An early morning start on Wednesday was delayed for the Dragon fleet at Régates Royales, in Cannes as the anticipated Mistral gale took its time to materialise.

Eventually, the fleet got away in a stiff 25-knot breeze that took its toll as many boats retired on the first leg with gear failure. Two of the casualties were Irish Dragons, Tarasque and Sir Ossis.

But Martin Byrne’s Jaguar Sailing Team from the Royal St. George, Dun Laoghaire and Daniel Murphy’s Fortitude from Kinsale were fighting it out at the front of the fleet, eventually finishing fifth and 11th, respectively. The fleet was sent ashore after just one race.

Jaguar Sailing Team moved up to fourth overall and first Corinthian. Fortitude are now 13th overall.

Byrne told Afloat that he was disappointed with the decision not to hold the planned second race - “this was an important day for us as we anticipated a strong performance in the heavier breezes. We were hoping for two low-scoring results that might bring us into the top three overall. Our speed and boat handling were good, but we got caught out twice on the downwind legs where covering competitors cost us places”.

Racing continues on Thursday and Friday when more moderate breezes are expected to return.

Three of the Irish Dragon keelboat teams had top ten results today in Cannes on day two of Régates Royales.

In race three, Cameron Good and Daniel Murphy on Fortitude finish seventh and move to 12th overall, while Mark & Selina Dicker on Tarasque started their regatta a day late due to a technical problem with an 8th.

In race four, Martin Byrne’s Jaguar Sailing Team were seventh. This result, combined with a 13th in this morning's race, keeps them in the top five overall and within 2 points of the podium. They have moved to second in the Corinthian division as England’s Chris Brittain on GBR818 overtakes Byrne with a first & 16th today.

Points are very tight at the top, where French national champion Jean Breger moved into the lead overall.

Conditions were very light today, but up to 20-knot breezes are expected tomorrow, and the race committee have moved the scheduled start to an hour earlier at 10 am in an attempt to complete two more races.

Racing continues to Friday.

Dragon racing commenced on the Bay of Cannes on Monday at the Régates Royales in a very shifty 10/12 knot easterly breeze with glorious sunshine all day.

The 10-country international fleet of 33 Dragons were grateful for some efficient race management aided by the use of GPS-controlled marks.

Martin Byrne’s Jaguar Sailing Team were in front of the fleet all day but were disappointed by the 10th place in race 1. But they made up for that with a convincing win in race 2, where they went from 6th to 1st on the first downwind leg and lead the fleet to the finish.

The Royal St George crew lie 4th overall with points at the top very close.

The two top French teams of Gerry Trentesaux, 3rd at the recent Gold Cup, and current French National Champion Jean Breger are 1st and 2nd overall after today's racing.

Switzerland’s Dirk Oldenburg is 3rd overall. Byrne leads the Corinthian, non-professional, Division.

Daniel Murphy’s Fortitude with new Irish Dragon Champion, Cameron Good helming, is 12th overall with an 11th and 10th scored.

Joey Bergin’s Sir Ossis with Declan Gordon helming are 23rd overall with a 27th & 20th today.

Racing continues until Friday with light winds expected, which might shake things up.

Martin Byrne’s well travelled Dragon - Jaguar Sailing Team from the Royal St. George Yacht Club will be joined by another three IRL registered teams at this year’s Régates Royales in Cannes where racing commences on Monday next.

Byrne’s Jaguar Sailing Team which includes Adam Winkelmann and John Simms, have been the only representatives of the Irish Dragon Fleet in recent years on the International circuit of events.

But the recent, post-Covid, resurgence in the Dragon fleet at home where numbers are on the increase in Kinsale, Glandore and Dun Laoghaire sees other new teams travelling abroad for the first time in nearly four years.

Régates Royales is an iconic end-of-season event that is mostly dominated by the Classic Boats. But Dragons have always attended in big numbers there with fleets of over 100 in the past.

This year an international fleet of 35 Dragons from nine countries are joined by four boats registered in Ireland.

Byrne’s Jaguar Team are joined by Daniel Murphy from Kinsale in Fortitude together with Denis and Joey Bergin with Sir Ossis from Dún Laoghaire, and finally, Tarasque from Dún Laoghaire is entered with Mark and Selina Dicker.

Ten races are scheduled from Monday to Friday next on the Bay of Cannes in company with the Classic Fleet, which makes this such a unique and spectacular event.

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.