Leading the championships from start to finish, Kinsale Yacht Club crew Cameron Good, Henry Kingston and Matthias Hellstern, sailing Little Fella claimed the Irish Dragon National Championships at the Royal St. George YC on Sunday.

Royal St. George's Alistair Kissane, Ronan Murphy and Cian Hughes in Dragon number 180 Serafina Photo: Afloat

Despite a strong challenge from the host club's Jaguar Sailing Team of Martin Byrne, Adam Winkelmann and John Simms and also Kinsale clubmates Colm Dunne, Colm Daly and Daniel McCloskey in Ghost, the Good crew prevailed on Sunday afternoon taking the title by a six-point margin with a final race win. 

The host club's Jaguar Sailing Team of Martin Byrne, Adam Winkelmann and John Simms finished third overall and top Dublin boat

In an exciting climax to the competition, second and third places overall were decided on the tie-break rule in Ghost's favour on 24 points, a score shared with the Jaguar Sailing Team in third.

Supremacy number 122 (Lee Miles) looks for a lane to the weather mark during race six of the Irish Dragon National Championships Photo: Afloat

 Race Officer Con Murphy staged seven races for the Irish Dragon Nationals in conditions from light, medium to heavy weather on Dublin Bay Photo: Afloat

 The final two races for the 17-boat fleet were sailed in a 20 knot south easterly on Dublin Bay.

After five races sailed at the Royal St. George YC Dragon hosted National Championships, Kinsale Yacht Club crew Cameron Good, Henry Kingston and Matthias Hellstern, sailing Little Fella, on 12 points, still lead overall by two points.  

But after today's single race sailed, it is the host club's Jaguar Sailing Team of Martin Byrne, Adam Winkelmann and John Simms that have moved up into second place overall.

The Jaguar crew took second in race five in a 20 knot south easterly on Dublin Bay and with two races left to sail the 17-boat championship is still an open contest with three points separating the top three.

Martin Byrne's Jaguar Sailing Team lie second after five races sailed Photo: Bob Bateman

Third overall is Good's clubmate Colm Dunne, Colm Daly and Daniel McCloskey in Ghost on 15 points.

Race six is scheduled for 11.05 on Sunday morning.

After four races sailed at the Royal St. George YC Dragon hosted National Championships, Kinsale Yacht Club crews occupy the top three overall. 

Cameron Good, Henry Kingston and Matthias Hellstern sailing Little Fella on 14 points, lead by two points overall on Dublin Bay from clubmates Colm Dunne, Colm Daly and Daniel McCloskey in Ghost. 

Third is KYC's MarJ (Adrian Bendon, Eoghan O Mahony and Jeff Cochrane), the recent winners of August's Glandore Harbour's Lar Casey Cup.

Conditions on the Dun Laoghaire race track have so far been light to medium southeasterlies and relatively flat seas.

The top Dun Laoghaire boat is the host club's Jaguar Sailing Team of Martin Byrne, Adam Winkelmann and John Simms, who are on an equal 20 points with MarJ.

Racing continues on Saturday with races five and six and concludes on Sunday morning with one final race.

The 40th anniversary of the Lar Casey Cup for Dragons was won by Adrian Bendon’s MarJ at Glandore Harbour YC in West Cork.

Second was Ghost, C.Dunne and C.Daly and third Little Fella, Cameron Good.

The original event was also won by Adrian.

In normal years, the Lar Casey Cup is sailed on the Saturday of the Glandore Regatta but for the 40th Anniversary, the event was expanded to two days with 3 races Saturday and 2 on Sunday. The local fleet of 11 Dragons was boosted by 8 visiting Dragons from Dublin and Kinsale some of whom were previous winners of the Lar Casey Cup.

The conditions on Saturday were very light for racing outside the harbour but Race Officer David Forde, assisted by Mary O’Sullivan and Emily Jane O’Mahony, was able to set the windward leeward course and got in the scheduled 3 races. Race winners on the day were Moonshine and Mar J (2) and overall leader Mar J. For the last race of the day after the second general recall the black flag was raised and Phantom and Aphrodite were called out and sent home early.

On Sunday the conditions were even lighter but the fleet was sent out to sit through a one hour postponement until a sea breeze 4-5kts appeared. The course was set in the outer harbour with club mark Goat as windward mark and a finish in the inner harbour opposite Casey’s Bar. The breeze dropped soon after the start and made it a challenge to get to the windward mark. For the run it looked like the middle of the harbour was favoured with more breeze but the boats that hugged the shore fared better. Race winner on the day was Pongo, a previous Lar Casey Cup winner. Mar J finished 4th to secure overall winner. Mar J helm Adrian Bendon, a long time previous resident of Glandore, sailed as crew on Pan, winner of the first race for the Lar Casey Cup! Crewing on Mar J was Shawn Kingston, also a previous winner.

