Displaying items by tag: Dragon
Green Dragon Sailing for Kinsale then Rotterdam
Galway's round the world yacht, the Volvo 70 Green Dragon, sailed from Galway Port this morning. Her first port of call is Kinsale and on Thursday she will sail for Rotterdam.
From there she will go on a low-loader for Frankfurt to become a static exhibit rather than a sailing craft. She is to appear at the world famous Frankfurt Motor Show where Galway owners say 'she will be put on display in a premier position' - fully rigged - promoting the Volvo Ocean Race 2011 - 2012 and the Race finish in Galway as part of a global village exhibtion showcasing Irish innovation, food and the marine.
The Green Dragon crew who are enroute for Rotterdam via Kinsale
"At this major global exhibition in Germany this will be a fantastic opportunity to showcase Irish Sailing and our plans for 2012 - and also to show our support for Team Sanya our Chinese Irish Volvo Ocean Race Team. A formal send off is planned from Dublin for Team Sanya on Monday 5th Sept", says Enda O'Coineen of Let's Do It Global, who is sailing on the first leg of the voyage to Frankfurt.
Racing Round up: Olympic, Fastnet, Clipper, Figaro, Dragon, J24, Fifteen, Topper, Feva, Oppy
This morning's edition includes photos and pics from Sunday's Figaro departure from Dun Laoghaire and the Rick Tomlinson's pics of the start of the Fastnet race from Cowes. Derry-Londonderry is on her way to Rio in the Clipper race. Regrettably there was no Gold, Silver or Bronze from Weymouth but we're in a strong position. See our video with Annalise here. Plus: The Topper Worlds at the National YC, John Lavery's win at the Flying fifteen South coast champs in Dunmore East, the J24 Nationals from Lough Erne, A local pair whitewashed the RS Feva Nationals in Cork Harbour, some great shots from Bob Bateman. The Oppy Nationals start in Howth and Afloat's Sailor of the Month for July Martin Byrne retained the Dragon Nationals in Kinsale. There's also the full weekend results from Dublin Bay SC.
Byrne Retains Irish Dragon Title at Kinsale
Martin Byrne retained his title as National Dragon Champion in Kinsale last weekend, adding to his Edinburgh Cup victory last month in Abersoch writes Tim Pearson.
Byrne, with crew Adam Winkelmann and Pedro Andrades, was pushed hard by Jay Bourke and Cameron Good throughout the four day event which saw a variety of testing conditions in a predominantly moderate to fresh southwesterly airflow.
On the Friday racing was conducted in a sea mist which reduced visibility at times to 200 metres and required the competitors to bring their navigational skills into play.
However, Race Officer Alan Crosbie, using the event as a dry run for the Gold Cup in September 2012, when around 80 Dragons are expected to compete in the waters off the Old Head, was master of the conditions and got the 7 race series off on time.
2012 will be a special year for Dragons in Ireland, and there is already much international interest in a veritable grand prix circuit which will start with the Edinburgh Cup In early July, move to Dublin for the Nationals and culminate in Kinsale with the Gold Cup.
Irish Champions Martin Byrne, Adam Winklemann and Pedro Andrades
2011 Dragon Irish National Championships:
1. Martin Byrne
2. Jay Bourke
3. Cameron Good
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Monday's edition includes photos and pics from Sunday's Figaro departure from Dun Laoghaire and the start of the Fastnet race from Cowes. Will it be Gold, Silver or Bronze from Weymouth? How will Peter, David and Annalise end up at the Pre-Olympics? Plus: The Topper Worlds at the National YC, Flying fifteen South coast champs in Dunmore East, the J24 Nationals from Lough Erne, Teens battle for the RS Feva Nationals in Cork Harbour, the Cove People's Regatta, The Oppy Nationals at Howth and the Dragon Nationals from Kinsale. There's also the full results from Dublin Bay SC and Howth.
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Byrne Named July's Sailor of the Month
In a fleet of 44, including many of the world's top boats, he had already put together a solid series as the final day arrived in the excellent sailing waters off Abersoch in North Wales.
But whether or not he and his crew of Adam Winkelmann and Pedro Andrade came home with bronze, silver or gold, hinged entirely on that last race.
Sailing the immaculate Jaguar, he logged the kind of race that, for most skippers, is the stuff of dreams.
Jaguar emerged clear from the starting melee to such good effect that by mid-race she had a clear lead of 200 metres, a comfortable gap that enabled Byrne to keep effective cover on any challengers, such that the real race was for second place as Jaguar powered on to finish an extraordinary three minutes ahead.
