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Kinsale Yacht Club has announced entry is open for its staging of the Dragon Gold Cup, sponsored by Astra Construction Services Ltd, from September 6 to 13, 2024.

This year's event will attract over 60 teams from more than 20 countries worldwide.

The Dragon Gold Cup, which was first presented in 1937 by the Clyde Yacht Clubs Association, brings together competitors from around the world to compete in a friendly spirit. The event is renowned for its world-class racing programme, camaraderie, and hospitality.

This will be the third time that Kinsale Yacht Club has hosted the prestigious event, having previously done so in 1977 and 2012. The club is known for its exceptional hospitality and will be pulling out all the stops to ensure that this year's event is a resounding success.

The organising committee, chaired by Maeve Cotter, has already begun preparations for the event, which will include registration and equipment inspection from September 5 to 7. On September 7, a warm-up race will allow competitors to familiarise themselves with Kinsale's outstanding open water race area.

Championship racing will be held from September 8 to 13, and the event will be one of the most challenging inshore keelboat regattas in the world. The Race Committee may adjust the programme if races are lost, but just one race per day is scheduled, and the races are run over a very large windward/leeward course with leg lengths of two miles or more.

Dragon Gold Cup 2024

In addition to the overall Gold Cup prizes, there will also be prizes for the top Corinthian, all amateur, crews. Competitors wishing to enter the Corinthian competition must submit their full crew lists with confirmation of the World Sailing ID and valid G1 categorisation for each crew member by September 7, 2024.

Online Entry is now open with a special Early Bird entry fee of €850 for those who enter by June 30, 2024. From July 1, the entry fee will be €950, and entry will close on August 26, 2024.

The entry fee includes craning in and out, trailer parking, berthing, and tickets to the Gold Cup Gala Dinner and the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for all members of the crew.

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Members of the British Dragon Association (BDA) and their guests came together at the Royal Thames Yacht Club in Knightsbridge, London, for the BDA’s Annual General Meeting and Dinner in January.

The evening kicked off with the AGM, where outgoing Chairman Simon Barter was delighted to report that participation in UK based Dragon racing has seen a strong resurgence, with numbers regularly racing in club and regional events at the highest levels for some years. The meeting then elected its new Class Chairman Andy Moss, of the Burnham on Crouch Dragon fleet. Andy, owner of Hands Off GBR 760, has been racing Dragons for 20 years and has been a regular traveller to the regional and national events, Oostende and France.

2024 British Dragon Championship Events

Also confirmed at the meeting were the dates and venues for the 2024 British Championship events, which are:

  • 1-2 June South Coast Championship – Cowes, IOW
  • 22-23 June Classic/Vintage Championship - Aldeburgh
  • 7-8 July Northern Area Championship – Abersoch, Gwynedd
  • 9-12 July Edinburgh Cup (Open British Championship) – Abersoch, Gwynedd
  • 21-23 September East Coast Championship – Medway, Kent
  • 28-29 September Scottish Championship – Edinburgh, Scotland

After the AGM pre-dinner drinks were served in the bar, and then guests were called through to the Royal Thames’ delightful dining room, which overlooks Hyde Park. With some 50 Dragon sailors and guests in attendance, including visitors from the Irish Dragon fleet, the highlights of the evening were a delicious three course meal followed by the presentation of the prestigious Citron Trophy, and the premier of an exciting new video.

The Citron Trophy is awarded to the Dragon which has achieved the best cumulative results in the combined British championship events during the past season. The winner for the 2023 season was Gavia Wilkinson-Cox of the Cowes fleet and her team racing GBR831 Jerboa. A member of the British fleet for almost 50 years, this is the second time that Gavia has engraved her name on this prestigious award.

After the trophy presentation, Gavia then switched hats from award-winning sailor to Chair of the organising committee for the 75th Dragon Edinburgh Cup and British Grand Prix, which was run by the Royal Yacht Squadron in August 2023. This special celebration regatta attracted an exceptional entry and brought together sailors from across the 75-year history of the British Open Dragon Championship. As one of only four International Dragon Grand Prix events in 2023, it also attracted some of the best sailors from around the world to compete, and Gavia and her media team took the opportunity to create a very special video to mark the occasion.

In introducing the premier of the video Gavia explained, “A key part to promoting the British Dragon Class, in perpetuity, has been the production of a film of the regatta. Whilst of course being a record of the 75th Edinburgh Cup – the aim has been to highlight and profile the diversity of the class: young, not so young, male, female! I am grateful to Rick and James Tomlinson for the production of this film. I hope the BDA and our fleets can make constructive use of this film – which will live for posterity on Youtube and other social media sites. Tonight marks the premier of the film. Not quite the BAFTA’s, but important non the less! Enjoy!”

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Irish Dragon sailors were in action in Portugal at the weekend with Royal Cork and Baltimore's Harry Durcan on board the winning boat in round two of the Algarve Dragon Winter Cup at Vilamoura.

