History
A Short History of the Dragon Class
In 1905 Johan Anker, in partnership with Christian Jensen, formed the Norwegian boat yard of Anker and Jensen. These were auspicious times for international yacht racing with increasing numbers of people becoming interested in sailing small fast craft of new designs. In 1906 the International Yacht Racing Union was founded with the sport rapidly expanding internationally. In 1908 Johan Anker helmed the 8 metre "Fram" in the Olympics held on the Solent, where he was third in 2 races. The 1911 Coronation Regatta saw Anker on the Solent again with the 12 metre "Rollo". This time he returned home with the Gold medal after winning both races.
His position now established as a yacht designer of flair and quality and in 1927 he produced a design that was to win a competition organized by the Royal Gothenburg Yacht Club. The aim of the competition was to produce a smaller, less expensive boat designed for younger people. Anker's design was a Bermudan rigged keelboat with long overhangs and a short coach roof with rudimentary accommodation, which enabled the boat to be lived on for several days. The name of the design was, of course, the Dragon and the first was built in 1928. The dimensions of the boat were LOA 8.9m, LWL 5.7m, beam 2.0m, and draught 1.2m, and with a total overall weight of 35 cwt (1700 kg). The Dragon quickly became very popular and spread throughout the Scandinavian countries, and soon reached Germany and Britain.
Dragons were mothballed for the duration of the war, and the occupation of Norway prevented any new Dragons being built. However, they were amongst the first boats to appear again soon after the war. Although all sailing was a luxury at the time, the Dragon was found to be a cost effective alternative to the Six, Eight, and Twelve Metre classes. Also, in a generous gesture to recognise the support that Britain gave to Norway during the war, the Anker family waived all royalties on British built boats.
A measure of the Dragon's success can be judged by its selection as an Olympic Class in 1948. The price of this was the end of the Dragon's days as a weekend cruiser as getting the boats down to weight meant stripped out the cruising gear and replacing the cabin with a tiny open cuddy. Then in the early 1970s, the Dragon started moving with the times, with the introduction of glass fibre hulls, synthetic sails and metal spars.
About 100 companies have built dragons throughout the long history of the class; including Borresen, Pederson & Theusen, Lallows, McGruers, Woodnutt, and Camper & Nicholson. In the 1980s Peter Wilson started building GRP Dragons in Aldeburgh; and became the UK's most prolific builder giving the class a strong injection in the arm. Petticrows boat yard in Burnham-on-Crouch started building Dragons in 1988 and have since become the dominant builder worldwide.
The Early Years in British Waters
In 1933 A.H Ball, a member of the Clyde Yacht Club, was on a cruising holiday in Scandinavia, where he was much taken with the design of the Dragon. He returned from his holiday with a copy of the plans, and several members of the club soon purchased Dragons. Support for the Class was immediate, and in 1936 the first races were held on the Clyde, there being 14 local boats. In the same year, the first series of international races took place there, won by a Swedish boat. As a result of the success of the regatta the Clyde Yacht Clubs Conference presented the Dragon Gold Cup to further international racing in the Class.
The first British built Dragon, "Anita" (owned by J.H. Hulme), was launched on the Clyde in 1938 and by the end of that same year there were 25 Dragons racing on the Clyde. Strong divisions of the Class were also being formed elsewhere, notably Belfast Lough, at Burnham and on the Solent and at the outbreak of the Second World War there one hundred and twenty Dragons registered in Britain.
By 1939 about 120 Dragon certificates had been issued by the Clyde Yacht Clubs Conference who administered the Class until it was taken over by the RYA. upon the grant of National status in 1946.
After the War interest in the Class rapidly increased. The Dragon was chosen as an Olympic class for the 1948 Games, followed by the grant of International status in 1949. One result of becoming an Olympic class was that the rules were subject to a very much closer scrutiny, so that it became clear to many that a closer liaison between the owners and the controlling body would be of advantage to both parties; therefore, in February 1956, the British Dragon Association was formed.
In 1948 the members of the Island Sailing Club gave the Dragon "Bluebottle" to Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh as a wedding present. A year later the Duke presented The Edinburgh Cup to the British Dragon Association; this perpetual trophy became the British National Championship and is held annually in mid-June.
The 1960s and 70s
Preliminary discussions on the Clyde during the 1960 Gold Cup led to the formation of the International Dragon Association in 1962 at a splendid party given by the Norwegians at Hanko in 1962. Splendid parties have been a feature of every dragon regatta since. At the same time the IYRU agreed to accept submissions for rule changes direct from International Class Associations and as a result the Class Rules were considerably tightened up. This greatly prolonged the competitive life of the boats and was followed by the introduction of metal spars in 1971 and GRP hulls in 1972. Both these innovations have proved extremely successful.
Since 1972 the Class has no longer been involved in the Olympics, and this has helped to keep costs down and encouraged wider competition so that the Class has flourished more than ever and is now the best-supported one-design class in the world. If the standard of competition suffered initially, this wider support has intensified the competition, and it is more difficult than ever to succeed at the highest levels, while giving more exciting and very sociable and enjoyable racing at club and local levels.
1990s
During this decade numerous technological developments have modernised the Dragon. Power boxes and ball-bearing and ratchet blocks made it possible to effectively control mast bend and sail shape in all weights of wind. The emergence of new spa manufacturers and boat builders resulted in many other design improvements.
Although the number of Dragons racing in the UK remained strong throughout this period, some fleets suffered a noticeable decline in registered boats. Sadly, the Abersoch Fleet disbanded, perhaps having never fully recovered from the storm, which damaged or destroyed so many boats in the early 1980s.
During the 1990s there was also a noticeable increase in the interest in "Classic Dragons" and many beautifully refurbished boats began to emerge and compete, often with a high degree of success.
The New Millennium
Demand for new boats remains strong and the number of registered owners is increasing. The number of classic yachts competing also appears to be on the up, with 61 currently registered with the BDA.
The layout of the new boats continues to improve, so much so that you would be lucky to find a winch in most of them! All in all these improvements to the Dragon have helped to maintain its reputation as the most exciting and demanding keel boat to sail, both to helmsmen and crew, whilst not detracting from their appeal to young and old alike. There is no other boat that encompasses all these qualities - true thoroughbred yacht racing. Whilst other classes may, and do, come and go, it will be no surprise if the Dragon is still the world's leading keel boat at the end of this decade just as it is now.