It was textbook stuff. In his winner's speech, Martin Byrne said the secret of it all was the shoreside commander, his wife Triona, who looked after logistics and paperwork, and ensured everything ran smoothly all week.
Irish sailing needs more Trionas.
The Byrne win gives a boost towards 2012, which in Ireland will be the Year of the Dragon. The Edinburgh Cup will be on Belfast Lough from July 4-8, while the historic Gold Cup is in Kinsale from September 8-14.
Ireland has won a dozen Edinburgh Cups, the most prolific victor being Tony O'Gorman who won six times between 1975 and 1984.
But only once has the Gold Cup been brought home, in 1947, when it was won by Eric Strain of Belfast Lough. Robin Hennessy was in the frame in 1971 but didn't quite clinch it, so an Irish win is overdue.
And, with the Gold Cup scheduled for Ostende in September, maybe we won't have to wait until next year.
Racing Round up: Dragons, British IRCs, Flying Fifteens, WIORA, ISA Youths, Fastnet and Bay racers
Royal St. George Trio Win Dragon Edinburgh Cup
Royal St. George Commodore Martin Byrne lifted the Dragon Edinburgh Cup in Abersoch, North Wales tonight after a three way last battle for victory went the Dun Laoghaire crew's way in emphatic style.
The current Irish champions won the pivotal final race by over three minutes in breezes touching 25-knots to become the latest holder of the Edinburgh Cup; the British National Championship.
Martin Byrne steers to victory with crew Adam Winkelmann on spinnaker and Pedro Andrade. Photo: Fiona Brown
Celebrations will continue back in Dun Laoghaire tomorrow as the Dragon helmsman and his crew Adam Winkelmann and Portuguese sailmaker Pedro Andrade mark the significant victory that is a major shot in the arm for Irish Dragon sailing.
The 62-year old trophy is one of the most prestigious in the class along with the Gold Cup of this former Olympic keelboat. The 2012 Gold Cup is slated for Kinsale Yacht Club next year so the weekend win is a another fillip for the class here.
It all went down to the wire for the 43-strong fleet from Japan, Australia, Russia, Ireland and the UK on the final day of the 2011 Dragon Edinburgh Cup, supported by Aberdeen Asset Management, at the South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club in Abersoch. Going into the day Mikhail Muratov and Klaus Diederichs sailing with Irish Star keelboat pair Peter O'Leary and David Burrows were tied for the lead on 16 points, Martin Byrne was on 17 points, Julia Bailey counted 23 and Olga White 28. In the Corinthian fleet Richard Goodbody led Simon Brien by a single point with Patrick Gifford and Nigel Biggs both five points behind them.
There were four attempts at getting the final race, the sixth in the series, started including three under black flag. A total of six teams were disqualified including Olga White, whose hopes of making the podium were immediately dashed. Eventually at the fourth time of asking the fleet got away cleanly for what proved to be the best race of the series with the wind up at around 20 knots from the southwest and some nice big waves which made the runs pretty exciting.
Off the line Byrne got the best start at the committee boat end and was the first to tack off to the right with Diederichs and Muratov following. By the mid point Byrne had already established a lead with Diederichs and Muratov jostling for position on the front edge of the pack. Muratov went further right than Diederichs gaining a significant advantage at the top end of the course and as they rounded the first mark Byrne led with Muratov in fourth and Diederichs seventh.
As Diederichs and Muratove fought their way out of the pack, Byrne established control of the race and clearly had no intention of relinquishing it, gradually stretching away from the fleet. Behind him at the leeward mark Muratov rounded third with Diederichs on his tail in fourth.
On the second beat Byrne extended his lead to some 200 yards, Muratov moved into second and Diederichs third. They held their positions on the second run and up the final beat Byrne was able to maintain a loose cover on the fleet and cruise to a very well deserved victory. As Byrne was enjoying himself out front Muratov and Diederichs were still fighting it out. Meanwhile Simon Brien had been showing bursts of incredible speed to pull up through the fleet and as the fleet came on to the final beat he was challenging Muratov and Diederichs. Brien chose to work the middle whilst the other two went hard right and his move paid off. On the line Byrne and his team looked back to see Muratov finish second, Brien third and Diederichs fourth. Brien's nearest Corinthian challengers Nigel Biggs and Patrick Gifford crossed the line in fifth and thirteenth places.
After today's fifth race Mikhail Muratov and Klaus Diederichs (with Peter O'Leary and David Burrows crewing) are tied on 16 points for the lead at the 2011 Edinburgh Cup supported by Aberdeen Asset Management. Dun Laoghaire Combination of Martin Byrne and Adam Winkelmann had another good day with a third place moving up into third overall and one point behind the leaders.
