Dragon Prince Philip Cup at Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club - Overall
by John Roberson 10 Jan 22:22 AEDT
4-10 January 2025
Dragon Prince Philip Cup Day 5 © John Roberson
Richard Lynn and his team sailing Gordon have won the Prince Philip Cup, the Australian Dragon class championship by just one point after a nail biting final day of the series, hosted by Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club and sailed on the Swan River. This puts his name on the trophy for the fourth time, thirty years since he first won it in 1995.
Going into the final day of the event, with two races to sail, there were three possible winners, Lynn, Willy Packer and Grant Alderson, all with three points of each other, and with Richard holding a one point advantage.
The team on Gordon won the first race of the day, with Packer's Scoundrel second, while a fourth place for Alderson's French Connection team put them out of the running, barring disasters for the two front runners.
Willy Packer came back strongly to win the final race or the regatta, putting the pressure on the Gordon team who had to finish second to take the trophy. Despite a strong challenge from British sailor Tim Tavinor Lynn, crewed by Ethan Prieto-Low and Adam Brenz-Verca, held on to cross the line second and take the championship.
Commenting in his usual eloquently manner on his victory Richard Lynn said, "we are an egalitarian boat, we all do our jobs to the best of our ability, Ethan and Adam are excellent at getting the best speed out of the boat, while I do my best to put it in the right place."
Willy Packer was generous in his praise for the victor, "Richard sailed very well, a consistent series, he was able to discard a third place, which was exceptional."
The final day produced yet more fabulous conditions, with the fabled Fremantle Doctor sea breeze coming in at a consistent 15 knots under a clear blue sky, the Swan River at its best.
Overall Results: (top six)
| Pos | Sail No | Boat Name | Skipper / Crew | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | AUS222 | Gordon | Richard Lynn‑Ethan Prieto‑Low / Adam Brenz‑Verca (RFBYC) | 2 | 1 | 1 | [ 3] | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 11 |
| 2 | AUS214 | Scoundrel | William Packer‑Julian Harding / Jock Packer (RFBYC) | 1 | [7] | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 12 |
| 3 | AUS211 | French Connection | Grant Alderson‑Emma Shand / Matt Maxted / Alice Travlos (RFBYC) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | [11] | 1 | 4 | 4 | 19 |
| 4 | AUS224 | Akula | Peter Bowman‑Steven Cole / Jeremy Shellabear / Rowan Macfarlane (RFBYC) | 9 | 9 | 4 | 4 | [14] | 4 | 5 | 7 | 42 |
| 5 | AUS203 | Tatsu | Andrew Foulkes‑Andrew Bennett / Matthew Stafford (RFBYC) | 5 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 3 | [10.5] | 44 |
| 6 | AUS144 | Hotspur | Grantham Kitto‑Andersen Fethers / John Low (RFBYC) | 11 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 4 | [RET] | 6 | 10.5 | 50.5 |
Event website: rfbyc.asn.au/dragon-australian-championship-2025