Calling All Classic Dragons

July and August 2008 bring a bumper crop of Solent based events for Classic Dragons with three fantastic regattas over a four-week period. There’s never been a better time to be a Classic Dragon owner so start polishing those fittings and putting in some practice ready for this festival of Classic Dragon racing.

Meter & Classic Keelboat Regatta – Cowes, Isle of Wight – 21 to 25 July

The first event on the schedule is the Meter & Classic Keelboat Regatta being hosted by the Royal London Yacht Club, Cowes, from Monday 21 to Friday 25 July. Building on the success of last year’s Meter Boat Regatta and now incorporating the classic Solent keelboat classes including the Classic Dragon, Redwing, Swallow, Sunbeam, Daring, XOD, Victory and Seaview Mermaid classes this promises to be an outstanding event both afloat and ashore. In addition all competitors taking part in the Meter & Classic Keelboat Regatta are also invited to join a Parade of Sail being held off Cowes at 11.00 on Saturday 26 July. Already five UK and several overseas Dragons have registered interest in competing and we hope to see the Classic Dragon well represented at this high profile event. Further details are available from www.classickeelboats.org.

2008 Classic Dragon British Open Championship – in association with Skandia Cowes Week– 2 to 9 August

The 2008 Classic Dragon British Open Championship will take place in association with Skandia Cowes Week from Saturday 2 to Saturday 9 August. In addition to our usual Skandia Cowes Week Dragon class racing there will also be a special competition for the Classic Dragons running throughout Cowes Week. A formal Notice of Race for the Classic element of the regatta will be published in due course at www.solent-dragons.org and in addition please also enter Skandia Cowes Week online at www.skandiacowesweek.co.uk. The Dragon Class party will be held on the Sunday evening of Cowes Week at the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club. On the Thursday evening of Cowes Week the Class Captain and his family will be hosting a 50th birthday party for their own Classic Dragon 'Asa' (built in 1958).

Yarmouth Regatta – Yarmouth, Isle of Wight – 16 to 17 August

The final event in our trilogy is the Royal Solent Yacht Club Regatta, which takes place in Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, on 16 and 17 August - the weekend after Skandia Cowes Week. The regatta includes a dedicated Dragon start and there will be a Classics Division racing within the main fleet. Yarmouth is one of the prettiest harbours on the Solent and the Royal Solent Yacht Club is renowned for its hospitality and race management. As well as great racing in the Western Solent during the day there is also a spectacular party planned for the Saturday night and plenty of family fun to be had ashore during the day for those not racing.  Further information is available at www.royalsolent.org/rsycregatta.html.

Solent Classics Special Trophy

It is hoped that many of the Classics will do all three regattas and to encourage maximum participation the Solent Fleet in conjunction with the British Dragon Association is putting up a new trophy to be awarded to the boat with the best combined score from the three regattas. This trophy will be awarded at the annual British Dragon Association dinner in January 2009.

The Solent Fleet looks forward to welcoming Classic Dragon sailors from across the UK and Europe for these very special events. Further information will be published at www.solent-dragons.org or please contact Solent Class Captain Ben Hancock on solentclasscaptain@yahoo.com.