Pros take the Dragon silverware

7th September 2007

European Professionals took Gold, Silver and Bronze in the Aberdeen Dragon World championships yesterday but an Irish amateur team proved its worth by taking four of the top ten positions in a series cut short by lack of wind.

A year ago Germany's Tommy Muller won the Irish Open Dragon Championship in gale force winds on Dublin bay. Yesterday he was the toast of the Royal St. George again - but this time for a light air victory – when he lifted the World championship trophy on the steps of the clubhouse.

A decision was made to abandon at 11am yesterday when Alan Crosbie concluded there was no prospect of breeze by the 2pm deadline. It reduced the event from eight races and two discards to six and a single discard.

Muller, from Hamburg, and his two crew Vincent Hoesh and Max Sheibmayr took the overall lead after race six by a narrow margin of 2.3 points. As the 68-boat fleet have not raced since Wednesday he earned his first World title ashore yesterday.

Second overall was Swiss Olympic medallist Uli Libor with Stephan Hellriegel and Frank Butzmann. Third was Britain's Len Jones, Claus Hoj Jensen and Jamie Lea.

Four Irish boats featured in the top ten with Neil Hegarty, David Williams and Peter Bowring top Irish in sixth.

If a protest verdict, which imposed a 20% penalty on the Irish champions in race two, had not been incurred on Tuesday they they would have finished third overall.

Simon Brien's Belfast Lough entry 'Kin' was seventh and the Royal St.George's Andrew Craig eighth. Club mate John Ross Murphy ended the six race series tenth.

Published in News From the Afloat.ie Archive

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