Durcan was part of a four-up British entry skippered by Pete Cooke with Torvar Mirsky and Peter Nicholas, who tied on points with Portugal's Pedro Rebelo de Andrade but won on the tie-break rule.

Also racing from Ireland was Dun Laoghaire's Jonathan Bourke with Conn Harte-Bourke and Sam Gullivan, who finished seventh in the 11-boat fleet.

Round three of the Cup sets sail on February 16th.

In a big year for Irish Dragon sailing, Kinsale Yacht Club will stage the class's prestigious Gold Cup this September.

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Royal St George Yacht Club's Jaguar Sailing Team of Martin Byrne, Adam Winkelmann and Rory Byrne took third overall at last weekend's Yacht Club de Cannes, Coupe D’ Hiver des Dragons.

17 Dragons from eight countries competed with victory going to the Finnish “Genewave” with Jouko Lindgren at the helm.

Italy's Transbunker Team of Yevgen Braslavets, Andrea Zaoli, Paolo Bozzano (Yacht Club San Remo) were second.

Dragon competition in Ireland reaches a high point next year with the staging of the international Dragon Gold Cup in Kinsale in September.

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Preparations are underway in Kinsale for celebrations to mark the 80th anniversary of one of the most prestigious international sailing events. From 6 to 13 September 2024, Kinsale will welcome Dragon sailors from across the globe to compete for the Kinsale Yacht Club Dragon Gold Cup, which has been raced annually since 1937 and will be sponsored by Astra Construction Services Ltd.

This will be the third time that Kinsale Yacht Club (KYC) has hosted the Dragon Gold Cup, the first being in 1977 and the second in 2012. The venue is hugely popular with the Dragon sailing community, and many international teams are expected to compete alongside a strong Irish contingent. International Dragon Association Chairman Gérard Blanc is looking forward to returning to Kinsale, saying, "Since the last Gold Cup in Ireland in 2012, I know that many international Dragon sailors are excited to be returning to one of their favourite venues in the southwest of Ireland. Kinsale is a fantastic place to sail, and a legendary social welcome awaits you. I plan to be there and look forward to meeting as many of you as possible”.

Crews from some 20 nations across Australasia, Asia, North America, and Europe are already confirmed. In attendance will be some of the best sailors on the planet, including multiple Olympic medallists, America’s Cup veterans, World, Continental, and National Champions. The regatta will also feature a Corinthian Division for all amateur crews, who will race alongside the professional teams whilst scoring in their own ranking.

The crew of Dragon Whisper off the Old Head of Kinsale Photo: Dave CullinaneThe crew of Dragon Whisper off the Old Head of Kinsale Photo: Dave Cullinane

Kinsale’s open ocean race area has minimal currents and excellent sailing winds and is backed by southern Ireland’s spectacular coastline, including the famous Old Head of Kinsale. KYC is renowned for creating international regattas of the highest quality and for its generous Irish hospitality.

Kinsale Yacht Club Dragon Gold Cup 2024

The Gold Cup has always been an event aimed at fostering camaraderie amongst the teams and their friends and family. In addition to a superb social programme, which will include opening and closing ceremonies and a special 80th Anniversary gala dinner at Actons Hotel, plus après sailing daily and other social events.

As Afloat reported previously, already, several companies have confirmed their sponsorship of the event, including principal sponsor Astra Construction Services Ltd, a Carrier-based residential construction company, whose managing director Stephen McCarthy will also provide the committee boat for the regatta. TNG Swiss Watches are signed up as the official timekeeper and will be presenting timepieces to the Gold Cup Open and Corinthian Champion helms. Guinness and Cork City Council are also onboard as sponsors, whilst Actons, The Trident and Perryville House hotels will be offering special rates for competitors, which can be booked via the event website.

Heading up the organising committee is Maeve Cotter, an experienced Dragon sailor with international event management experience. “I am really looking forward to welcoming our Dragon sailing friends to our lovely harbour for the Kinsale YC Dragon Gold Cup in 2024 and to celebrating the 80th anniversary of this historic competition.”

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Counting four race wins Kinsale Yacht Club's Shawn Kingston, Donal Small and Conor Hemlock, sailing 'Grey Hare' were the clear winners of the Dragon Class at a cut-short Lough Derg Yacht Club Freshwater Keelboat One Design Regatta on Sunday. 

Five races were sailed on Saturday with one discard, but racing was abandoned on Sunday by Race Officer John Leech due to a lack of wind at Dromineer. 

Clubmates Colm Dunne, Colm Daly, and Harry Lewis sailing Ghost were second on 11 points but only after count back sharing the same points as Royal St. George's Serafina helmed by Ronan Murphy. 

Seven Dragons competed.

