2010 Dragon Irish Championship - Perfect ending for Byrne

by Irish Dragon Association on 28 Jul 2010 The ability of the Irish to throw a good party has never been in any doubt, but the 2010 Dragon Irish Championship, sponsored by Belfast Harbour, supported by North Down Borough Council and hosted by the Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club (RNIYC) in Cultra, has confirmed that they also know how to host a darned fine regatta too. For four days and four nights the eighteen-strong fleet enjoyed outstanding racing and awesome partying in this super friendly venue.

The Dragon fleets of the North and South of Ireland have always sailed as one and this is not the first time that the Dragon Irish Championship has been sailed in Cultra. Sadly in recent years there has been little active Dragon sailing in the North of Ireland and so it was particularly rewarding to see a large fleet of Dragons back on Belfast Lough. The resurgence of interest in the Dragon Class across the UK and Ireland is heartening to see and these beautiful classic 30 footers make a stunning site to behold in any venue. Bringing the event back to the North was the brainchild of RNIYC member Simon Brien, a Dragon sailor of 18 years standing, and it was his personal persuasion that ensured a truly glittering array of names graced the entry list.

On registration day the competitors took advantage of the impressive facilities at Belfast Harbour's new Abercorn Basin to launch the boats and once afloat the teams enjoyed the Belfast Harbour/Stenaline Fun Race, which took them from Belfast Harbour down to the moorings off Cultra. Guest sailors were invited to join the crews for the race including Belfast Harbour Chairman Len O'Hagan.

From 22 to 25 July the competitors enjoyed seven demanding championship races under the watchful eye of PRO Alan Crossbie and his team who worked incredibly hard to make the very best of the often light and shifty conditions. The quality of the fleet was outstanding by anyone's reckonning, including many of Ireland's top sailors along with some very well known overseas visitors, and as a result the racing was a joy to watch with constant place changes on every leg.

From the first day Dublin's Martin Byrne sailing Jaguar put his stamp on the regatta taking third place in the opening race followed by a win in race two. On day two he and crewmen Adam Winkleman and Pedro Andrade consolidated that lead with a fourth and another win and by day three they had the regatta well and truly under their control. Martin is no stranger to Belfast Lough having sailed at the venue many times before and this vastly experienced crew combined good local knowledge with smart tactics and impressive boat speed to make their victory look effortless.

Speaking immediately after racing Martin was full of praise for his crew, 'I have what we call our championship team here with me this weekend. My good friend Adam Winkleman who's been sailing with me in various classes over the years and our foredeck man was Pedro Andrade from Quantum Sails in Portugal. In fact we won this regatta two years ago with this same team so we've been quite successful.' At the prize giving Martin was also fulsome in his praise of the RNIYC, sponsors Belfast Harbour and North Down Borough Council, PRO Alan Crossbie and regatta mastermind Simon Brien for putting together a truly exceptional event.

Whilst Martin had first place all sewn up and was able to relax and enjoy the final race of the series, the battle for second and third kept everyone on tenterhooks until the finish line. Going into that final race Don O'Donoghue, crewed by Gwen Chapelain and Dallas Caskey aboard Seabird; Andrew Craig crewed by Mark Pettitt and Brian Matthews aboard Chimera; and Klaus Diederichs crewed by Andy Beadsworth and Jamie Lea aboard Fever, all had the potential to fill those final podium slots. O'Donoghue sat in second place three points clear of Craig but with a 15 point discard, Craig counted 16 points and discarded a ninth and Diederichs was on 22 points and discarded an 11th.

Craig got an excellent start in the final race and led the fleet at the first weather mark, closely followed by Diederichs in second place while O'Donoghue trailed in ninth. It looked as if O'Donoghue might have blown it and Craig had his eyes firmly fixed on that second podium spot with Deiderichs looking good for third. But it would be a foolish man who wrote off Don O'Donoghue that early in a race and by the second mark he'd pulled up into sixth place which was enough to shut the door on Diederichs. By the second weather mark he had ground his way into fourth. Up ahead Craig and Diederichs continued to hold onto first and second place respectively so there was nothing they could do but look back and watch O'Donoghue creeping closer and closer. Sadly for them the march of the O'Donoghue machine was relentless and as the boats came to the line Craig took first place, Diederichs second, and O'Donoghue third. In the overall standings O'Donoghue therefore claimed second place, Craig third and Deiderichs fourth. A relaxed and very happy Martin Byrne crossed the line in fourth place to confirm his overall victory in the regatta.

Speaking after racing Don O'Donoghue paid tribute to his crew and to Simon Brien. 'I haven't been sailing Dragons for about a year, I just haven't been sailing, and Simon Brien twisted my arm big time, and there's nobody more persuasive than Simon who's a great guy. But my boat was in France so he suggested I ring Dallas, his brother-in-law, who lives in Douarnenez [but hails from Cultra] so I did and I asked him not only would he bring the boat but would he sail and he's a lovely guy to sail on the boat with and Gwen is a really talented sailor and a fabulous guy so I'm just lucky.... You have to be relaxed, and you have to be confident and the way you get relaxed and confident is to have good people like that on board.'

