No race could be started on Tuesday, the second day of the Erste Private Banking European Dragon Championship 2010, in Balatonkenese, Hungary. The weather is hot, the sun is shining, however, there is not any air movement above the surface of lake Balaton. The organizers expect a wind of about 6 knots for Wednesday, so the chances are good to start the first race tomorrow.

First race of the Dragon Europeans was started at 13:55 Wednesday in Balatonkenese, Hungary.

In a southerly breeze about 6-8 knots the first race of Dragon Europeans was won by Markus Wieser in front of Anatoly Loginov and Evgen Braslavets.

Second race of the Europeans was again won by Markus Wieser in front of the German Stephan Link and Anatoly Loginov from Russia

The Dragon Europeans third race started at 17:35 in 8-9 knots southerly breeze. Evgen Braslavets won the race, second place went to Stephan Link, third to Tim Tavinor.

The third day began with a postponement again. But it was worth waiting: at about 12.30 the expected Southerly breeze arrived. PRO Gert Schmidleitner managed to start the first race – after one general recall with black flag – at 13.50. Markus Wieser proved to be calmest. At the first mark he was 12th, at the gate already 3rd, and after a duel with Evgen Braslavets he won the race.

The breeze of about 8 to 9 knots held on the whole afternoon. The race management decided to start right from the finish line which enabled two more races for the day (the sailing instructions have been amended accordingly). The title holder mastered the second race even better. He made a good start, and came up to mark one as second. Surprisingly, Ron James lead the fleet. However, at the gate, Transbunker Team’s German ace was already first and managed to lead the fleet into the finish.

The third race was started from the finish line again. The Southerly hold on and saw Evgen Braslavets to make a start-finish win. Wieser worked himself up from place 25 to 13 which gives him a comfortable lead in the overall ranking of 8 point to second Stephan Link (GER 1036). Third ranked is Anatoly Loginov.

‘We had two very good races, it was all about tactical fights and it was a pleasure for us to sail like that. In the last race we had a perfect start but chose the wrong side on the first beat, so we had to fight back and save our first place. Very good crew work and good tactics calls from my guys Sergey and Matti. We enjoy sailing on this lake together very much!! Race committee did a fantastic job to get three races today’, told Markus Wieser. Answering the question if they were optimistic about the upcoming days, he said, ‘We have to concentrate on each race and be patient.’

Fifth rece - Mikhail Apukhtin from Russia won the 5th race of the Dragon Europeans in Balatonkenese, Hungary on Thursday afternoon. Second place went to Peter Fröschl from Germany and the third to Tamas Kelemen from Hungary. The race committee plans to start the 6th race immediately.

June 11th, 2010 – Defending European Champion, Markus Wieser won the title again in Balatonkenese, Hungary on Friday. Markus made a perfect start, sailed to the first mark as second and kept calm throughout the whole race. In the end he finished as third, and won the Championship.

PRO Gert Schmidleitner started the race after one general recall under blackflag at 11.35 in a Southern breeze of 10 to 12 knots which caused a fairly choopy water close to the port. As this was the last race and only one race has been scheduled for the day, the first beat was quite long with 2.1 nautical miles.

Markus Wieser made a secure start from the middle of the line and came up as 2nd to the first mark. His direct opponent, Anatoly Loginov, was not among the first 30, so from that time he only had to sail into the finish.

The race was won by RUS 90 with Dmitry Berezkin, who came up with that victory to the second place in the overall ranking. The third place went to Anatoly Loginov, who worked himself up to place 13 in the 7th race.

Results

Wind gets heavier for Hungarian Championship
Balatonkenese, 4th June, 2010 – The third and fourth race of the Hungarian Championship saw a reduced fleet after a Northerly breeze gusting up to 30 knots with an average of 25 knots welcomed 39 participants on Friday morning. Russian boat with Anatoliy Mikhailin at the helm mastered these conditions the best and is leading now with 15 points in front of Vince Hoesch whose mast bent in the first race of the day.

Vinci wins Hungarian Championship again
Balatonkenese, 6th June, 2010 – After a light-wind 5th race Vinci Hoesch won the 2010 Hungarian Championship, preceeding the European Dragon Championship in Balatonkenese Hungary. At about 11.00 a.m. PRO Gert Schmidleitner sent the field off for a fifth race in a light, 6-7 knot West-North-West which slowed down to 4 knots after 1.5 hrs. The right decision was to shorten, so the field finished after the second downwind leg.

Vinci succeeded in getting around FRA 323 in the last leg and won the race which ensured him his third back-to-back Hungarian Champion title. Two points behind Vinci the second place went to RUS 27, Anatoly Mikhailin, Andrey Kirilyuk and Alexander Shalagin. They mastered the second day’s heavy wind very well and sailed – even in the absence of their helmsman, Anatoly Loginov – a fantastic race. Third place went to GER 1014 (Dirk Oldenburg, Uwe Mares, Ulli Libor) who sailed a perfect first day.