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Early in the 1960s, Sid Smith – a builder and developer from Bury near Manchester – secured the site for the modest holiday home of his dreams beside the harbour in Glandore in West Cork. Summers in Glandore with much sailing for his young son Lawrie, became an essential element in Smith family life, and though Lawrie went on to a stratospheric career in international sailing, whenever possible, he has listed Glandore Harbour Yacht Club as his home base. Thus, in September 2023, thanks to Lawrie, the Dragon Gold Cup – the class’s supreme prize – was added to Glandore’s trophy haul.

It was a particularly timely outcome with the 2024 Gold Cup scheduled for Kinsale. And with autumn rapidly advancing, we are reminded that the Smiths were so fond of Glandore that they were among the families who spent Christmas and New Year there, with Sid Smith’s authentic rendition of Ilkley Moor a midwinter party favourite.

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A fifth race in warm sunshine and a light east-south-easterly concluded the 2023 Yanmar Dragon Gold Cup in Torquay. Going into the final day, British Olympian, America’s Cup and Whitbread Race veteran Lawrie Smith and his crew of Ruaridh Scott, Goncalo Ribeiro and Richard Parslow already had victory within their grasp. Smith knew what he had to do, and he executed it perfectly, starting near the favoured pin end, he sailed smart, kept out of trouble and cruised home in fifth place to secure his second Gold Cup win.

The fifth and final race was a stunner with constant place changes and a nail-biting last leg to decide second and third overall that saw Gilmour, sailing for the Yanmar Racing Team with Yasuhiro Yaji and Sam Gilmour, take his first race win of the series from Germany’s Jan Woortman. Behind him Dragon World and European Champion Wolf Waschkuhn of Switzerland, sailing with Joao Vidinah and Charles Nankin, knew that to beat Gilmour for the silver medal he needed to finish fourth or better. As he came to the line he was neck and neck with Britian’s Graham Bailey and Smith. Right on the line, Bailey surged in to take third and all eyes turned to see if Smith would get past him or not. By just a matter of a few feet Waschkuhn took fourth place to secure the second step on the podium, with Gilmour on the third.

After racing Peter Gilmour was happy with the outcome. “We’re not disappointed, we went through a few calculations down the last run. If we could sail back to Wolf to park him up was one of the options, but we thought no we’ll just continue on and see what happens. It was close but he did a good job of hanging in there. I think they probably had a pretty nervous time onboard too. It was great to have the Yanmar team here, they’re coming out to learn as they want to host their own international regatta in the future, and I think it all helps. I think Yanmar is pretty keen to build Dragon sailing in Japan, so it will be interesting to see their takeaways from this event.”

Lawrie Smith and his crew of Ruaridh Scott, Goncalo Ribeiro and Richard Parslow cross the finish line in race five to win the 2023 Dragon Gold Cup Photo: Alex IrwinLawrie Smith and his crew of Ruaridh Scott, Goncalo Ribeiro and Richard Parslow cross the finish line in race five to win the 2023 Dragon Gold Cup Photo: Alex Irwin

In the Corinthian Division it all came down to the last race between Britain’s David Tabb sailing with Laerke Norgard and Graham Latham, and Austria’s Christoph Skolaut, sailing with George Skolaut and Martin Lutz, who went into the day on equal points. Tabb got the upper hand on the first beat and although Skolaut did his best to catch up it wasn’t to be. On the line Tabb finished in eighth place and claimed the Dragon Gold Cup Corinthian Trophy. Skolaut took twelfth in the race and the silver medal, and third overall in the Corinthian Division went to Ireland’s Neil Hegarty, Peter Bowring and David Williams.

David Tabb, who finished ninth in the overall standings, was very pleased with his new team’s performance, noting that this was only their second regatta together. “Top ten overall is good so we’re very pleased. We weren’t expecting to win as with Graham on board we’re 40kg underweight. It was Graham’s second regatta and the first time we’ve ever had the same team twice, so that’s nice. All in all, it was nice sailing, I’m a bit surprised to be honest. I wasn’t expecting it to be quite as easy. I thought it would be a lot harder. We seemed to just find lanes and go quite fast, so nothing clever, we keep ourselves clear and try to not get into any fights. Every time we got in a fight, we made a mess of it, so we know we’re not the sharpest of teams, so we just try to keep clear and get on. The boat’s lovely and Stavros [Martin Payne] did a great job of teaching me how to sail and set it up.”

At the prize giving the first presentations were for race five with third placed Graham Bailey of Bluebottle, second placed Jan Woortman and Peter Gilmour and their teams receiving Yanmar Dragon Gold Cup 2023 glasses.

There was then a special presentation of a new kitbag to the youngest sailor in the fleet, 12-year-old Diogo Reis of Portugal, an Optimist sailor who raced with Peter Cunningham, Martin Westerdahl and Pedro Rebelo de Andrade. Asked what he thought of his first Gold Cup he responded, “It was fun!”.

First to receive their prizes were the Corinthians with David Tabb, Laerke Norgard and Graham Latham receiving a huge cheer as they came to the stage. In his acceptance speech, David not only thanked his crew and the organisers, but also paid tribute to the sponsor Yanmar and to his fellow Dragon sailors, who he thanked for making he and his crew so welcome since they joined the fleet two years ago.

