Ireland will be represented at The Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes this month when the club hosts the 75th Edinburgh Cup and International Dragon UK Grand Prix starting this Sunday, August 13th.
Royal St. George's Martin Byrne of the Jaguar Sailing Team in Dun Laoghaire, who is a past winner of the event, will be Ireland's sole representative at what promises to be the biggest in over a decade, with participants from 12 different countries, including Scandinavia, Turkey, Australia, Japan, and the Cayman Islands. See entries here.
Championship racing will take place from Tuesday, August 15th to Friday, August 18th, with a social program that includes an Opening Ceremony sponsored by Yanmar and a Gala Prizegiving Dinner sponsored by The Royal Yacht Britannia Trust. This year, the trust is presenting a new perpetual trophy for the Edinburgh Cup, which is a maquette of a Royal Yachtsman's statue commissioned in 2011 in memory of all who served aboard BRITANNIA. The trophy will be awarded to the top-scoring Dragon, counting all race results.
Bluebottle, the legendary Dragon built by Camper & Nicholson and presented to Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip at their wedding in 1947, will be present at the event. The Royal Yacht Britannia Trust rescued Bluebottle after it fell into disrepair and she will be raced by past Edinburgh Cup winners Graham and Julia Bailey. The duo recently won the Turkish National Championship and claimed third place at the 2023 Dragon World Championship in Bodrum, making them a team to watch during the Edinburgh Cup.
The Edinburgh Cup's rules allow for a single race discard in the overall score for the regatta, but in the early years of the competition, all races counted towards the overall result. The new Britannia Trophy will be awarded to the top-scoring Dragon, counting all race results. With so many countries represented and top-performing teams vying for the coveted trophy, the 75th Edinburgh Cup and International Dragon UK Grand Prix is set to be an exciting and competitive event.
