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Kinsale Prepares for Dragon National Championships

22nd August 2016
Micheal Burke Cantor Fitzgerald, Roisin Donoghoe KYC, Daniel Murphy Senior Director Cork Cantor Fitzgerald, Eoghan O'Neill Dragon Class Captain, KYC and David O'Sullivan, Vice Commodore KYC Micheal Burke Cantor Fitzgerald, Roisin Donoghoe KYC, Daniel Murphy Senior Director Cork Cantor Fitzgerald, Eoghan O'Neill Dragon Class Captain, KYC and David O'Sullivan, Vice Commodore KYC Credit: Robert Bateman

Kinsale Yacht Club welcomes the Cantor Fitzgerald sponsored Irish National Dragon Championships to the south coast port in mid –September.

Joining the local Kinsale Dragon fleet for the event will be boats from the UK, Dublin and Glandore.

Expected to be in contention for the title will be local boat "Little Fella" skippered by Cameron Good along with Dublin boats Jaguar (Martin Byrne)and defending champions Phantom"(Neil Hegarty) both of which finished in the top five of the recent British Nationals (Edinburgh Cup) in Abersoch, Wales.

Kinsale Dragon Class Captain Eoghan O'Neill commented "It's always a privilege to host a Dragon event in KYC and in particular the National Championship as it is the highlight of our racing calendar. September is always a good month for racing in the waters off Kinsale so it should be a great event. We are very grateful to Cantor Fitzgerald who are our title sponsor for the event; they are a global name in stockbroking and investment services"

The event runs from Thursday 15th to Sunday 18th September inclusive and consists of seven races on windward–leeward courses.

Published in Dragon

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The Dragon was designed by Johan Anker in 1929 as an entry for a competition run by the Royal Yacht Club of Gothenburg, to find a small keel-boat that could be used for simple weekend cruising among the islands and fjords of the Scandinavian seaboard. The original design had two berths and was ideally suited for cruising in his home waters of Norway. The boat quickly attracted owners and within ten years it had spread all over Europe.

The Dragon's long keel and elegant metre-boat lines remain unchanged, but today Dragons are constructed using the latest technology to make the boat durable and easy to maintain. GRP is the most popular material, but both new and old wooden boats regularly win major competitions while looking as beautiful as any craft afloat. Exotic materials are banned throughout the boat, and strict rules are applied to all areas of construction to avoid sacrificing value for a fractional increase in speed.

The key to the Dragon's enduring appeal lies in the careful development of its rig. Its well-balanced sail plan makes boat handling easy for lightweights, while a controlled process of development has produced one of the most flexible and controllable rigs of any racing boat.