Australasian Championship - Dragons to race for Prince Philip Cup

by John Curnow on 3 Jan 2011 The Prince Philip Cup. Dragon racing commences Tuesday January 4th and the Cup is the pre-event for the Dragon Worlds which start January 9th, 2011.

Racing for the International Dragons begins on Port Phillip in Melbourne tomorrow, Tuesday, January 4, 2011. The Prince Philip Cup is the Australasian Championship and it is taking place immediately before the 2011 International Dragon Class Worlds, which are from January 9 to 15. The International Dragons are a majestic, classic metre design vessel that ensures close racing amongst the fleet. The Royal Brighton Yacht Club is hosting both events, so there will be plenty of land-based viewing opportunities from the Middle Brighton Pier.

74 vessels are going to compete in the Worlds, with 40 of these representing 12 overseas countries. These include Germany, which has the biggest Dragon fleet on the globe, the Ukraine, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium and Sweden. This is a marvellous and unique achievement, not matched by any other class previously. Inside the fleet is a vast array of yachting talent from many different arenas, including the International Dragons. There are simply way too many names to feature them all, but included in the golden pool of yachting’s greatest, are names like former Dragon World Champion, Tommy Müller, renowned UK Olympic Medallist, Lawrie Smith and Russia’s Olga White.

Just some of the Australian names of note are Nick Rogers and Richard Lynn. Lynn, a West Australian, is the current holder of the Prince Philip Cup and this is what he had to say about the events and the sailors coming to Melbourne to compete. 'It is a very exciting time for Australian Dragon Sailing. Never before has there been an assembly of such great yachtsmen from around the World. The calibre of sailor is of the highest standard, with present and past World, Olympic, European, Gold Cup and Australian Champions all competing in the one place.'

'From a personal point of view, I’m very excited to be representing Australia, Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club and the Australian Dragon Association. I’m sure the Australian sailors will be able to match the European’s on any given day and make it a contest, as we certainly don’t want a one sided affair. It promises to be a great the contest on the water', Richard then added.

'We should acknowledge and sincerely thank our European friends for making the journey to Melbourne, as it’s a long and expensive exercise. Hopefully for their efforts, Melbourne will turn on the weather and give us a Championship that will make them want to come back.'

Looking towards his own campaign, Richard said, 'My team includes Ian Olson and Ron Rosenberg and we have worked diligently over the last two years. We believe we are ready to defend the Prince Philip Cup and keep it in Australian waters. Although, saying that, our focus is on the World Championships and gaining a real indication of where we are placed.'

Valdemar Bandolowski is another significant name on the entries list. His crew have sent DEN392, Flawless, to Melbourne late last year, as have most of the other entries, given that there are not enough Dragons in Australia to supply all the competitors with chartered boats.

Valdemar raced in the Soling Worlds at Brighton some years ago and he is the 1976 and 1980 Soling Olympic Gold Medallist. On another occasion, he borrowed an Etchells from Royal Brighton Yacht Club Patron, John Bertrand, to do a local regatta. Valdemar won the Dragon Worlds back in 1987, which were held in Geelong and is a previous winner of the Dragon Gold Cup in 1984 and 1986. Valdemar was also the skipper of the Danish America’s Cup Challenges from 1987 to 1991.

Petticrows are one of the world’s premier builders of these types of craft and the owner of that business, Tim Tavinor, is sailing with the UK Olympic Medallist, Lawrie Smith, who just recently bought an International Dragon, in time to ship it to Melbourne.

Finally then, Australian hopeful, Nick Rogers, sails a Ridgeway built vessel called, Karabos IX. He will be joined on the course by the newest Ridgeway, which was completed in Tasmania last month. It has undergone significant testing on on-water trials before being shipped to Melbourne. One of those tests is for buoyancy. This is a type test, done on one boat per model line. The boat has to be laid over 90 degrees for one minute and then come upright and float for 30 minutes without the decks awash. Zane Ridgeway, builder of the vessel and 2011 International Dragon World Championship sponsor said, 'This is the last photo that I managed to take before she laid over to 90 degrees and the last thing I was thinking about was photos.' Needless to say, Ridgeway AUS 215, passed and they are looking forward to competing in the new vessel.

For more information click here or visit the club on The Esplanade, Middle Brighton in Melbourne.