Four Irish Dragon keelboats are in the hunt for the Gold Cup 2023 this weekend in Torquay.
Hosted by the Royal Torbay Yacht Club (RTYC), the regatta will officially begin with an Opening Ceremony on the Harbourside at 18:00 on Saturday, 9 September, followed by a Welcome Reception at the RTYC. Championship racing will run from Sunday 10 to Friday 15 September.
With 50 teams from across Europe, Asia, and Australasia and some of the top Dragon sailors in the World competing, the event will follow the traditional and infamously challenging Gold Cup format of six days racing with one single long windward leeward race each day and all races to count.
British Olympian and America’s Cup veteran Lawrie Smith, sailing Alfie is, entered under the burgee of Glandore Yacht Club in West Cork.
From Dun Laoghaire on Dublin Bay, former national champions Peter Bowring, Neil Hegarty (Helm) and David Williams are racing. Also from the bay, Jonathan Jonathan and Barry O'Sullivan from the National Yacht Club sailing Full Speed are in action.
From Kinsale, and with the 2024 Gold Cup heading there next September, Daniel Murphy, Sean Murphy, and Brian Goggin will fly the KYC flag in Whisper this weekend in Torquay.
The Dragon Gold Cup is one of the most famous trophies in yachting and is raced for annually at venues across Europe. Quoting from the original 1937 Gold Cup Rules created by the Clyde Yacht Club’s Conference when they presented the Gold Cup, the intention of the competition is to “bring together as many competitors of different nationalities as possible in a friendly spirit”. With 14 countries from 3 continents represented and full professional to all family crews racing, this edition most certainly meets that criterion.
Torquay is a popular venue with superb racing waters, a welcoming and very experienced host club, and all the delights of the English Riviera. On behalf of the RTYC, Commodore James Clapham looks forward to welcoming the sailors; “We are delighted that the Dragon Gold Cup is returning to Torquay. Our club’s association with the class goes right back to the early days of Dragons in the UK and includes hosting the sailing for the 1948 Olympics, in which the Dragon featured, the Gold Cup in 1995 and the Edinburgh Cup no less than ten times between 1952 and 2018. Our volunteer team has been working for over two years to prepare the event and we are excited that those plans are finally coming to fruition. Torbay offers outstanding racing, our race committee is well-practised, and we are looking forward to working with Race Officer Stuart Childerley, who knows our waters well. Our hospitality, bar and restaurant teams are also at the ready to ensure the event is one that everyone will remember both afloat and ashore.”
With a host of top names participating competition will be fierce. Fresh from victory at the recent 75th Dragon Edinburgh Cup comes British Olympian and America’s Cup veteran Lawrie Smith, sailing Alfie for Glandore Yacht Club. Smith will be joined by his fellow Edinburgh Cup podium finishers, four-time World Match Racing Champion and New Zealand sailing legend Peter Gilmour of the Yanmar Racing Team, and Grant Gordon’s Louise Racing Team sailing for the Royal Yacht Squadron.
Reigning World and European Champion Wolf Waschkuhn will be hoping to achieve the elusive treble of holding the World, European and the Gold Cup trophies simultaneously. Other big names to watch out for include three-time Dragon World Champion Andy Beadsworth, sailing the Turkish Provezza Dragon, who took the silver medal at last year’s Gold Cup; 2019 Gold Cup winner Pedro Andrade from Portugal; and 2017 champion Stephan Link from Germany.
Registration and launching for the Yanmar Dragon Gold Cup 2023 will take place from Thursday, 7 September to Saturday, 9 September, with a practice race scheduled for Saturday. Gold Cup championship racing will run from Sunday, 10 to Friday, 15 September, with a total of six races scheduled.
