the season down under. Mixed breezes will suit these two perfectly. Both long members of the fleet. A shoe in for the AUS Ashes team.
The Significant Other AUS 368 (11-1): Ryan Gerrish/Tim Brazier, another team from AUS who have been putting in the miles on the water and should be a part of AUS ashes team. With Ryan being a UK export and now resident Australian, where will his loyalties lie if AUS are on for the win. A probable for the AUS Ashes team.
There are a number of other teams that will probably end up in the mix come the end. What we can be sure of, is that all will have a race where they'd rather not have finished and other races where they excel. Torbay can be a tricky place to sail as many know, especially when the wind has a W in its direction. Come the end of each regatta, you can be sure that whoever wins will be worthy champions. Whatever happens, one can be sure it will not be over till the fat lady sings.
The Royal Torbay Yacht Club and class events team have a full social calendar organised over the two regattas. All will have a merry old time on and off the water thanks to the sponsorship achieved for the event. Reports will be posted daily with some media streams also uploaded onto the web.
With grateful thanks to our Tier One Sponsor, Pathfinder Homes, and also to the Tier Two Sponsors: Admiral Trailers, Harken (UK), Howdens Joinery Exmouth, Kingfisher Ropes, Loughtons Independent Financial Advisors, North Sails, ONT Electrical Contractors, Performance Sailboat Repairs, Raleigh Construction, Seavolution, Unilever.
Event website: rtyc.org/event/b14-global-european
This article is also available over at Sail World