The Championship finished with a „fun” race, where the sponsor’s gusts were taken on board of 16 dragons and sailed a short light-wind course.

Results

Richard Lynn recovered from a minor incident with a start mark in race 4 (”it hit me, I didn’t hit it”) to finish a consistent regatta in third place.

A big thank you to all the volunteers and staff at RBYC for their efforts in running a great Worlds warm up regatta, and we hope that all competitors took away a taste of what to expect at the Worlds next January.

Day 4 - Another day for the light weather sailors
The final day of sailing provided a different flavor for competitors with the wind 180 degrees from the previous three days. A warm northerly blew off the city and down the bay providing plenty of opportunities to move up and down the fleet. While the wind flicked around a small amount, it was more the changes in strength that provided the big gains. Again the team of Nick Rogers, Leigh Behrens and Simon Burrows led from the start and at the finish, but received a bit of a scare after local Brighton sailor Mark Woodland chipped in and led with one leg to go. However Rogers and Co held their nerve and managed to take the lead on the last downwind leg to take not only the race, but overall first place in the event. For only the second time in the event, Olga White found herself back in the back and struggled to get back in touch with the leaders. With only one race to go the two front runners cannot be caught, so a final race shootout was needed to decide the winner.

The final race was sailed in a moderate 8 - 10 knots with flat water courtesy off the offshore breeze. A warm day also meant that sailors had to keep the fluids in them to stay hydrated on what proved to be a long time in the sun. However a steady breeze allowed the race officer to start the race and the same trend continued with consistent direction, but inconsistent strength as gusts made their way down the course and picked up some boats but not others. However, the fleet was tightly compressed with the final downwind leg a dash to the finish. However, in the end, Nick Rogers team had done enough by covering their only rival and finished in 4th place which resulted in a 6 point overall in the series.

Day 3 - Roosters to the left, Feather Dusters to the right
With a light offshore breeze and a large separation of the fleet due to the long first leg, the split between boats at the end of the first beat was huge with those boats heading to the left gaining a huge advantage over those to the right. At the end of a 30 minute leg, there was almost eight minutes separating the first and last boats. Unfortunately two of the first three boats in the overall scores as of Saturday night headed right which had been the favored side late the previous day, but proved to be anything but favored for the first beat. Fortunately the wind then settled down, but this then proved a problem in that with not as much variation there were less opportunities to pick up places and the rest of the race ended resembling a procession around the course. Tommy Muller and Mikhail Mouratov were the two biggest scalps on the first leg and despite another three legs only managed to move up 4 and 3 places respectively, highlighting the tightness of the fleet.

The big winner from the race was the team of Nick Rogers, Leigh Behrens and Simon Burrows who not only lead the race from start to finish but moved up to 3rd place overall with the win in the race. Rogers has won the Prince Philip Cup (the Australian Championship) an unprecedented 10 times as well as the Dragon World Championships in 1995.

The second race of the day was also sailed in light but more consistent winds. Olga White and Nick Rogers boats were first off the line, and although the wind was consistent in direction, these two boats managed to find a little stronger breeze and pulled away from the rest of the fleet. Again it was tough back in the back with very little movement from the positions at the first mark. However it was Rogers who prevailed resulting in two wins from two races for the day - a good day at the office.

With the final day of racing tomorrow (Monday), it is getting tight at the top.

Day 2 - Tommy’s Day out
2007 Dragon World Champion Tommy Muller obviously learnt some valuable lessons from day one, winning both races on day 2 of the event. The second member of Muller’s team, Mario Wagner was also a late “fly in”, having sailed in the Italian National Dragon regatta from March 26 - 28th, then travelling almost straight from the presentation to the airport to make the first race in Melbourne. The boat they are using belongs to Sydney sailor Richard Franklin from the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, by his own admission a “club sailor”. Franklin is the third crew member on the crew and with Tommy significantly reconfiguring the boat to his own settings it has provided Franklin with a fantastic opportunity to improve not only his own boat, but watch a former World Champion and Gold Cup combination in action. Muller and crew had such a good day that not one boat crossed their bows for the entire day - not a bad day at the office.

The day had more offshore, shifting breezes, providing many opportunities to move up or down the rankings. For the last two days, the Race Committee have run a course 1 (windward/leeward two laps) for the first race of the day, and a course 2 for the second race of the day, with the addition of a further upwind leg to the finish. Several teams wished the PRO had stuck with the shorter race this afternoon, with a big right hand shift changing several places on the last windward leg. The big winners were the Sydney team of Wolf Breit, Peter Crane and Roger Hickman moving from 11th to 3rd, and the Tasmanian team of Nick Rogers, Leigh Behrens and Simon Burrows moving from 10th to 4th.

