George Dragons placed 1st, 2nd & 3rd at National Championships.
26 July
The Dragon National Championships were hosted by Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club on Belfast Lough on the 24th & 25th July where Vice Commodore, Martin Byrne reclaimed the title with a convincing performance.
Martin Byrne sailing "Jaguar" led from the front claiming the title with one race to spare in the seven race series, which was sailed in light to moderate breezes. Consistent results, all in the top 5 including three race wins, gave him a comfortable winning margin of 5 points over second placed Don O'Donoghue sailing "Seabird". Andrew Craig in "Chimaera" was only 1 point behind Don in third overall.
While "Jaguar" may have been comfortable at the front all week, there was some very close racing throughout the rest of the 18 boat fleet. "Seabird" and "Chimaera" were joined in the battle for 2nd place by British National Champion and holder of the Edinburgh Cup, Klaus Diedrichs from Cowes, who lost out to the two ‘George sailors on the final day. Elsewhere in the fleet former National Champion Neil Hegarty had a challenging week after scoring an OCS on day one to eventually finish in 8th position overall. Michael Cotter took 7th place only after a tie break separated him from Neil.
The event, which was sponsored by Belfast Harbour Commissioners, was extremely well organised by Simon Brien and his team from RNIYC. The style and character of the traditional Dragon fleet championship was upheld handsomely with a fun race from the launching area in Belfast Harbour down the Lough to the Club in Cultra on Wednesday evening. A reception in the magnificent Harbour Commissioners building in Belfast on Thursday was followed by a home hosted party at Simon & Juanita Brien's on Friday and finally the Championship Dinner was held in the Club on Saturday. Racing was completed on Sunday after which the fleet were lifted out at Carrickfergus Marina on the other side of the Lough.
Congratulations to Martin Byrne and his team of Adam Winkelmann and Pedro Andrade who last won the title in 2008. The trophy returns to the George for the fourth year in a row after Neil Hegarty and the "Phantom" team won the title last year and in 2007.
Results: http://www.rniyc.org/DragonNationalChampionships2010.htm
