Dragon Northern Champs at South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club

If anyone was trying to fathom out just which class of boat delivered the best yacht racing experience, the search is over - it's the International Dragon!

How do I know? Two pointers confirm there is no other conclusion;

1. The very well earned 'cat just got the cream' look on the faces of Varf'or Da Da's team, led by Tim Tavinor. Tim and crew fought from the very start of the championship, initially against a strong challenge from Patrick Gifford's team in Nereid and then holding off the charging Jaguar team inspired by the determination and absolute consistency of Martin Byrne. At the end of the first day Varf'or Da Da was ahead by virtue of consistency from Nereid which had won two races but slipped in the middle one when recalled after the start. By the end of day two Varf'or Da Da had consolidated their position only nearly to lose it all when Patrick won the first race on Sunday from Martin Byrne. Halfway through the last race Martin was winning overall, then Patrick led at the second windward mark and finally the places fell right for Tim to win by a point form Martin who was himself a point ahead of Patrick. The result was therefore that Tim and his team of Thomas Wilton and Andrew Norden (aka Noddy) won overall and Martin walked away with the Corinthian Shield as the winning all amateur team.

2. This contest at the front of the fleet awarded a majestic spectacle to those yachts further down the field, who as well as wringing everything from boat and crew to gain an advantage, were able to admire the majesty of Dragons sweeping across the bay - not least Simon Brien's brand new 'Kin', delivered direct from the Petticrows factory for the event.

The scores on the boards confirm that there was an intense battle in progress at all levels in the fleet from the start of the first race to the final finish line, with plenty of all out skirmishes taking place within the fleet.

The weather was unbelievable, a gift from God himself. Day one saw overcast and gentle (force 3+) northerlies enabling three races. Day two was moderate to fresh at force 4 to 5 but gusting higher, blazing sunshine and spectacularly great sailing allowing two races to be completed. Day three was back to force 3 to 4, clear blue skies and two final races. Barry McGill as PRO, supported by Tim Little as ARO, cracked the races off with authority and without hesitation, no hanging about, and just one general recall much to the delight of the fleet.

This was the first Dragon championship held by the newly revived Abersoch Dragon Fleet, and the effort so many SCYC members put into this revival event was rewarded by the generosity of spirit from the visitors who came to see what it was all about at the South Caernarfonshire Yacht Club . I have little doubt David Williams, with the persuasive support of Hillary, encouraged the three Irish boats and their crews to join us, thank you to the Irish for giving the event that touch of 'je ne sais quoi' or 'rud éigin' as the Irish would say. Similarly thanks must go to Patrick Gifford and Tim Tavinor's crews who made the not inconsiderable journey from the east coast and then let rip on the race track leaving nobody in doubt they were here to win races.

Let's look at the Abersoch teams. At the tail end of the fleet Graham Price's Amazon, with guidance from Crick Peters, fought off the challenge from Colin Brereton's Gitane whose gear failure let them down. Graham is new to this whole sailing thing so he was very pleased.

Dave Cumming's Mystere, helmed by Jamie Peters won the 'built 1990 or earlier' trophy as a reward for their hard fought efforts to break into the established and experienced visiting Dragon crews. Dave Williams's team on Phantom were having none of it, and held them off in the overall standings.

As hosts, the South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club based Abersoch Dragon Fleet experienced delight and pleasure meeting such a great bunch of visiting yachters. The visitors took away the memory of an excellent regatta which also served as confirmation that the 2011 Edinburgh Cup, to be held within the gloriously beautiful Abersoch Bay, will be seen as the blue ribbon event of the European Dragon race calendar for next year.

Overall Results: (top five)

1. GBR744 - Varfo'r dada - Tim Tavinor
2. IRL201 - Jaguar - Martin Byrne
3. GBR717 - Nereid - Patrick Gifford
4. IRL212 - Kin - Simon Brien
5. IRL176 - Phantom - Dave Williams

Full results can be found at www.scyc.co.uk

The next events in the British Dragon Association calendar are the South Coast Championship and the Edinburgh Cup, the British Open Championship for the Dragon Class, which are to be concurrently hosted by the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, Cowes, from 27 June to 3 July 2010. Further details about these events are available from www.britishdragons.org.uk and www.rcyc.co.uk