The second race of the day was also the race that the West Australian team of Richard and Anthony Lynn and Ian Olson would probably prefer to forget. After sailing and holding down 5th place for most of the race, they dropped to 11th in the shift approaching the finish line. On returning to the dock they were then informed that they were being protested for touching the starting mark by the Race Committee. On learning that it was also witnessed by the on water Jury as well as the Race Committee, they decided that it was going to be pretty hard protest to defend, so retired from the race. However, after a couple of drinks back in the clubhouse and a BBQ on the balcony overlooking the bay, they seemed pretty relaxed.

Racing continues tomorrow at midday with two more races scheduled and the final two races on Monday.

Day 1 - Russian clean sweep
A long flight to Australia didn’t seem to affect the two Russian teams sailing in the event, with the teams finishing 1/2 in both races. In a breeze that keep building during the day, the team of Olga White, Vadim Statcenko and Mikhail Lipp lead the first race of the day at every mark with husband Mikhail Muratov and crew Vladimir Krutskikh and Valentin Uvarkin trailing in second place at every mark. In the second race it wasn’t all one way traffic with the Sydney team of Andrew York, Ben Sharp and Craig Young from Sydney leading at the first mark and holding on to second place for most of the race but unable to hold off the two Russian teams, ultimately finishing in third in a good solid breeze.

With the wind initially slightly offshore, the water on Port Phillip Bay was quite flat across the course, but later in the day it swung around to the prevailing direction of due south and in a short space of time the shallow waters whipped up the short sharp chop making it a tough day for all sailors. In particular, local sailor Don Blanksby and crew found their feet a bit wetter than they would like with the pumps on their new boat malfunctioning. Deciding that discretion was the best option, they headed in early for an early shower. With a tub of beer on ice on the dock, all sailors had a great chance to go over the races with other competitors before most retired for a quick shower before dinner at a popular restaurant in nearby St Kilda.

Programme
Logistics
Accommodation

Yacht-club Herkules
19 lit. A, Beregovaya st., v. Lachta, Leningrad Region
Tel: +7 812 4983333
Fax: +7 812 4983398

We remind you all, that the registration date limit for the 41 Princess Sofia Trophy is due for the 7th of March 2010 as established in the Notice of Race.

You may find the NOR, on-line registration form and entry list on the official website of the event: www.trofeoprincesasofia.org

Do not hesitate to contact the organisation if you have any other questions at: info@trofeoprincesasofia.org

Wonderful sailing waters, good winds, balmy weather, amazing food, plentiful accommodation and one of the best yacht clubs in France are all on offer at a brand new event being launched in 2010 entitled the Open Dragon Du Morbihan.

Taking place from 9-12 September and hosted by the Yacht Club du Crouesty Arzon (YCCA) in association with the French Dragon Association, racing will be run on the stunning Bay of Quiberon, one of the best racing venues in France, which has very little current and an unrestricted racing area just a short sail from the harbour.

The YCCA has an outstanding reputation for organising good events with shoreside logistics that are second to none, fabulous après sailing refreshments and a warm and friendly atmosphere.

Six races are scheduled with Tony O’Gorman already appointed as PRO to head up a strong local race management team. Located at the southern entrance to the Golf du Morbihan, one of most historically and environmentally important areas of France, there are excellent road links to the area plus airports at nearby Lorient and Nantes so getting to and from the event couldn’t be easier.

To find out more about the Open Dragon Du Morbihan please visit.
For information go to:
http://www.ycca.net
e mail: ycca@wanadoo.fr

Yacht Club Crouesty Arzon
Port du Crouesty, BP 27
56640 Arzon, France.
Tel: +33(0)2 97 53 78 07
Fax:+33(0) 2 97 53 61 35

OFFICE DE TOURISME
PORT NAVALO - PORT- CROUESTY
Tel: +33(0) 2 97 53 69 69
Fax: +33(0) 2 97 53 76 10
http://www.crouesty.fr
e- mail: crouesty@crouesty.fr

Enclosed also the special offer that Royal Hotel (5 stars Luxe) gives to us in order to enjoy a pleasant stay. Our gracious wives could benefit by the Royal Wellness when we sail around the marks.

Because this regatta is an IDA grade 2 event, please add your ISAF ID number to the inscription form in order to be than included in the international classification.

New Italian Dragons are announced togheter with number of eastern and northern Dragons, that will make the start line very hot.

In the said races the HSF has included the DRAGON CLASS boats. This will give to the Dragonists the opportunity to race at the Olympic arena, enjoy the events and the advantages of sailing in sunny weather, temperatures between 23-26 Celsius and winds of 13-18 knots.

The participants may receive real very good discounts at the Athens hotels selected by the HSF and the Ferries from Italy to Greece, while later they can park their boats free of charge if they wish to stay or leave the boats for further time in Greece.

More details for the races can be received at
www.eio.gr
webmaster-eio@eior.gr
sports@eio.gr

The Hellenic Dragon Class will provide special hospitality events for the Dragonists at the premises of the Yacht Club of Greece and will sponsor the prizes for the winners and all the participants. At all times the HDCA will be by the side of the Dragonists and will provide assistance and hospitality.

Sailing Program