Dragon South West Championships at Royal Cornwall Yacht Club - Overall

Dragon South West Championships © Emma York

Dragon South West Championships © Emma York

Dragons from across the country converged in Falmouth for the 2022 British Dragon Association southwest regional championship. The 19 Dragons, representing the full spectrum of build era from vintage, classic and new enjoyed six races across two days in Falmouth Bay.

Day one delivered a west/northwest 12-14 knots and good sea conditions. Fresh from their excellent 5th place finish at the Dragon World Championship in Kuhlungsborn, Graham Bailey helming Bluebottle GBR 192 got off to a great start claiming his first win. Closely followed by Clive Page's Pageboy XI GBR 792 and Richard Leask's Kestra GBR 731.

It was a masterclass of sailing from team Bluebottle, Graham and Julia Bailey and David Heritage finished the day with three bullets and the overall lead.

Martin Byrne's Jaguar Racing Team IRL 201 keenly hot on the heels of Bluebottle took second place in races two and three to finish second on day one.

It was a great day of racing that saw all Dragons enjoy the windward leeward course held in the bay overlooked by Pendennis Castle. Solent Dragon sailors Simon Barter and Owen Pay showed their skill in the conditions, both claiming a third-place finish in races two and three respectively.

Going into the second day Bluebottle had a seven-point lead over Jaguar Racing Team with a very close scoreboard further down the fleet. Admittedly, the Irish team felt they had a lot to do as the Dragons sailed from Falmouth harbour to the race area.

A Northwest 7 - 10 knots greeted the fleet in the bay. It was a day of disturbed seas, patchy winds, and a change of course over to Penance Point.

IRL 201 maximised every opportunity that the wind and tide offered up, sailing a very consistent set of races, claiming a podium finish in every race to successfully close the gap on GBR 192.

Ian Gray's Still Crazy GBR 827 team had an excellent day of racing, relishing the lighter breeze, getting a win in race four and a second place in race six. GBR 192's OCS in race four saw, for the first time, the leaders at the back of the fleet. But the course two race offered an extra upwind leg for the team to sail back into a mid-fleet finish.

With the wind feeling more settled at the top end of 10 knots, Gavia Wilkinson-Cox's GBR 761 Jerboa took the race five win followed by IRL 201 and fellow Cowes Dragon GBR 763.

The lighter airs suited some Dragons and the final race of the day saw a change at the top and a superb race by Crispin Blyth's classic, GBR 430 Ran. They chose the right of the course to lift them into the windward mark in first place. From there the Royal Yorkshire Yacht Club team extended their lead to take their first win.

A fully completed six races delivered a thrilling championship with IRL 201 winning the SW championship, GBR 192 in second and GBR 763 taking third place overall.

Overall Results: