Gazprom International Dragon European Championship - Preview
by Imagina 17 Mar 2014 17:33 GMT
24-29 March 2014
All set for the Gazprom International European Dragon Championship at YC Sanremo © Matteo Littardi
The opening of the Gazprom International European Dragon Championship is planned on March 24th. The European Dragon Championship is organized by the Sanremo Yacht Club with the cooperation of the International Dragon Association and the Italian Sailing Federation and the partnership of Gazprom International and BMW.
Scheduled activities
After the first three days dedicated to the registrations and to the hulls controls (from March 22 to 24), the first runs of Gazprom International European Dragon Championship regattas are planned on Tuesday, March 25th. First start at 10.30 a.m. The regattas, that will be run on a Leeward and Windward course, will continue until Saturday, March 29th. Seven races are scheduled in total, no more than two races a day.
Registered boats
About 90 boats are expected at Sanremo, coming from 22 different countries; their crews include the most important yachtsmen who usually take part in the international sailing competitions.
Participation ranges from Olympic medallists to World and European champions:
the British Lawrie Smith – winner of the bronze medal in the Soling class at the Olympic Games of Barcelona in 1992, three participations to the Whitbread and to the America's Cup in 1983 as skipper on Victory – will participate on Alfie.
The German Olympian Vincent Hoesch, World and European champion in different classes, among which Dragon, Star e H-Boat, will sail on Sinewave.
German Markus Wieser – winner, in 2013, of the 5.50 World Championship and bronze medal in the Dragon World Championship – will sail onboard Bunker Queen. The Italian team will be represented by the crews onboard Buriana (Francesco Spirito, Susanna Guidi, Francesco Vallicelli), Cloud (Giuseppe Duca, Jean Sebastien Ponce, Vittorio Zaoli), Galatea II (Filippo La Scala, Giorgio Poggi, Emilios Papathanasiou), Little Diva (Michele Benvenuti, Mario e Andrea Quarante) and Tregeste (Nando Colaninno).
Competitors from 22 countries
22 countries will be represented in this Championship, with sport teams coming from: Antigua, Australia, Austria, Denmark, Emirates, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Italy, Monaco, Norway, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, United States of America, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and Hungary.
Partners of the event
Besides Gazprom International and BMW (main partners of the event), the Gazprom International European Dragon Championship will be held under the sponsorship of Paul&Shark, Transbunker, Ulysse Nardin, Pantaenius Yacht Insurance, Municipality of Sanremo, Royal Hotel Sanremo, Regione Liguria, Casino diSanremo, Gruppo Cozzi Parodi.
Dragons
Dragons have been built for over 80 years, nevertheless they remain the most appreciated keelboats worldwide.
Renowned for their exceptional seaworthiness, Dragon class keelboats are widespread, registering with National Dragon class associations in 30 countries. Crews consist of three sailors. One Design rules ensure level racing and the ease of trailing makes international competition attractive to all budgets. The strengths of the Dragon Class, for many of the best helmsmen from dinghy sailors to America's Cup competitors, remain the possibility of competing at a high level, being one of the few top level racing classes where sailing skills still predominate over crew weight and fitness. These are just some of the reasons why yachtsmen of every age and every standard are attracted to the Dragon. Dragon ownership is the goal of many sailors' racing careers, while for others the class provides a lifetime of challenges.
Dragons where originally wooden boats, built in several small-scale shipyards. For many years, then, Dragons were developed mainly in the Danish Borge Boressen shipyard, where over 1500 boats were built. Nowadays, Dragons are essentially fibreglass keelboats, built by British Petticrows and German Glas, while Boressen, after having used fibreglass since 1972, is now building wooden Dragon keelboats again.
The complete one-design, under the control of International Dragon Association (IDA) and ISAF, makes the building of a Dragon class boat strictly identical in all the shipyards.
Few sailboats are as elegant as Dragons. With their beautiful rakes and their magnificent Genoa, they deserve to be the successors of the magnificent yachts of the International Tonnage.
www.yachtclubsanremo.it