Next was the Gold Cup itself with Lawrie Smith, Ruaridh Scott, Goncalo Ribeiro and Richard Parslow coming up to receive the historic trophy. In his thank you speech Lawrie said, “Before I thank other people I need to thank these guys [his crew]. I don’t sail that much and Ruaridh and Goncalo kind of get me and Animal [Richard Parslow] just to do what we’re told as we’re a bit old for this, but we hung in there, so thanks guys. Also, thanks to an awful lot of people who helped us when we broke the mast the other day, that was really appreciated as without you we’d not be here. The Royal Torbay and all the volunteers were amazing. I always like coming here, it’s such a great yacht club, the racing is always good, and I know there’s an awful lot of work that goes into organising these things, and it takes a long time, and on behalf of all the sailors we really appreciate that. And Stuart [Childerley, Race Officer] – you and your team didn’t put a foot wrong mate, it was perfect racing all week, the beat was square, the run was square, and it was bang on. And then the Dragon Class, as we all know it’s still pretty much the only one design boat where you can go around Europe and you can race every other week, and it’s thanks to all the people behind the scenes that make this such a great class.".

The next presentation was the Silver Cup, which is awarded to the boat that finishing exactly halfway up the final overall results. A special cheer went up as Britain’s Owen Pay, John Mortimer and Chris Brittain came up to receive the trophy.

Finally, the Nations Cup was awarded, which goes to the top performing three boat national team in the competition. The three boat teams are made up of each country’s top performing boats from the first race. This year, the Nations Cup was won by the British team of Lawrie Smith’s Alfie, Grant Gordon’s Louise Racing and David Tabb’s True Story.

To close the ceremony Ireland’s Peter Bowring took the opportunity to invite all the competitors to take part in the 2024 Dragon Gold Cup, which will be hosted by Kinsale Yacht Club in County Cork, Ireland from September 5 to 13 and to the Irish Championship in Dunleary from 22 to 25 August.

OVERALL TOP FIVE

  • 1st - Lawrie Smith, GBR815, Alfie - 1, 3, 2.7(RDGc), 3, 4, 5 = 17.5
  • 2nd - Wolf Waschkuhn, SUI318, 1quick1 - 4, 4, 12, 6, 4 = 30
  • 3rd - Peter Gilmour, JPN56, YRed - 3, 12, 13, 2, 1 = 31
  • 4th - Stephan Link, GER62, Dessert Holly - 13, 10, 6, 5, 6 = 40
  • 3rd - Bo Johansen, DEN423, Deja Vu Ver. 2.0 - 2, 24, 1, 2, 1, 15 = 45

Overall results here

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Torquay finally delivered perfect sailing conditions for day five of the Dragon Gold Cup 2023, where the previously abandoned race four was re-sailed in glorious sunshine and a south-south-easterly breeze which built from around 10 to 15 knots through the race.

With the minimum required number of four races now completed the championship is valid and with a fifth place in today’s race, Lawrie Smith sailing GBR815 Alfie for the Glandore Yacht Club has further tightened his grip on the overall lead with a 15-point delta on his nearest rivals.

The remainder of the podium is still wide open, however, as just eight points now separate second to sixth place in the no discard series. Going into the final day SUI318 Wolf Waschkuhn is on 27 points, with DEN423 Bo Johansen and JAP52 Peter Gilmour both on 30 points, BEL82 Xavier Vanneste is on 34 and GER62 Stephan Link counts 35 points.

Two races remain to be sailed on the final day, so the Race Committee has brought Friday’s first start time forward to 11:15 in the hope that the second race can get underway before the 14:30 latest warning signal cut off time.

As the competitors arrived in the race area for the restart of the previously abandoned race four, the breeze was already well established and after an initial general recall, the U flag came out of the Race Committee's locker and they were off at the second attempt. Both Andy Beadsworth sailing TUR12 and Peter Cunningham in CAY9 were disqualified for being over the line. After racing Beadsworth protested the Race Committee’s decision but the jury did not find in his favour.

At the weather mark Michael Zankel sailing POR90 once again headed the fleet from Bo Johansen in DEN423, Stephan Link GER62, Jan Woortmann GER1221, David Tabb GBR818, Peter Gilmour JAP56, and overall leader Lawrie Smith who slotted into seventh in GBR815. Eighth to round was Graham Bailey in GBR192, the famous 75 year old Bluebottle, who was showing her face at the front of the fleet for the first time this week.

Down the first run it was very tight and as they round the first leeward gate Johansen had just crept ahead to round the starboard gate a few seconds ahead of Zankel. Link held third, with Woortman fourth, Gilmour fifth, Tabb sixth and Smith still seventh.

By the top of the second beat Zankel had reclaimed the lead, Woortman was up to second with Johansen third and Gilmour fourth. Smith had pulled up to fifth while Link was down to sixth.