Casey’s Bar sponsored the event and provided all the prizes for individual race winners and the overall 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, with a special prize for oldest wooden boat, Gypsy, sailed by Don Street, also a previous winner of the Lar Casey Cup. Dinner on Saturday night and snacks on Sunday prize giving were also provided by Casey’s Bar.

The Dragon Derby was founded by Don Street in 1987 at Glandore Harbour Yacht Club in West Cork.

Fourteen races were sailed over two days in this year’s event, the 35th Derby. Challenging light winds dictated the first day of seven races in the inner harbour, with three boats tied at the top on 7 points - Zu, Moonshine and Sonata.

The wind freshened to 10-12 knots from the South East on the second day giving Race Officer David Forde the opportunity to set longer courses, resulting in five different boats winning a race each. Kevin Hayes, with Deidre Potenz and Paul Beechinor, sailed Sonata to the top, finishing with 24 points that included four race wins. Second was Phyloong on 28 and third Moonshine on 30.

Squibs and Dragons will sail the 1908 Race scheduled for July 30, with the Gordon’s Cup dinghy event on the following day.

A blaze of Dragons raced at Cork Week with entries from Kinsale YC, Royal St. George YC, Royal Irish YC, and Glandore Harbour YC.

Races were held on the Windward Leeward Course off Roches Point. Cameron Good’s Little Fella from Kinsale YC scored three race wins in a huge variety of conditions to win the Dragon Class.

Cameron Good was the Cork Week Dragon class winner

Peter Bowring’s Phantom from the Royal St. George led after the second day but finished the six race series as runner up. Daniel Murphy’s Whisper from Kinsale YC is third by just a point from Phantom.

Two wins on Thursday for Cameron Good's Little Fella have given the team from Kinsale Yacht Club a five-point lead in the seven-boat Dragon Class at Cork Week.

After three days of light and complex racing, a sea breeze kicked in on Day Four to spice up the action on the penultimate day.

Peter Bowring's Phantom from the Royal St. George YC is second, just a point ahead of Daniel Murphy's Whisper from the Kinsale YC.

A number of protests are still to be heard so results are provisional.

Racing at Volvo Cork Week concludes on Friday on five race areas, in and outside Cork Harbour, organised by the Royal Cork Yacht Club.

Irish champion Dragon Phantom skippered by Royal St. George's Peter Bowring leads after the first day of racing for Dragons at Volvo Cork Week Regatta.

Dun Laoghaire's Bowring counts a 2,1 in the seven-boat fleet to lead from Kinsale YC's Cameron Good in Little Fella one point behind on four.

The three-man class joined the action on the third day (Wednesday) of Volvo Cork Week and was blessed with sunshine and 8-10 knots of breeze from the north.

The Cape 31 Class and Dragons had windward-leeward races off Roches Point.

Racing at Cork Week continues tomorrow with the penultimate day of racing for the regatta. Five race areas, in and outside Cork Harbour, will be organised by the Royal Cork Yacht Club.

Going into the final two races of the 2022 Edinburgh Cup in Falmouth on Thursday it was close at the top. Just one or two points were in it for four of the Dragon and it quite literally was all to play for!

The Royal St. George Yacht Club Jaguar Sailing Team of Martin Byrne, Adam Winkelmann and John Simms led overall by three points and were hopeful of a repeat of their 2011 victory but unfortunately, things did not turn out that way for the Dublin Bay crew.

Wind, waves, and sun was on the menu for the first race but after a general recall the wind started to dip. Instead of the three sitting on the side, teams were adapting to the conditions sailing towards Pendennis Castle.

The conditions further tested the fleet with many choosing to hit a hard corner before turning to the upwind mark. Gains were made downwind for many of the Dragons, but it was the final beat to the finish that determined the outcome.

Provezza TUR 1212 claimed their second race win with Bluebottle GBR 192 in second and, Jaguar Racing Team IRL 201 taking third. Burnham-based Dragons Flotation GBR 790 and Still Crazy GBR 827 came in fourth and fifth, respectively.

The final race was an exciting culmination of the week. The Dragons were away on a clean start, and it was a 50/50 split choosing the far left or right of the beat. The first windward mark was a melee of Dragons as several converged from port and starboard resulting in penalty turns and rapid avoidance.

