Dragon European Championship - Oslo 4th to 8th August 2008

The club racing at the Pirogovo Yacht Club near Moscow must be a very good way of sharpening up one's Dragon sailing. That is, if any of the members have time to attend to their local racing and aren't too busy scooping the pool on the international circuit. Five of the top six boats in this year's Aberdeen Dragon European Championship, led by Maxim Logutenko, came from Pirogovo, with only Tommy Muller in third place preventing a clean sweep. It was a most impressive performance, marred only by the decision of the Transbunker "team" with three highly competitive helmsmen to withdraw from the competition after one race.

The conditions were highly varied and not what the locals expected. They told us that sea breezes were the norm. In practice we only saw them as we put the boats together on the Thursday before the event and many participants probably believe that they are a figment of over-enthusiastic Norwegian prediction though their efforts to appear may have helped the wind to die on some occasions. What we actually got came mostly from the north, apart from day three, and varied in strength from a brief 30 knots to absolutely zero at times. It was always shifty and the ability to play these consistently was critical to success.

The first race was led home by Markus Wieser only to find he had been over the line, giving victory to Harro Kniffka. It was more notable for the rain squall that arrived on the second beat which made the run unexpectedly exciting. I did’nt see any Chinese gybes but couldn't understand why some of the gyrations observed didn't produce them. Day two saw a gradually dying wind and two races. This was the moment when Maxim Logutenko got a grip on the series by recording a first and a second as conditions became increasingly difficult. A similar, though more extreme weather pattern prevailed on the third day so that the second race had a shortened and radically changed course in which the last beat saw prolonged windless periods and dramatic shifts. Logutenko managed to hold the lead throughout, an admirable achievement as we, in our small way, went from around twentieth to about fiftieth and back to finish fifteenth. An interesting type of yacht racing, best handled by those brought up on inland ponds(Pirogovo?). The following day was ultimately abandoned after a prolonged attempt to finish a race in no wind. Finally the last day saw reasonably steady wind strength of Force 3-4 and much the fairest, at least in conventional terms, race of the series. In this Logutenko sailed conservatively and consolidated his position very effectively

It was a Championship of contrasts. I very much liked being moored in central Oslo rather than out in the sticks. However, the price was to be towed for nearly two hours each way to the racing area and that was a drawback, not just for the participants but also for the unfortunate towboats. The split locations meant that KNS hardly saw any of us which was perhaps a pity, though Herbern's Marina certainly provided excellent hospitality and the parties on the two last evenings were memorable. Generally the effort and helpfulness of the organisers and sponsors was very marked. Norwegian "greenness" contrasted with a committee boat with two gas turbines and a Russian support boat with slim lines and 600hp of outboard motors. Goodness knows what the whole regatta cost in fuel. In sailing terms, it was easy to see how the race area could provide a first-class venue. It chose to be very moody the week we were there which was bad luck but not very different from experiences in several other places this year.

Patrick Gifford
27th August 2008