Overnight second placed Julia Bailey had a disastrous start and first beat rounding the first mark in around 30th place. She managed to pull back up into 17th by the end of the race by drops down into fourth overall. Olga White, who had been lying just behind Bailey in third also had a difficult race and had to recover from a mid 20s rounding at the first mark, eventually climbing back up to 16th by the end of the race. As a result she is now lying in fifth place.
A single race tomorrow will be the decider in the 2011 Edinburgh Cup
Royal St. George Commodore Martin Byrne's day got off to a tricky start on the second day of the 2011 Dragon Edinburgh Cup yesterday when he and his crew Pedro Andrade and Adam Winkelmann found themselves close to colliding with the committee boat having been hit by another Dragon in the final moments before the start gun. Fortunately they missed the committee boat, but by the time they had extracted themselves from the situation they had been forced left and lost a lot of ground so finished the race in eighteenth place. They recovered somewhat in the final race with a seventh but go from second to fourth in the overall rankings.
After a day of mixed fortunes with a convincing win in race three followed by a 29th in race four Klaus Diederich's sailing Fever with Peter O'Leary and David Burrows has dropped down from third into fifth but remains in the running for the Edinburgh Cup.
The day's two top performing teams were led by Cowes based Julia Bailey, sailing Aimee with Graham Bailey and David Heritage, and Russia's Olga White, sailing Murka 7 with Martin Leifelt and Vadim Statsenko. Bailey took a third in race three and then went on to win race four in impressive style, taking her from fourth to second overall. White scored a ninth followed by a third and moves into third place, four points behind Bailey.
For overnight leader Mikhail Muratov, sailing Murka 8 with Valentin Uvarkin and Vladimir Krutskikh, it was a day of consolidation and a fifth followed by a ninth allowed him to retain his lead by a seven point margin.
Other top performers today were Olaf Sorenson from Kinsale racing Christianna with Shawn Kingston and Mark Pettitt, and Tim Tavinor from
Burnham racing Tigger with Thomas Wilton and Ollie Moser. Sorenson sailed an impressive third race, pushing race winner Klaus Diederichs
all the way down the final run to finish a close second, while 2011 Dragon World Champion crew Tim Tavinor finally found his form again
coming second to Julia Bailey in race four.
The day's two top performing teams were led by Cowes based Julia Bailey, sailing Aimee with Graham Bailey and David Heritage, and Russia's Olga White, sailing Murka 7 with Martin Leifelt and Vadim Statsenko. Bailey took a third in race three and then went on to win race four in impressive style, taking her from fourth to second overall. White scored a ninth followed by a third and moves into third place, four points behind Bailey.
For overnight leader Mikhail Muratov, sailing Murka 8 with Valentin Uvarkin and Vladimir Krutskikh, it was a day of consolidation and a fifth followed by a ninth allowed him to retain his lead by a seven point margin. Martin Byrne's day got off to a tricky start when he and his crew of Pedro Andrade and Adam Winklemann found themselves close to colliding with the committee boat having been hit by another Dragon in the final moments before the start gun. Fortunately they missed the committee boat, but by the time they had extracted themselves from the situation they had been forced left and lost a lot of ground so finished the race in eighteenth place. They recovered somewhat in the final race with a seventh but go from second to fourth in the overall ranking. After a day of mixed fortunes with a convincing win in race three followed by a 29th in race four Klaus Diederich's sailing Fever with Peter O'Leary and David Burrows has dropped down from third into fifth but remains in the running for the Edinburgh Cup.Other top performers today were Olaf Sorenson from Kinsale racing Christianna with Shawn Kingston and Mark Pettitt, and Tim Tavinor from Burnham racing Tigger with Thomas Wilton and Ollie Moser. Sorenson sailed an impressive third race, pushing race winner Klaus Diederichs all the way down the final run to finish a close second, while 2011 Dragon World Champion crew Tim Tavinor finally found his form again coming second to Julia Bailey in race four.
Irish crews are to the fore - inlcuding a new crew combination at the Dragon Edinburgh cup – the British national championships – in Abersoch this week. Irish National champion (and Royal St.George YC Commodore) Martin Byrne lies second overall sailing with last week's VDLR regatta chief Adam Winkelmann. One point behind Byrne is the defending Edinburgh Cup Champion Klaus Diederichs, who this week is sailing with a brand new crew of Olympic Star keelboat pairing, Peter O'Leary and David Burrows.
