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Irish Dragon Class Sailing News and Regatta Results
Hal Risk in the Dragon documentary Setting Hearts on Fire
The International Dragon One Design has been an important of Irish sailing since the 1930s, writes W M Nixon. This classic boat’s good looks and excellent performance continues to provide rewarding racing for sailors of all ages worldwide. Indeed, a…
Dara McGee's - 'The Royal St George team Martin Byrne, Adam Winkelmann and John Simms competing at the Dragon Marblehead Trophy
Martin Byrne’s Jaguar Dragon Sailing Team finished in sixth place overall at the Marblehead Trophy in Vilamoura, Portugal on Saturday. The Royal St George team comprised Byrne, Adam Winkelmann and John Simms. The small 12 boat but very competitive fleet…
Jaguar Dragon Sailing Team skipper Martin Byrne is lying in fourth place overall at the Marblehead Trophy in Portugal
After two days of racing at the Dragon Marblehead Trophy in Vilamoura, Portugal Martin Byrne’s Jaguar Sailing Team lie in fourth place overall. The Royal St George sailor is crewed by Adam Winkelmann and John Simms. A 7th & 4th…
Ireland's Dragon trio Martin Byrne, Adam Winkelmann and John Simms are competing in Vilamoura this week
The Royal St George Yacht Club has endorsed former Commodore Martin Byrne’s Jaguar Sailing Team as their representative at this week's Dragon Marblehead Trophy in Vilamoura, Portugal. A four-time winner of the Irish Dragon Championship and a former Edinburgh Cup…
Squibs and Flying Fifteens picking up speed as the breeze builds at Dromineer, with FFs Triggers Bush (3896, Lee Statham & Andy Paul, Waterford Harbour SC) and Duff Extra (3737, Gavin Doyle & Dave Sweeney, National YC) keeping their wind clear
The annual October Freshwater Keelboat Regatta at Dromineer, (hosted by Lough Derg Yacht Club and staged last weekend) has been no stranger to hyper-strong winds in times past. But in 2021's unusually gentle Autumn, it provided two to three days…
Lough Derg Yacht Club is expecting a fleet of 30 Squibs for its Keelboat Regatta on October 15th
Lough Derg Yacht Club in County Tipperary will welcome one design visitors back to Dromineer for the Keelboat regatta on the weekend of 15th to 17th of October. Four fleets are expected to the lake, with the biggest likely to…
(Right to left) Martin Byrne, Adam Winkelmann and John Simms sailing Jaguar at the Portuguese Dragon Nationals
Dublin-Belfast Dragon keelboat trio of Martin Byrne, Adam Winkelmann and John Simms sailing Jaguar at the Portuguese National Championship 2021 were in first place in the final race of the championships when the wind died on Sunday. It took several attempts…
(Right to left) Martin Byrne, Adam Winkelmann and John Simms sailing Jaguar at the Portuguese Dragon Nationals
It was a tough second day for Dublin-Belfast Dragon keelboat trio of Martin Byrne, Adam Winkelmann and John Simms sailing Jaguar at the Portuguese National Championship 2021 after four races sailed.  The Dublin Bay entry has dropped to third overall with…
(Right to left) Martin Byrne, Adam Winkelmann and John Simms sailing Jaguar at the Dragon Nationals, Portugal
A Dublin-Belfast Dragon keelboat trio of Martin Byrne, Adam Winkelmann and John Simms sailing Jaguar are lying second overall at the Portuguese National Championship 2021 after two races sailed.  The Dublin Bay entry broke a spinnaker pole in race one but still…
Royal St. George's Peter Bowring, Neil Hegarty and David Williams are the 2021 Irish Dragon championships winners after a seven-race contest off Kinsale
The final race of the championship decided the top four places overall of the O'Leary Life Irish Dragon Nationals at Kinsale with Dublin Bay sailors Peter Bowring, Neil Hegarty and David Williams taking the title. The race was sailed in a consistent…
Dragon racing at Kinsale in the 2021 Irish Championships
Neil Hegarty, Peter Bowring and David Williams in Phantom held on to the overall lead during Day three of the O'Leary Life Irish Dragon National Championships. 14 knots of easterly wind and a reduced swell made for near-perfect sailing conditions.…
Dublin Bay's Neil Hegarty sailing with Peter Bowring and David Williams have move into the lead at the Dragon Nationals
Two wins for the Royal St. George Yacht Club's Phantom skippered by Neil Hegarty put the Dublin Bay Dragon crew in the lead after day two of the class national championships in Kinsale in County Cork. After four races sailed…
Big seas and strong winds for the first day of racing at the Dragon Nationals in Kinsale
Local ace Cameron Good leads a fleet of 15 after day one of the O’Leary Life Irish Dragon Championship at Kinsale Yacht Club. Race 1 got underway with an easterly wind blowing 16 – 18 knots and a 2-metre swell making for…
An aerial view of The Dragon Gold Cup 2021 in Marstrand
Two final races in glorious sun and moderate breeze completed the six-race Dragon Gold Cup 2021 by Yanmar in Marstrand. The regatta ended on high drama when no less than five of the top ten boats were disqualified under black…
The beautifully restored Dragon, Titan will be on of 15 boats contesting the Irish Dragon Nationals at Kinsale in September
After the successful staging of The Sovereigns Cup in June, Kinsale Yacht Club is now preparing for another Championship in early September. Over 15 teams are expected to battle it out for the O'Leary Life Irish Dragon national title, a title…
Over 80 entries from 17 nations already are already confirmed for Sweden's hosting of the Dragon Gold Cup in 2022
When Pedro Andrade and his crew lifted the historic Dragon Gold Cup on the 14 June 2019, little did they know it would be more than two years before they would be called upon to defend their title. Traditionally held…

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.