Zankel began to extend his lead on the second run and by the leeward mark he had a decent cushion over Johansen, with both opting for the port gate. Gilmour and Woortman rounded the starboard gate in tight formation, Link rounded fifth and Smith sixth. The leading six had opened up a decent gap on the chasing pack which was now led by Wolf Waschkuhn and Laurie Rechard.

As the fleet came to the line Zankel took his second victory of the regatta by a big margin. Second to fourth were all overlapped on the line and after by the narrowest margin it was Gilmour who took second, with Johansen third, Woortman fourth, Smith fifth, Link six and Waschkuhn pulling up into sixth. Back ashore however, Tabb protested Woortman for tacking in his water and Woortman was disqualified.

After racing Graham Bailey spoke about how unusually testing the conditions have been here in Torquay, saying, “We had sparkling conditions out there today, we had about 11 to 13 knots, that sort of order and just great open water racing, it’s fantastic. It’s been difficult. I don’t want to say a difficult venue because I think that it’s just that the weather models have been difficult, they’ve shown it’s been difficult weather. It’s not been straight forward. So I wouldn’t blame that on Torbay which we love, we’ve just had tricky weather. But it’s tricky for everybody so it’s completely fair and some workout better than others. So it’s been a challenge, but it’s never been absolutely obvious. It’s one of those venues and weather conditions where you never give up and even down to the last beat there’s always something to be had, there are holes to be had, snakes and ladders, so it keeps it pretty open and you’ve got to be on your toes all the time.".

In the Corinthian all amateur division David Tabb was the top performer, narrowly beating Christoph Skolaut with GBR763 Simon Barter third. In the overall Corinthian standings Skolaut continues to lead the competition from David Tabb with Peter Bowring’s IRL225, being helmed by Neil Hegarty, third. Peter Bowring summed up their feelings about the regatta so far saying, “It’s been a great event. Torbay have put on a fantastic event but we’re finding it difficult. That’s more down to us and the conditions, but that’s sailing.”.

Once again, the Yanmar Dragon Gold Cup 2023 regatta marquee was ready and waiting to welcome the crews home with more tasty hot snacks and a plentiful supply of complimentary cold beers, which were much needed after a long day on the twelve and a half mile race course.

Later in the evening the crews came together in the elegant waterside ballroom of the Imperial Hotel Torquay for party time at the Yanmar Dragon Gold Cup Gala Dinner. After welcome drinks guests enjoyed a delicious three course dinner.

Speaking after dinner, International Dragon Association (IDA) Chairman Gerard Blanc thanked the British Dragon Association and the Royal Torbay Yacht Club for their tremendous work in organising the event, Yanmar for their most generous and ongoing support of the Dragon Class and the competitors for travelling from so far afield to take part.

On behalf of the event Sponsor, Yanmar Marine International, Mr Kitamura paid tribute to the organisers and the Dragon sailors for the exceptional quality of the regatta and spoke of the synergy between Yanmar and the sailing community.

Special tributes were also paid to Race Officer Stuart Childerley and his team who have done a most impressive job in running racing despite some of the most challenging conditions the Dragon fleet has ever seen.

One of the highlights of a most enjoyable gathering was the presentation of the prestigious Børge Børresen Memorial Trophy, which is awarded to the winner of the first race in the Gold Cup. This very special trophy goes to Lawrie Smith, Ruaridh Scott, Concalo Ribeiro and Richard Parslow of Alfie. The trophy was presented by the IDA's Championship Coordinator Martin "Stavros" Payne and the presentation included the now traditional bottle of Glenfiddich whisky, which the winners greatly enjoyed consuming from the trophy.

The late Børge Børresen is a legend amongst Dragon sailors. At 16 years old, he built one of the first Dragons in Denmark in 1936 with his brother Albert. For some 65 years, he was the preeminent Dragon builder, constructing multiple Olympic, World, European and National Championship winning boats. One of his greatest contributions to the class was his leadership in translating the Dragon from wooden to GRP construction. The fact that a 1938 wooden Dragon like Bluebottle is racing on a level playing field this week against the very latest boats off the production line is testament to the work that Børresen did in devising the scantlings for the GRP boats. He was also an exceptional sailor, participating in the Gold Cup 51 times consecutively, winning as a crew for Thorkil Warrer in 1951 and 1956 and as helm in 1967 and 1985. He won many other major Dragon regattas, including, at the age of 75, the World Championship sailing with Jesper Bank.

Two races remain to be sailed on the final day of the six-race no discard series, which concludes on Friday, 15 September.

