Régates Royales - Stars and Dragons in Cannes

by Carla Anselmi on 24 Sep 2009
Régates Royales report.

For nearly 25 years the Dragon class has been attracting the world’s best small keelboat sailors, Olympic medallists and ocean racers. This 8.90 metres long keelboat is actually quite hard to sail, with tens of different settings with boats from different generations competing. Most of the top Dragon sailors are in Cannes for the Règates Royales.

All but Paul Elvström, the undisputed Danish champion with his four gold (Firefly 1948, Finn 1952, 1956, 1960),two Olympic medals (Star 1968, Tornado 1984) and nothing less than thirteen Worlds titles in five different classes, few if any sailors can show such an extraordinary record. The Dragon fleet can however boast sailors with some important victories under their belts. The most renowned is certainly the newly crowned World Champion, Poul Richard Hoj-Jensen from Norway, who, at 63 has collected a silver medal at the Games at Mexico ’68 and several Dragon World and European championships. Scandinavian sailors have always been strong leading competitors since the creation of the class back in 1929 whilst the Russians are currently lighting up the scene.

An example can be found in Anatoly Loginov, who is a newcomer to the class but getting better at every new event and becoming the one to watch out for: second at the French Open Champ, second at the Grand Prix Petit Navire, 4th at the Worlds and third at the Gold Cup. The young Russian is also at the top of the International Ranking List 2009. Second-placed German Thomas Müller is also racing in Cannes, sailing with a family crew, made of Kim and Robin Müller, while the British sailing celeb Lawrie Smith is back on French waters. All the countries are very well represented in the truly international fleet with nineteen French, twelve British crews, eight Germans, Russians, Italians and Swedish boats and three Finnish, Irish and Dutch Dragons.

Funnily enough, it seems that the boat’s name is due to a pronunciation mistake: when Anker introduced his design to the IYRU (now ISAF) to have it included among the international classes he said ' Draggen' and the British thought that the Norwegian wasn’t very good at Shakespeare’s language and translated it into 'Dragon'. The one-design became an Olympic Class in 1948 and competed at the Games until Munich 1972. In 1979 aluminium masts were introduced and thanks to Borge Borresen’s efforts composite hulls were accepted in 1973. In 2008 the Class recorded some 1,700 boats built worldwide.

The Dragon, facts and figures:

Length: 9,95 m
Beam: 1,96 m
Draft: 1,20 m
Displacement: 1 650 kg
Bulb: 1 000 kg
Mainsail area: 16 m2
Genoa area: 11,7 m2
Spinnaker area: 23,6 m2
Crew number: 3

The Russian march on Cannes

The winner of first official race for the Dragon Class, sailed on the area northeast of île Marguerite with a breeze of 8 to 12 knots, was undisputedly the Russians Anatoly Loginov, Andrey Kirjliuk and Alexander Shalagin. After a general recall the Race Committee opted for a windward/leeward course 1.5 miles long, but many crews were over the line: nine boats were disqualified under Black Flag. Loginov, on board his Annapurna, had anyway to fend the attacks from the American Ivan Bradbury, who came in second on Elusive, and his fellow countryman Victor Fogelson on Sunflower, 3rd. The first British skipper, David Palmer on Princess Jalina was fifth to cross the line while the first French trio Brouillet-Vermorel-Tenconi on Feu Follet ended up in tenth position overall.

Around the Lérins

For the second racing day, the Régates Royales de Cannes took the Classic Yacht fleet to round both the Saint-Honorat and Sainte-Marguerite island before going to a mark placed non far from Fourmigue, just in front of Golfe-Juan, for a total of nearly twelve miles. The wind and weather conditions were once again ideal, 12 knots and sunny. Not an easy task for the crews, with good deal of manoeuvring in quite choppy waters. The most powerful yachts, like the J Class Shamrock V and Cambria were leading from the start but the tricky section to the finishing line placed just in front of world-famous Cannes waterfront, possibly made some illustrious victims…

Results are still being processed by the organizers and they will be posted on the official website www.regatesroyales.com

Two of the most competitive yachts racing at the Règates Royales en Cannes are, no doubt about that, coming from the UK and Italy.

The Mighty Rowdy

The British owner Graham Walker, who has been involved in the America’s Cup in the past but also in several Admiral’s Cup and Ton Cup challenged with his boats called Indulgence, has since some seasons turned his interest to classic yachts. That’s how he decided to have one of the last Nathanaël Herreshoff 1916 designed New York Yacht Club Forty, hull number 49 in fact, restored in Maine. Measuring 17,97 metres, Rowdy it’s a flush-decked Marconi sloop which won Trophée Rolex in Saint-Tropez last year. In Cannes, Rowdy debuted by winning the first race on Tuesday, in real and corrected time in the Vintage Marconi division.

Rowdy in numbers

Designer: Nathanaël Herreshoff
Year built: 1916
Owner: Graham Walker
Overall length: 19,79 m
Waterline length: 18,05 m
Beam: 4,40 m
Draft: 2,70 m

Bonafide, Sibbick at his best

Completely restored by her new owner, the Italian Giuseppe Giordano at the Argentario shipyard in 2003 on a three years period, this Charles Sibbick design was created after the 5 Tons Godinet rule for J. Howard Taylor in 1899. She was built in record time-less than two months- by Albert Yard on the Isle of Wight. Bonafide also has another important record, as she started her career by winning the first sailing gold medal at the first Olympic Games in Paris in 1900.

Bonafide

Designer: Charles Sibbick
Year built: 1899
Owner: Giuseppe Giordano
Overall length: 13,62 m
Hull length: 9,69 m
Waterline length: 8,90 m
Beam: 2,57 m
Draft: 1,86 m
Displacement: 11,4 t
Upwind sail area: 144 m2

website: www.regatesroyales.com