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35th Dragon 'Derby' Staged By Glandore Harbour Yacht Club

21st July 2022
Dragon Moonshine is one of three boats tied at the top of the Glandore Harbour Yacht Club Dragon league
Dragon Moonshine is one of three boats tied at the top of the Glandore Harbour Yacht Club Dragon league Credit: GHYC/Facebook

The Dragon Derby was founded by Don Street in 1987 at Glandore Harbour Yacht Club in West Cork.

Fourteen races were sailed over two days in this year’s event, the 35th Derby. Challenging light winds dictated the first day of seven races in the inner harbour, with three boats tied at the top on 7 points - Zu, Moonshine and Sonata.

The wind freshened to 10-12 knots from the South East on the second day giving Race Officer David Forde the opportunity to set longer courses, resulting in five different boats winning a race each. Kevin Hayes, with Deidre Potenz and Paul Beechinor, sailed Sonata to the top, finishing with 24 points that included four race wins. Second was Phyloong on 28 and third Moonshine on 30.

Squibs and Dragons will sail the 1908 Race scheduled for July 30, with the Gordon’s Cup dinghy event on the following day.

Race Results

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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.