PROVISIONAL TOP FIVE AFTER THREE RACES

  • 1st - Lawrie Smith, GBR815, Alfie - 1, 3(RDGc), 3, 5 = 12
  • 2nd - Wolf Waschkuhn, SUI318, 1quick1 - 4, 4, 12, 7 = 27
  • 3rd - Bo Johansen, DEN423, Deja Vu Ver. 2.0 - 2, 24, 1, 3 = 30
  • 4th - Peter Gilmour, JPN56, YRed - 3, 12, 13, 2 = 30
  • 5th - Xavier Vanneste, BEL82, Herbie - 5, 8, 8, 13 = 34

Overall results here

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Day four of the Dragon Gold Cup 2023 in Torquay brought frustration for the sailors and race committee alike, as race four of the six-race series had to be abandoned on the second beat when the wind died off completely. As a result, there are no changes in the overall standings, and Lawrie Smith of Glandore YC continues to lead the fleet from Switzerland's Wolf Waschkuhn with Belgium’s Xavier Vanneste third, Andy Beadsworth sailing for Turkey fourth and Denmark’s Bo Johansen fifth.

The fleet had gone afloat early for an 09:30 start, knowing that the wind was likely to drop off by lunchtime. It took three attempts to get the race underway, but eventually, they started under the U flag and with a clear line. Conditions were already light and shifty, but it was sailable, so away they went under grey skies in about 6 knots from 045 degrees on a 2.5-mile first leg.

PROVISIONAL TOP FIVE AFTER THREE RACES

  • 1st - Lawrie Smith, GBR815, Alfie - 1, 1, 3 = 4
  • 2nd - Wolf Waschkuhn, SUI318, 1quick1 - 4, 4, 12 = 20
  • 3rd - Xavier Vanneste, BEL82, Herbie - 5, 8, 8 = 21
  • 4th - Andy Beadsworth, TUR12, Provezza Dragon - 16, 6, 2 = 24
  • 5th - Bo Johansen, DEN423, Deja Vu Ver. 2.0 - 2, 24, 1 = 27
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Irish Olympic Sailing Team

Ireland has a proud representation in sailing at the Olympics dating back to 1948. Today there is a modern governing structure surrounding the selection of sailors the Olympic Regatta

Irish Olympic Sailing FAQs

Ireland’s representation in sailing at the Olympics dates back to 1948, when a team consisting of Jimmy Mooney (Firefly), Alf Delany and Hugh Allen (Swallow) competed in that year’s Summer Games in London (sailing off Torquay). Except for the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Ireland has sent at least one sailor to every Summer Games since then.

  • 1948 – London (Torquay) — Firefly: Jimmy Mooney; Swallow: Alf Delany, Hugh Allen
  • 1952 – Helsinki — Finn: Alf Delany * 1956 – Melbourne — Finn: J Somers Payne
  • 1960 – Rome — Flying Dutchman: Johnny Hooper, Peter Gray; Dragon: Jimmy Mooney, David Ryder, Robin Benson; Finn: J Somers Payne
  • 1964 – Tokyo — Dragon: Eddie Kelliher, Harry Maguire, Rob Dalton; Finn: Johnny Hooper 
  • 1972 – Munich (Kiel) — Tempest: David Wilkins, Sean Whitaker; Dragon: Robin Hennessy, Harry Byrne, Owen Delany; Finn: Kevin McLaverty; Flying Dutchman: Harold Cudmore, Richard O’Shea
  • 1976 – Montreal (Kingston) — 470: Robert Dix, Peter Dix; Flying Dutchman: Barry O’Neill, Jamie Wilkinson; Tempest: David Wilkins, Derek Jago
  • 1980 – Moscow (Tallinn) — Flying Dutchman: David Wilkins, Jamie Wilkinson (Silver medalists) * 1984 – Los Angeles — Finn: Bill O’Hara
  • 1988 – Seoul (Pusan) — Finn: Bill O’Hara; Flying Dutchman: David Wilkins, Peter Kennedy; 470 (Women): Cathy MacAleavy, Aisling Byrne
  • 1992 – Barcelona — Europe: Denise Lyttle; Flying Dutchman: David Wilkins, Peter Kennedy; Star: Mark Mansfield, Tom McWilliam
  • 1996 – Atlanta (Savannah) — Laser: Mark Lyttle; Europe: Aisling Bowman (Byrne); Finn: John Driscoll; Star: Mark Mansfield, David Burrows; 470 (Women): Denise Lyttle, Louise Cole; Soling: Marshall King, Dan O’Grady, Garrett Connolly
  • 2000 – Sydney — Europe: Maria Coleman; Finn: David Burrows; Star: Mark Mansfield, David O'Brien
  • 2004 – Athens — Europe: Maria Coleman; Finn: David Burrows; Star: Mark Mansfield, Killian Collins; 49er: Tom Fitzpatrick, Fraser Brown; 470: Gerald Owens, Ross Killian; Laser: Rory Fitzpatrick
  • 2008 – Beijing (Qingdao) — Star: Peter O’Leary, Stephen Milne; Finn: Tim Goodbody; Laser Radial: Ciara Peelo; 470: Gerald Owens, Phil Lawton
  • 2012 – London (Weymouth) — Star: Peter O’Leary, David Burrows; 49er: Ryan Seaton, Matt McGovern; Laser Radial: Annalise Murphy; Laser: James Espey; 470: Gerald Owens, Scott Flanigan
  • 2016 – Rio — Laser Radial (Women): Annalise Murphy (Silver medalist); 49er: Ryan Seaton, Matt McGovern; 49erFX: Andrea Brewster, Saskia Tidey; Laser: Finn Lynch; Paralympic Sonar: John Twomey, Ian Costello & Austin O’Carroll

Ireland has won two Olympics medals in sailing events, both silver: David Wilkins, Jamie Wilkinson in the Flying Dutchman at Moscow 1980, and Annalise Murphy in the Laser Radial at Rio 2016.