The final beat to the finish saw GBR 192 and TUR 1212 exchange covering tacks and a fast GBR 761 edged ahead. As the Dragons neared the finish and the entrance to Carrick Roads, the wind became unpredictable with pockets across the bay.

In a remarkably close finish, it was Jerboa GBR 761 to cross the line with their first race win. TUR 1212 got in front of GBR 192 to take second place forcing Bluebottle to settle for third.

In another brilliant display of racing expertise, Ron James’ Fei-Lin’s Flirtation GBR 633 came from the back, choosing a hard right on the final beat to take fourth place over the line. Followed quickly by Andy Moss’s Hands Off GBR 760.

The 2022 Edinburgh Cup was won by Provezza Dragon TUR 1212, Andy Beadsworth, Simon Fry and Edward Salter. A first win for helm Andy Beadsworth but not his first Edinburgh Cup win.

Edinburgh Cup Results Overall (Sailed: 6, Discards: 1, To count: 5, Entries: 24) 

1st Provezza Dragon TUR 1212 Andy Beadsworth Bodrum Offshore SC 2.0 1.0 (11.0) 5.0 1.0 2.0 11.0
2nd Bluebottle GBR 192 Graham Bailey Royal Yacht Squadron 1.0 7.0 1.0 (12.0) 2.0 3.0 14.0
3rd Jaguar Racing Team IRL 201 Martin Byrne Royal St George YC C 7.0 2.0 4.0 3.0 3.0 (10.0) 19.0
4th Jerboa GBR 761 Gavia Wilkinson-Cox Royal Torbay YC L (19.0) 3.0 2.0 2.0 17.0 1.0 25.0
5th Fei-Lin’s Flirtation GBR 633 Ronald James Royal Forth YC 5.0 (9.0) 9.0 1.0 8.0 4.0 27.0

The Royal St. George Yacht Club Jaguar Sailing Team of Martin Byrne, Adam Winkelmann and John Simms lead overall by three points going into the final two races of the Dragon class Edinburgh Cup in Falmouth today.

The only Irish contestants at the British Championships scored a three and a four to take the lead from Andy Beadsworth's Provezza Dragon.

Race three started with a cloudy NNW breeze and a keen TUR 1212 and GBR 764 were called over the line. Dragons were noticeably picking either the left or right of the course for their long tack.
The windward mark made for exciting viewing as the main pack of Dragons all converged, in breeze and current, to make the spreader mark.

The dark blue hull of Bluebottle edged forward to take the race three win ahead of Jerboa GBR 761. Third place in the race went to Richard Davies’ Flotation GBR 790 after a superb display of shift selection and downwind sailing. Hot on the heels were Jaguar Racing Team IRL 201 and Pageboy XI GBR 792 in fourth and fifth.

As the Dragons prepared for the start of race four the wind swung more to the North and increased and combined with a disturbed sea saw all sailors on the side heading up the first beat.

Fei-Lin’s Flirtation GBR 633 picked the winning side of the racecourse and after the second downwind leg had opened a considerable lead. It was safe to say everyone was happy to see Ron and his stunning Dragon take the race win.

A consistent race from GBR 761 saw them take another second place and a firm position in the top five. IRL 201 went one better securing third place with GBR 763 and TUR 1212 crossing in fourth and fifth places.

Martin Byrne said after racing “I am optimistic for the next races. We have remained consistent, but it is remarkably close racing. We still have some work to do and will give it all we have till the end.”

Everyone is interested to see how the day pans out and how the scoreboard is shuffled around once the discard is applied. Anyone of four boats has the potential to take the Edinburgh Cup. Could Graham Bailey win his fourth Edinburgh Cup in Bluebottle, or Andy Beadsworth take his first win as a helm, it could go to SW Champions Jaguar Racing Team, or team Jerboa attain their first win and only the second time a lady helm has won the Cup.

Top five Edinburgh Cup overall results after four races sailed and no discard 

1st Jaguar Racing Team IRL 201 Martin Byrne Royal St George YC16.0
2nd Provezza Dragon TUR 1212 Andy Beadsworth Bodrum Offshore SC 19.0
3rd Bluebottle GBR 192 Graham Bailey Royal Yacht Squadron 21.0
4th Fei-Lin’s Flirtation GBR 633 Ronald James Royal Forth YC 24.0
5th Jerboa GBR 761 Gavia Wilkinson-Cox Royal Torbay YC  26.0