Unexpectedly good sailing weather and two hotly contested races opened the 2011 Cup, supported by Aberdeen Asset Management, in Abersoch yesterday. The forecast had been for beautiful sunshine but very light airs and the 43 crews from Australia, Japan, Russia, Ireland and the UK went afloat in a fickle 2-3 knot breeze with little expectation of good racing. It took several hours to happen, but fortunately the weather gods eventually smiled on the fleet and at around 2pm the wind began to fill in from the north, quickly building to 16-18 knots and more.
Two cut and thrust races were completed in the sparkling conditions and by the end of the day Russia's Mikhail Muratov, sailing Murka 8 with Valentin Uvarkin and Vladimir Krutskikh had taken the overall lead with a second place in the opening race and a win in race two. Muratov's nearest rival tonight is current Irish National Champion Martin Byrne, racing Jaguar with Adam Winkleman and Pedro Andrade, who won the opening race and went on to finish sixth in race two. Just one point behind Byrne in third overall is defending Edinburgh Cup Champion Klaus Diederichs, who this week is sailing with a brand new crew of Peter O'Leary and Dave Burrows, better known as one of the top Olympic Star teams having finished second at this year's Baccardi Cup. Fourth place overall is currently a tie between Russia's Olga White sailing Murka 7 with Martin Leifelt and Vadim Statsenko, and Gavia Wilkinson-Cox of Cowes sailing Jerboa with Martin Payne and Lars Wegener.
In the Corinthian Division, for which only non-professional crews compete, Burnham's Mark and Mandy Wade racing Avalanche with Andrew Norden lead the fleet and also hold sixth place in the overall standings. Three points behind the Wades is Simon Brien aboard Kin from Cultra, Northern Ireland, sailing with his brother Mark and David Gomes, who also make the overall top ten at eighth place. Just three points separate places three to five in the Corinthian division, which are held by Ireland's Richard Goodbody sailing Diva, Rob Campbell from Burnham sailing Ganador and Owen Pay from Cowes sailing Nijord.
It was a good day all round for the Corinthian teams who certainly gave the pros plenty to think about. The prize for best performance in a single race by a Corinthian boat undoubtedly goes to Owen Pay and his crew of Jon Mortimer and Steve Richardson for their impressive third place in race two. They got a cracking start and put together a controlled first beat to round the weather mark in third place hot on the heels of Julia Bailey and Mikhail Muratov. Despite being under constant attack from both Klaus Diederichs and Martin Byrne, Pay and his team kept their heads and not only successfully defended their position all the way to the finish but at times also put significant pressure on the leading pair.
The Dragon is very much an equal opportunities class and not only are female helms no longer a novelty, but they are now regularly beating the boys at their own game at international level. In race two Julia Bailey of Cowes sailing Aimee with husband Graham Bailey and David Heritage came off the line like a scalded cat and sailed a near perfect beat to round the weather mark in first place neck and neck with Mikhail Muratov. From here on in a dogfight of epic proportions developed with neither boat giving an inch. The two boats rounded every mark neck and neck and were almost constantly overlapped. Bailey threw everything but the kitchen sink at Muratov on the final beat, but she also had to work extremely hard to keep the chasing Owen Pay at bay. The boats traded tacks all the way into the finish but whilst she held off Pay it enabled Muratov to take victory on the line. A slightly disappointing eighteenth place in race one means that Bailey now lies in seventh place overall and she is joined in the top ten by two more top female helms, Olga White and Gavia Wilkinson-Cox, who share equal points after the opening day and find themselves battling it out for fourth place overall.
Abersoch and the South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club are proving to be most enthusiastic and generous hosts for this event and many of the competitors have remarked that whilst the racing is as cut and thrust as any on offer, the atmosphere surrounding the regatta is wonderfully relaxed and harks back to a bygone era. Perhaps it's because the boats are on swinging moorings and the crews are ferried out and back by club launches, perhaps it's the impressive way in which the club members and the local Abersoch Dragon Fleet have clearly pulled together to run the event on an entirely voluntary basis, perhaps it's the incredible hospitality and helpfulness being shown to all competitors, or perhaps it's just that there is something a little bit magical about Abersoch with its majestic mountain backdrop, sandy beaches and unique micro-climate, but what ever it is the Dragon fleet like it and want more please!
And more they can have as racing continues until Saturday 16 July with up to five more races scheduled. The forecast for the coming three days is for moderate to strong winds. Two races are scheduled for Thursday and Friday and a single race is scheduled for Saturday.
Additonal reporting from the Int. Dragon Class