The current team, as of December 2020, consists of Laser sailors Finn Lynch, Liam Glynn and Ewan McMahon, 49er pairs Ryan Seaton and Seafra Guilfoyle, and Sean Waddilove and Robert Dickson, as well as Laser Radial sailors Annalise Murphy and Aoife Hopkins.

Irish Sailing is the National Governing Body for sailing in Ireland.

Irish Sailing’s Performance division is responsible for selecting and nurturing Olympic contenders as part of its Performance Pathway.

The Performance Pathway is Irish Sailing’s Olympic talent pipeline. The Performance Pathway counts over 70 sailors from 11 years up in its programme.The Performance Pathway is made up of Junior, Youth, Academy, Development and Olympic squads. It provides young, talented and ambitious Irish sailors with opportunities to move up through the ranks from an early age. With up to 100 young athletes training with the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway, every aspect of their performance is planned and closely monitored while strong relationships are simultaneously built with the sailors and their families

Rory Fitzpatrick is the head coach of Irish Sailing Performance. He is a graduate of University College Dublin and was an Athens 2004 Olympian in the Laser class.

The Performance Director of Irish Sailing is James O’Callaghan. Since 2006 James has been responsible for the development and delivery of athlete-focused, coach-led, performance-measured programmes across the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway. A Business & Economics graduate of Trinity College Dublin, he is a Level 3 Qualified Coach and Level 2 Coach Tutor. He has coached at five Olympic Games and numerous European and World Championship events across multiple Olympic classes. He is also a member of the Irish Sailing Foundation board.

Annalise Murphy is by far and away the biggest Irish sailing star. Her fourth in London 2012 when she came so agonisingly close to a bronze medal followed by her superb silver medal performance four years later at Rio won the hearts of Ireland. Murphy is aiming to go one better in Tokyo 2021. 

Under head coach Rory Fitzpatrick, the coaching staff consists of Laser Radial Academy coach Sean Evans, Olympic Laser coach Vasilij Zbogar and 49er team coach Matt McGovern.

The Irish Government provides funding to Irish Sailing. These funds are exclusively for the benefit of the Performance Pathway. However, this falls short of the amount required to fund the Performance Pathway in order to allow Ireland compete at the highest level. As a result the Performance Pathway programme currently receives around €850,000 per annum from Sport Ireland and €150,000 from sponsorship. A further €2 million per annum is needed to have a major impact at the highest level. The Irish Sailing Foundation was established to bridge the financial gap through securing philanthropic donations, corporate giving and sponsorship.

The vision of the Irish Sailing Foundation is to generate the required financial resources for Ireland to scale-up and execute its world-class sailing programme. Irish Sailing works tirelessly to promote sailing in Ireland and abroad and has been successful in securing funding of 1 million euro from Sport Ireland. However, to compete on a par with other nations, a further €2 million is required annually to realise the ambitions of our talented sailors. For this reason, the Irish Sailing Foundation was formed to seek philanthropic donations. Led by a Board of Directors and Head of Development Kathryn Grace, the foundation lads a campaign to bridge the financial gap to provide the Performance Pathway with the funds necessary to increase coaching hours, upgrade equipment and provide world class sport science support to a greater number of high-potential Irish sailors.

The Senior and Academy teams of the Performance Pathway are supported with the provision of a coach, vehicle, coach boat and boats. Even with this level of subsidy there is still a large financial burden on individual families due to travel costs, entry fees and accommodation. There are often compromises made on the amount of days a coach can be hired for and on many occasions it is necessary to opt out of major competitions outside Europe due to cost. Money raised by the Irish Sailing Foundation will go towards increased quality coaching time, world-class equipment, and subsiding entry fees and travel-related costs. It also goes towards broadening the base of talented sailors that can consider campaigning by removing financial hurdles, and the Performance HQ in Dublin to increase efficiency and reduce logistical issues.