At the prize giving there were a number of special awards presented including the Corinthian Trophy, for the first all amateur crew, which went to Simon Brien, David Gomes and David Good sailing Kin. The magnificent Finnegan's cup, originally presented by the late John Finnegan, for the best results in the last two races of the series was won by Andrew Craig sailing Chimera. The Chimera Cup, presented by Andrw Craig for the overall highest placed boat with no race result in the top five, was won by Tim Pearson sailing Zu with Matt Minch and Conor Grimley. The wooden boat prize was won by Ben Hancock from the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club sailing Asa who was delighted to have completed the series, the boat having taken a couple of days for the timber to take up after being out of the water for a year.

Alongside the racing the Irish laid on a social programme of legendary proportions which included a fabulous formal dinner at the historic and very beautiful Belfast Harbour Office, an informal BBQ and dance hosted by Simon and Juanita Brien at their home which will go down in Dragon folklore and an excellent championship dinner at the RNIYC. At the end of the regatta the teams headed home with broad smiles on their faces for some much needed sleep!

Looking back at the regatta organising committee chairman Simon Brien said 'It was superb to have the Dragon Class back to Belfast Lough and great thanks must go to Belfast Harbour for the their generous support and our friends from Dublin, Kinsale, and further afield which made for a highly competitive event and most enjoyable après sail, which the Royal North and indeed Kin consider an important element of any regatta. Having been 10 years since the Dragons were last in Belfast Lough we hope they return in the next couple of years and they would be most welcome. '

Len O'Hagan, Chairman of Belfast Harbour, was delighted to have been associated with the Dragon Class noting that the event also reconnected Belfast Harbour with the RNIYC, where historically many members would have been Harbour Commissioners and Dragon Sailors.

The 2011 Dragon Irish Championship will be held at Kinsale, the venue for the 2012 Dragon Gold Cup, and details about this event will be published in due course at www.dragonclass.ie

Overall
1 201 Martin Byrne, Adam Winkelman, Pedro de Andrade, RStGYC Jaguar 11.0 2 4 1 2 (8 ) 1 1
2 204 Johnny Ross-Murphy, Mark Pettit, Brian Matthews, RStGYC Seabird 13.0 1 1 4 1 1 5 (9)
3 176 Neil Hegarty, Peter Bowring, David Williams, RStGYC Phantom 26.0 6 2 2 5 (9 ) 4 4
4 205 Simon Brien, Mark Brien, David Gnomes, RNIYC Kin 30.0 8 3 6 (10 ) 3 8 2
5 182 Jay Bourke, Anthony Shanks, David Gagney, HYC Northside Dragon 30.0 5 (10 ) 5 7 2 6 5
6 194 Cameron Good, Simon Furney, Henry Kingston, KYC Tatsu 30.0 7 5 (9 ) 4 5 3 6
7 190 Olaf Sorensen, Martin Payne, Shawn Kingston, KYC Christianna 35.0 4 8 7 6 7 (11 ) 3
8 192 Andrew Craig, Don O'Dowd, John O'Connor, RStGYC Chimaera 36.0 3 7 (15 ) 13 4 2 7
9 110 Mick Doorly, Charlie Bolger, Andrew O'Kelly, RStGYC Aphrodite 53.0 9 12 (14 ) 3 11 7 11
10 171 Richard Goodbody, Richard Johnson, Rob Johnson, RIYC Diva 59.0 12 9 11 12 6 9 (13)
11 159 Tim Pearson, Matt Minch, Peter Dee, RStGYC ZU 62.0 10 14 8 (15 ) 10 10 10
12 150 Ean Pugh, Mark Hart, Louise Pugh, RIYC/YC Cannes Eve 74.0 (dns ) 15 3 dns dns 14 8
13 163 John Tait, Denis Kieran, Mike Walsh, KYC Knotsohotso 74.0 13 11 13 8 12 (dns) dns
14 157 Anthony O'Neill, Tomas O'Brien, Donal Small, KYC Tenacious 76.0 15 6 12 9 (dns) dns dns
15 131 Michael Halpenny, Susan Halpenny, David Clarke, RIYC Susele 77.0 11 16 10 14 (dns ) 12 14
16 127 Paul Moriarty, Bruce Noble, Tim Carpenter, RIYC ZinZan 79.0 14 13 16 11 (dns ) 13 12

Overall Results - http://www.rniyc.org/documents/Results_001.pdf
Official Event Website - http://www.rniyc.org/DragonIrishNationalChampionships2010.htm

For further information about the Irish Dragon Association please visit www.dragonclass.ie
For further information about the Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club please visit www.rniyc.org
For further information about Belfast Harbour please visit www.belfast-harbour.co.uk
For further information about North Down Borough Council please visit www.northdown.gov.uk