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Recycle Your Dragons For Younger Sailors, Calls Class Veteran

14th March 2018
Glandore Dragons in action Glandore Dragons in action Credit: Kathleen Hayes

#Dragon - Dragon class veteran Don Street is calling for Dragon associations the world over to find old or disused vessels for restoration and encourage younger sailors to keep the class going forward.

As Scuttlebutt Europe reports, Street’s plans would see under-25s taking on older fibreglass Dragons to bring them back into racing shape at minimal cost, with assistance and advice from their national bodies and top sailors in the class alike.

If anyone has the determination to see through such an ambitious project, it’s the ‘Guru of Glandore’ – to whom our of Winkie Nixon paid tribute earlier this year.

Published in Dragon
MacDara Conroy

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MacDara Conroy

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MacDara Conroy is a contributor covering all things on the water, from boating and wildlife to science and business

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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.