Dragon Gold Cup - Defending champion wins again

by Diana Bogaards on 13 Sep 2014 Defending champion Markus Wieser wins the Dragon Gold Cup again. The professional sailor, competing for the United Arab Emirates, was in the lead of the 70th Dragon Gold Cup the whole week, but didn't take it for granted. Lawrie Smith (GBR), Yevgen Braslativ (UAE) and Lars Haigh (DEN) were close in the ranking. Surprisingly, however, Dutchman Pieter Heerema scored a second place overall after six races. By scoring a first and second place in the last two days, he completely caught up. Yevgen Braslativ won the third prize. First Corinthian is Poul Richard Hoj-Jensen who finished in sixth place overall.

The 70th Dragon Gold Cup in Medemblik, which was sailed from 7-12 September, went well. On the opening day on Sunday there was no race due to lack of wind and also on Tuesday. These races were resailed on Monday and Wednesday, therefore all six scheduled races eventually were sailed. The conditions were perfect, especially on the two last days. Moderate to strong wind, a light chop and plenty of Sun.

Markus Wieser won the Dragon Gold Cup in 2012, 2013 and now in 2014. 'In 2012 we didn't compete, so actually we won three times in a row,' says Wieser. 'The Gold Cup is our most important competition of this year. We came second at the European Championships and wanted to win here. We ended very disappointingly 25th in the third race and if that would happen one more time, it would be over. There is no discard, so all races count. We had a bad start in the third race, the wind was not strong enough and everything that could go wrong, went wrong. However, we have enjoyed a recovery in the rest of the races and remained in the lead in the ranking. This morning we even were thirteen points ahead of Lawrie Smith and fifteen of Yevgen Braslavets. But we thought we had nothing to fear of Pieter Heerema and then eventually he gets into second place.'

Wieser didn't find today’s race easy. 'There was a lot of foam on the water, making you think that's where the pressure is, but then it turns out not to be. That is more often here at Medemblik. And because the starting line is so wide, you should consider in advance whether you want to go to the left or the right side of the field. We decided to go to the left and started just a little left of the center of the line, very conservative. Lawrie Smith chose the right side. We were 25th at the windward mark, but could fight back due to a few favourable wind shifts. At the downwind mark we were ninth and eventually finished seventh.

Wieser has already won many races in his life. He will never be bored by it, but according to him it takes away the pressure. Wieser: 'If you come here to achieve top ranking, then there is a lot of pressure on you. We were pretty relaxed, because we already won the event a few times and I think that makes a difference. The whole week was perfect. In the beginning we had a few disagreements with the Committee, but that is all well solved. Everyone has done it very well. Furthermore there was sun and no rain all week, what more do you want?'

Pieter Heerema was the best Dutchman and scored second place overall. Last year he came in third. Heerema: 'Our goal was top three. The first five would have been nice and the first ten acceptable. So, now we are very pleased. In the second race we had a disappointing score. After the start the wind shifted 40 degrees and the race officials decided to not abort the race. We were on the wrong side of the field and eventually we ended up 32nd. Because there is no discard at the Dragon Gold Cup, it counts very heavily. Otherwise we might have been able to win the event. But we made a huge comeback and we have sailed well and constantly the rest of the week. '

Heerema and his team train a lot during the year. 'In the Netherlands there almost is no competition,' says Heerema. 'That's why I sail with two Danes. You need to be very much focused and train a lot. For example, we already have planned our training schedule for the next year. For two years we have trained intensively for this event and have been to all the big races. Only by doing that, you make progress. I'm sailing the Dragon for 16 years now, but actually started twenty years ago. In between I have sailed the RC44, but I'm quite happy to be back in the Dragon. The RC44 was, however, a very good experience. That professional circuit, and I don't mean that the boys get paid, but the mentality. It is not accepted that it is not going well. Then you train even more and you have to become even better. '

According to the Chairman of the Dutch Dragons Class Huib Bannier the whole event went well: 'It is not often that all races can be sailed at a Dragon Gold Cup. All the sailors were wildly enthusiastic. It is a nice promotion for the Dragons class, which is strong and vibrant. The Dragon is also a great boat. In five years we hope to get the Dragon Gold Cup back to the Netherlands.

Preliminary results Dragon Gold Cup

No	Sailno	Name	Scores	1	2	3	4	5	6
1	UAE 7	Markus Wieser, Pugachev Sergey, Leonchuk Georgii	42.0	1	1	25	5	3	7
2	NED 412	Pieter Heerema, Theis Palm, Claus Olesen	59.0	10	32	11	3	1	2
3	UAE 8	Braslavets Yevgen, Sidorov Igor, Timokhov Sergiy	61.0	14	22	5	2	7	11
4	DEN 138	Lars Hendriksen, Frithjof Kleen, Pedro Andrade	70.0	38	4	14	1	4	9
5	RUS 27	Anatoly Loginov, Vadim Statsenko, Alexander Shalagin	74.0	31	10	2	4	17	10
6	GBR 775	Poul Richard Hoj-Jensen, Hamish McKay, Andrew Norden	75.0	3	9	8	17	15	23
7	GBR 785	Lawrie Smith, Tim Tavinor, Joost Houweling	76.0	5	23	3	15	2	28
8	GBR 758	Klaus Diederichs, Andy Beadsworth, Jamie Lea	82.0	23	3	6	32	10	8
9	SWE 358	Hans Liljeblad, Johan Hedberg, John Magnusson	83.0	9	2	31	14	14	13
10	GER 1140	Marcus Brennecke, Vincent Hoesch, Marc Pickel	83.0	17	24	4	10	6	22
11	DEN 410	Jens Christensen, Kim Andersen, Erik Hansen	85.0	6	5	30	13	13	18
12	GER 1150	Michael Schmidt, Malte Philipp, Mario Wagner	96.0	27	8	20	8	18	15
13	SUI 311	Diego Cayolla, Martin Westerdahl, Bernardo Freitas	102.0	16	15	10	12	30	19
14	DEN 266	Frank Berg, Kasper Harsberg, Jesper Baungaard	106.0	24	27	16	11	27	1
15	GER 1125	Stephan Link, Frank Butzmann, Michael Lipp	107.0	32	18	32	9	12	4
16	UAE 20	Hendrik Witzmann, Michael Hestbaeck, Markus Koy	114.0	19	11	22	33	24	5
17	GBR 789	Chris Larson, Simon Fry, Tom Harrison	117.0	7	6	12	56	20	16
18	GBR 761	Gavia Wilkinson-Cox, Mark Hart, Nick Hartshorn	127.0	11	29	1	28	32	26
19	RUS 34	Vasiliy Senatorov, Igor Ivashintsov, Alexandr Muzichenko	132.0	28	14	18	39	9	24
20	RUS 76	Dmitry Samokhin, Andrey Kirilyuk, Aleksey Bushuev	148.0	40	33	36	22	5	12

http://www.dragongoldcup2014.com/results" target="_blank">Click here for full Event website