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Haulfryn Dragon Edinburgh Cup at South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club - Day 1

by Emma York 17 Jul 2019 10:39 BST 16-19 July 2019
Mike Budd, Mark Greaves and Adam Bowers win the first race of the Haulfryn Dragon Edinburgh Cup © BDA

A beautiful warm morning greeted the Dragon sailors at the South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club (SCYC) on the first day of the Haulfryn Edinburgh Cup. The 71st British Dragon Nationals started under postponement for two hours while the wind filled in from the South.

Over-keen to get racing under way after the postponement resulted in a general recall in the first race. Eventually away, under U flag, the fleet spilt in half across the racecourse with Martin Payne's Bear leading into the top mark. Closely following, also from the right was Chip Cole and his team on Anarchy.

With the wind staying steady the right-hand side of the course remained favourable and Bear continued to lead the fleet going into the second upwind mark. Mike Budd's Harry and Anarchy were pushing hard going into the final downwind leg with Harry choosing to go further inshore. This move paid dividends and saw Harry overtake the leaders Bear to take the left-hand buoy of the gate and back upwind towards the finish.

After a patchy start Martin Byrne's Jaguar made a great comeback to finish eighth ahead of Chris Thomas' local SCYC Dragon Phormerly Phantom and Mike Breivik's Mars.

Race one winner Mike Budd commented: "It felt really good to get a win on our home turf. We had a crew change as well, we luckily won the Northerns recently with a different crew, so it was Adam's first day on the boat."

Talking about the conditions and the benefit of local knowledge Mike said: "If you went the right way it was good. We were second round the first mark in the second race and lost three places up the second beat by going the wrong way. There is always talk here about the shore-effect and I never thought it existed but when you sail in a competitive fleet it highlights the difference it makes."

The wind in the Abersoch Bay continued to move right throughout the afternoon and after a start-line change and another general recall the fleet were away. SCYC's Nick Whipp and Harryot had a superb flying start getting away quickly and choosing a clear lane.

Many Dragons chose very quickly to take the right as this proved to pay in the previous race as the wind continued to increase and veer towards the shore. Peter Marchant's Beauty & The Beast picked off several places to command the leading pack behind Jaguar into the first gate.

The final run saw Jaguar leading the fleet with Beauty & The Beast, Harryot and Graham Bailey's Aimee holding off Gavia Wilkinson-Cox's Jerboa and Colin Bergin's Irish team onboard Sir Ossis of the River. The all-female youth team onboard Amazon skippered by Octavia Owen, had a fantastic second race exploiting their match racing experience to finish 14th.

Of the 33 International Dragons entered, after the first two races there are currently five Corinthian boats in the top ten. Leading the charge is Graham Bailey's Aimee in third overall. After utilising the right-hand lane in the second race Graham steered them from down in 13th place to finish sixth. The fleet of Dragons from Burnham are showing their skills outside of the rivers and both Mark Wade's Avalanche and Chip Cole's Anarchy are putting pressure on the leaders.

Chip Cole and team is attending their first Edinburgh Cup, he commented on the experience so far: "We had some good and some bad moments. It is our first open meeting ever, we are really enjoying it. It was absolutely fantastic to come in the top three in the first race, we are all over the moon."

Racing continues today with two more races planned. Follow us at www.facebook.com/BritishDragonAssociation for live race updates.

Results after day 1:

PosBoatNatSail NoHelmCrewClubR1R2Pts
1stHarryGBR818Mike BuddMark Greaves & Tim TavinorSCYC145
2ndJaguarIRL201Martin ByrnePedro Andrade & Adam WinkelmannRSGYC819
3rdAimeeGBR782Graham BaileyJulia Bailey Will Heritage Will BedfordRYS639
4thJerboaGBR761Gavia Wilkinson‑CoxMark Hart Patrick Rigby & Jake HardmanRTYC4610
5thBearGBR789Martin PayneEmma York & Chris GrosscurthYCLB2911
6thAvalancheGBR722Mark WadeAmanda Wade & Chris BrittainRCYC71017
7thSeafireGBR636Paddy AtkinsonIan Platt & Mark PlattSCYC51924
8thZUIRL159TM PearsonCL Grimley & JC BolgerRSGYC121224
9thBeauty and the BeastGBR746Peter MarchantKatie Cole & Pete RichardsRCYC24226
10thAnarchyGBR825Chip ColeDavid Smith & Rob Drumgoldtba32326
11thHarryotGBR793Nick WhippSam McDougall & Cris MilesSCYC21526
12thMarsUSA8Mike BreivikRon Rosenberg & Will WillettSeattle YC101626
13thPhantomIRL176David WilliamsPeter Bowring & John O'ConnorRSGYC151126
14thBertieGBR763Simon BarterJames Barter & Donald WilksCCYC25833
15thFuriousGBR777Owen PayJon Mortimer & Tom HicksCCYC201333
16thBasiliskGBR515Patrick GiffordPhilip Catmur & Anthony SampsonAYC132134
17thHands OffGBR760Andrew MossMartin Makey & Nigel ColeRCYC142034
18thQuicksilver V1GBR788Robert CampbellNick Milton & Penny AndersonRCYC191534
19thGood GriefGBR696Patrick LomaxSimon Cash & Georgina DewarSCYC181735
20thVixenGBR806Tim SaundersGeorge Davies & Carole HolmeSCYC171835
21stRaissaGBR809Michael CopeGraham Price & Susie Delves‑LomaxSCYC112536
22ndAmazonGBR89Octavia OwenScarlett Anderson Lucy Terkelsen Hebe HemmingSCYC221436
23rdSir Ossis of the RiverIRL822Colin BerginDenis Bergin & Con MurphyRIYC30737
24thPhormerly PhantomGBR655Chris ThomasSelina Thomas & Charlie PearsonSCYC92837
25thDas BootTUR53Arkun DemircanEngin Demircan & Ali TezdikerBodrum163147
26thCarambaGBR618Rob EldridgeHarry Dodd & Dave GoreSCYC232447
27thKestraGBR731Richard LeaskDonald Milne Vanessa Leask Clive HurnRFYC272249
28thTsunamiGBR644Colin BreretonChris Mills & andy WilkinsSCYC292655
29thNjordGBR653Julian AdamsDave Coxon & Pete HawkinsSCYC262955
30thGlaurungGBR768Andrew MillbandRobert Goddard & Richard CullenCCYC282755
31stKismetGBR508Cathy OgdenSheena Kerr Moira Kinnear Fiona HutchisonRFYC333063
32ndThe KnuckerGBR808Dave EddowesGrant Edwards & Richard HaskayneSCYC313364
33rdNordwindGBR1051James TurnbullCeri Edwards & Anne and Chris HoppinsSCYC323264

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