Cowes, UK - 30 June 2010 -
The 33 strong fleet at the 2010 Dragon
Edinburgh Cup, supported by Aberdeen Asset Management and hosted by the Royal
Corinthian Yacht Club, Cowes, put on a fabulous show in stunning conditions as
they completed the first two of their six race series for the British Open
Dragon Championship. With hot
sunshine, a good south westerly breeze of 10-17 knots and what Andrew "Noddy"
Norden, bowman for reigning Dragon World Champion Poul Richard Hoj-Jensen,
described as "without doubt the strongest Edinburgh Cup fleet I've ever seen",
it was unquestionably some of the best racing the Solent has witnessed in a
long time.
It was cut and thrust at every single mark
rounding but, although he had to fight very hard for it, ultimately it was five
time Dragon Gold Cup and European Champion Poul Richard Hoj-Jensen, sailing
GBR745 Danish Blue with Theis Palm and Andrew Norden, who rose to the top of
the heap to claim the winner's laurels in both races. Hoj-Jensen's biggest challenger all day was Norway's Klaus
Diederichs, sailing NOR282 Fever with Andy Beadsworth and Simon Fry, who lies
second overall, four points behind Hoj-Jensen thanks to a second in race one
and a fourth in race two. British
Olympians Lawrie Smith and Ossie Stewart sailing this week with 505 World
Champion Bill Masterman aboard GBR751 Alfie, proved that they still have what
it takes and now lie in third place overall on 10 points with an eighth in race
one and an impressive and hard won second in race two. Russia's Olga White, sailing RUS69
Murka 7 with Martin Leifelt and Vladimir Krutskikh, made sure the boys didn't
have it all their own way and her 4, 7 score line puts her into fourth overall,
one point behind Smith and two points ahead of fifth placed Jamie Lea, sailing
GBR723 Gorgeous Worgeous with owner Quentin Strauss and Lars Wegener.
In the Corinthian Division for the
all-amateur crews the Solent's Eric Williams, sailing GBR682 Ecstatic with Rory
Paton and Joanna Richardson, is leading overall from Solent Fleet Captain
Richard Cullen aboard GBR669 Supremacy, crewed by Alex Dobson and Matthew Hill,
with Falmouth's Chris Hunt, crewed by Mark Dailey and Simon James sailing
GBR741 Flawless, third.
One team who's day looked pretty good until
they got ashore and checked the results was that of French National Champion
Louis Urvois, sailing FRA365 Ar Prim with Gwen Chapalain and Jean S Ponce. Always a consistent performer Louis got
his regatta off to a good start with a sixth in race one. In race two he looked great off the
line and at the weather mark he led the fleet from Simon Brien, sailing IRL212
Kin with Stephen Milne and David Gomes; Owen Pay, sailing GBR653 Nijord with
Dave Ross and John Mortimer; and Klaus Diederichs. Although Hoj-Jensen managed to sneak past him on the
first run Urvois held off the rest of the fleet despite many challenges and
crossed the finish line in second place to an ominous silence. Back ashore the results confirmed that
they had been OCS so instead of lying in fifth place they now find themselves
down in 20th and very much looking forward to the discard coming
into play in after race four.
The Dragon fleet attracts lots of family
sailors, many of who sail together such as husband and wife Graham and Julia
Bailey and Mike and Monique Hayles and father and daughter Chris and Selina
Dicker. Today's great family story
however, was about rivalry not teamwork. Dave Ross, one of the top Solent Dragon crews, is sailing with Owen Pay aboard
Nijord and his lovely wife Sarah, who won't mind me describing her as a
relative newcomer to the fleet, is crewing for Australian Olympian and
America's Cup veteran Gordon Ingate aboard Whimsey. Until recently Dave has been pretty confident of having the upper
hand when it comes to Dragon sailing, but today the tables were turned and Dave
looked just a little bit dismayed to find himself chasing the missus round the
course in the second race. Perhaps
fortunately for marital harmony tonight Nijord lies in 16th overall
and Whimsey lies in 19th, but with just six points separating them
Dave and the Nijord crew will need to look to their laurels if they want to
keep the upper hand.
Although the racing was thrilling to watch
the day wasn't without its dramas. Prior to the start of Race 2 PRO Robert Lamb had warned the competitors
that, in order to compensate for a strengthening tide, he intended to
considerably increase the length of the spreader leg to ensure that the run
would be square. With a beat of
almost two miles it is difficult to see the windward mark from the start line
and it wasn't until the boats were some way up the beat that many of them got a
visual fix on it. Unfortunately
for a number of boats on the left side of the course it turned out that their
fix on was the spreader mark and the windward mark was in fact some 400 meters
to the right. As a result they over
stood and found them selves broad reaching in, loosing considerable ground in
the process.
Not everyone made the same mistake and
Hoj-Jensen was one of those who definitely knew where he was going, however, as
he approached the port lay line he was pinned to leeward of Mike Hayles,
sailing GBR717 Nereid with Monique Hayles and Richard Bailey. His attempts to persuade Hayles that
they should tack sadly fell on deaf ears and so Hoj-Jensen was eventually
forced to bear away to create space so that he could tack behind him. After racing Hayles must have been
ruing his decision to ignore the advice as it he'd only tacked as Hoj-Jensen suggested
he would very likely have been first round the windward mark.
With the forecast offering more sunshine
and good winds, this time from the south, we look all set for another great day
of racing tomorrow. The regatta
continues until Saturday with a total of six races scheduled. In addition Friday afternoon will see
the lunatics taking over the asylum in the Edinburgh Cup Crews Race, a traditional highlight of the regatta.
Overall Top Five After Two Races
1. GBR745 - Danish Blue - Poul Richard Hoj-Jensen
2. NOR272 - Fever - Klaus Diederichs
3. GBR751 - Alfie - Lawrie Smith
4. RUS69 - Murka 7 - Olga White
5. GBR723 - Gorgeous Worgeous - Jamie Lea
Full Results
Photo Gallery
IDA Blog
British Dragons YouTube Channel
Further
details about the Edinburgh Cup are
available from www.britishdragons.org and www.rcyc.co.uk. You will also be able to follow the
Edinburgh Cup on the International Dragon Association Blog.
Members of the media wishing to
attend either event or requiring additional information should contact BDA Press Officer Fiona Brown on
E-mail fiona.brown@fionabrown.com or Mobile +44 (0)7711
718470.
For further information about the British Dragon Association please visit www.britishdragons.org or contact BDA Press Officer Fiona Brown on e-mail fiona.brown@fionabrown.com, Skype fpbrown, Mobile +44 (0)7711 718470.
For further information about Aberdeen Asset Management please contact Jill Maxwell, PR Manager - WSM Sponsorship, Tel +44 (0)207 590 7520, e-mail Jill.maxwell@wsmsponsorship.com or visit www.aberdeen-asset.co.uk
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For further information about the British Dragon Association please contact:-
BDA Chairman
Patrick Gifford
E-mail Patrick Gifford
Mobile 07930 558737
BDA Vice Chairman
Martin Makey
E-mail Martin Makey
Mobile 07860 729804
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