Stavros Sees 'The Magic Triangle'!

Here we all are again in the middle of May and for some the dust is just being removed from the covers and trailers as more and more Dragons come out of their winter hibernation. Whilst for many other lucky sailors, we have seen another DZ Grand Prix come and go. April was very quiet this year due to an early Easter, but fear not, Easter Sunday is April 12th next yr so all the early events in 09 will not be so rushed.

So many things to report, so firstly Vincie's Magic Triangle. There is no doubt that my German counter-part, friend and the man every Dragon Sailor would like to have on their boat is Vincent Hoesch. His record as a helm is very impressive, but now he spends most of his time helping some ordinary club sailors to win championships. One in particular who's name escapes me at the moment, even won the Worlds last year!

So what is his secret? Well firstly he is very good. Starting sailing Dragons when he was just 9 months old, Vincie used to hit the old fashion runners with a mallet on each tack. By the age of 2 he had already won Three World Titles, Two European and Five National Championships................

Secondly, he helped Werner to design the Fritz Sails. Although North, Hoj-Jensen, Quantum Sails etc are all very competitive, Fritz dominated all the major events last year. So we know the sails are good.

Thirdly, he has been using his magic triangle..... Nearly all boats have five possible settings for the upper and lower shrouds. These can vary from station 4 depending on make of boat, year of manufacture etc... so careful attention should be made when setting up your own Dragon. But, if you want to give Vincie's triangle a whirl? Put your uppers at 79 or 80cm from station 4, with the lowers right behind. Then make sure your mast is 83/84cm from station 4 at rest. By rest I mean no influence from the mast ram. You are basically making a 3 to 4cm difference between uppers and mast. This will accomplish 3 major factors:

1). It will certainly allow the mast to go further forward downwind. Shrouds go slack, so check elastics!
2). It pre-bends the mast as shroud tension is increased, taking fullness out of the main, which in turn will open the slot. (make sure your main is suited for this! the amount of luff curve is the key).
3). Finally, as the runners are pulled on upwind, so the uppers may tighten. I say may because if you can test it with a rig gauge, you may not see a difference. But one thing is for sure, the uppers don't slacken. Which of course they will do if they are inline or behind the mast....Capice?

Well there you have it Campers. The Magic Triangle.....

Now a bit more news of the April happenings and Louis Grand Prix. Out in sunny Antigua, Harmony Hall has been hosting the ever growing Petticrow Dragon Fleet . The results of the 9 or 10 boat events are on the website, but it must be a truly magnificent place to go and get beaten by 'The Man' sailing in his element of 25+ knots of breeze.......

Vincie ran a training weekend in Douarnenez, whilst I trained a new Australian team in Palma. Then preceding the DZ extravaganza, we had a small regatta which was won by Seabird IRL 204 helmed by Don O'Donoghue and crewed by Mark Petit and myself. So it came as no surprise to see Don finish 4th overall in the Grand Prix a week later. This time crewed by Mark and a surprise guest called Ray (Brian) Reardon. Sailing still in his white gloves. As he does not do ropes. Well done to Don and his team yet again keeping the Irish Flag flying.

The winner of the Grand Prix was RUS 44 , closely followed by FIN 50 and GER 1042. Louis had his moments and sailed well to collect 6th and Ted Sawyer USA 310 and 75yrs young finished a very creditable 12th. Tim Tavinor with Nicky & Thomas also sailed well to finish 14th.

So what's next? Well one hell of a lot......... The May Bank Holiday sees Three major events. San Remo, Marble Head and the UK East Coasts. Whilst Vincie will be hoping to win all three of them, most of us will just settle for a nice warm event, with smiling faces, happy owners and crews, the flowing of wine and being part of our unique and best one design class in the world.......

Higher, Faster, Longer..... Stavros.