The ethos of the Performance Pathway is progression. At each stage international performance benchmarks are utilised to ensure the sailors are meeting expectations set. The size of a sailor will generally dictate which boat they sail. The classes selected on the pathway have been identified as the best feeder classes for progression. Currently the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway consists of the following groups: * Pathway (U15) Optimist and Topper * Youth Academy (U19) Laser 4.7, Laser Radial and 420 * Development Academy (U23) Laser, Laser Radial, 49er, 49erFX * Team IRL (direct-funded athletes) Laser, Laser Radial, 49er, 49erFX

The Irish Sailing performance director produces a detailed annual budget for the programme which is presented to Sport Ireland, Irish Sailing and the Foundation for detailed discussion and analysis of the programme, where each item of expenditure is reviewed and approved. Each year, the performance director drafts a Performance Plan and Budget designed to meet the objectives of Irish Performance Sailing based on an annual review of the Pathway Programmes from Junior to Olympic level. The plan is then presented to the Olympic Steering Group (OSG) where it is independently assessed and the budget is agreed. The OSG closely monitors the delivery of the plan ensuring it meets the agreed strategy, is within budget and in line with operational plans. The performance director communicates on an ongoing basis with the OSG throughout the year, reporting formally on a quarterly basis.

Due to the specialised nature of Performance Sport, Irish Sailing established an expert sub-committee which is referred to as the Olympic Steering Group (OSG). The OSG is chaired by Patrick Coveney and its objective is centred around winning Olympic medals so it oversees the delivery of the Irish Sailing’s Performance plan.

At Junior level (U15) sailors learn not only to be a sailor but also an athlete. They develop the discipline required to keep a training log while undertaking fitness programmes, attending coaching sessions and travelling to competitions. During the winter Regional Squads take place and then in spring the National Squads are selected for Summer Competitions. As sailors move into Youth level (U19) there is an exhaustive selection matrix used when considering a sailor for entry into the Performance Academy. Completion of club training programmes, attendance at the performance seminars, physical suitability and also progress at Junior and Youth competitions are assessed and reviewed. Once invited in to the Performance Academy, sailors are given a six-month trial before a final decision is made on their selection. Sailors in the Academy are very closely monitored and engage in a very well planned out sailing, training and competition programme. There are also defined international benchmarks which these sailors are required to meet by a certain age. Biannual reviews are conducted transparently with the sailors so they know exactly where they are performing well and they are made aware of where they may need to improve before the next review.

©Afloat 2020

Tokyo 2021 Olympic Sailing

Olympic Sailing features a variety of craft, from dinghies and keelboats to windsurfing boards. The programme at Tokyo 2020 will include two events for both men and women, three for men only, two for women only and one for mixed crews:

Event Programme

RS:X - Windsurfer (Men/Women)
Laser - One Person Dinghy (Men)
Laser Radial - One Person Dinghy (Women)
Finn - One Person Dinghy (Heavyweight) (Men)
470 - Two Person Dinghy (Men/Women)
49er - Skiff (Men)
49er FX - Skiff (Women)
Nacra 17 Foiling - Mixed Multihull

The mixed Nacra 17 Foiling - Mixed Multihull and women-only 49er FX - Skiff, events were first staged at Rio 2016.

Each event consists of a series of races. Points in each race are awarded according to position: the winner gets one point, the second-placed finisher scores two, and so on. The final race is called the medal race, for which points are doubled. Following the medal race, the individual or crew with the fewest total points is declared the winner.

During races, boats navigate a course shaped like an enormous triangle, heading for the finish line after they contend with the wind from all three directions. They must pass marker buoys a certain number of times and in a predetermined order.

Sailing competitions at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo are scheduled to take place from 27 July to 6 August at the Enoshima Yacht Harbour. 

Venues: Enoshima Yacht Harbor

No. of events: 10

Dates: 27 July – 6 August

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Dates

Following a one year postponement, sailing competitions at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo are scheduled to take place from 23 July 2021 and run until the 8 August at the Enoshima Yacht Harbour. 

Venue: Enoshima Yacht Harbour

No. of events: 10

Dates: 23 July – 8 August 2021

Tokyo 2020 Irish Olympic Sailing Team

ANNALISE MURPHY, Laser Radial

Age 31. From Rathfarnham, Dublin.

Club: National Yacht Club

Full-time sailor

Silver medallist at the 2016 Olympic Games, Rio (Laser Radial class). Competed in the Volvo Ocean Race 2017/2018. Represented Ireland at the London 2012 Olympics. Laser Radial European Champion in 2013.

ROBERT DICKSON, 49er (sails with Seán Waddilove)

Winner, U23 49er World Championships, September 2018, and 2018 Volvo/Afloat Irish Sailor of the Year

DOB: 6 March 1998, from Sutton, Co. Dublin. Age 23

Club: Howth Yacht Club

Currently studying: Sports Science and Health in DCU with a Sports Scholarship.

SEÁN WADDILOVE, 49er (sails with Robert Dickson)

Winner, U23 49er World Championships, September 2018, and recently awarded 2018 Volvo Afloat/Irish Sailor of the Year

DOB: 19 June 1997. From Skerries, Dublin

Age 24

Club: Skerries Sailing Club and Howth Yacht Club

Currently studying International Business and Languages and awarded sports scholarship at TU (Technology University)

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