British Dragon Association

It has been a relatively quiet season for the Dragon fleet. There have been a lot of distractions. Rory has had family responsibilities, Rick has had a new project to start and the building and racing of the 8-metre Ganymede has also pre-occupied a number of Dragon owners. The result has been that the normal points racing has been dominated by Basilisk, largely because either Mike or Patrick was generally able to turn up, even if the other was away. She didn't have it all her own way, being beaten by Dusty Hughes in Pongo one weekend, aided by a traitorous Patrick and Shelley and, on handicap, by Orion with an equally traitorous Mike at the helm. In the handicap racing she distinguished herself by winning the summer series and the Vaughan-Brown Cup. It just shows what being there can do for you.

The regatta was quite different. All the absentees turned up and we even had two visitors in the form of James Mehew with Comanche and Matt Lingley with Kestrel. As a result there were ten boats on the line, the best turn out for a while. Rory showed that he hadn't forgotten how to race at Aldeburgh and won convincingly from Rick in conditions that varied between the very windy and the pleasant. We believe that both visitors were sufficiently impressed that they are likely to apply for membership! On handicap, the Hunt family in Panther, led by Jonathan, their eminence grise, showed very convincing form to win as easily as Rory had done in the open category. Nereid was the only boat to venture away from home, and indeed is enjoying the south of France as I write. She has been to all three major British events, which were mostly characterised by an excess of wind and also a wind-chill below freezing on the Medway. She has also travelled to Finland(tee shirt and shorts much of the time), Ireland(very competitive worlds and great entertainment) and France(report awaited). It has definitely proved a good arrangement for all concerned.

Underneath the low turnout for club racing there are some promising developments. Balloo and Sarah have bought Hawkeye(now Kite) effectively adding an active boat to the fleet. We also expect to see more of Matt Lingley next year. There are also now quite a number of younger members who are keen crews and very willing to aid the growth of the class. Charlie Sprake has indeed been on a rapid learning course in Finland and Ireland. Optimism therefore prevails for 2008.

Patrick Gifford 25.9.07