Dragon South Coast Championship 2026 at Royal Thames Yacht Club

Bluebottle wins overall - Dragon South Coast Championship at Royal Thames YC © BDA

The British Dragon Association South Coast Championship delivered two days of classic Solent racing, with the Royal Thames Yacht Club hosting a full six-race series in testing, tactical conditions.

A fickle north-easterly, sharp shifts and plenty of tide turned the weekend into a proper snakes-and-ladders contest — exactly the sort of racing that keeps the Dragon fleet honest.

Day One: Bluebottle Sets the Pace

Day one opened with a light and shifting breeze, but PRO Phil Hagen's confidence was rewarded and the fleet got away on time.

First blood went to Graham Bailey and team on GBR192 Bluebottle, who judged the difficult conditions best. James Mansell's GBR825 Anarchy took second, with Jono Brown on GBR753 Fit Chick third.

Race two brought even more instability, with the breeze hauling the Dragons towards the Daring fleet and creating a chaotic final run. Bluebottle again mastered the moment, while second to sixth finished within seconds of each other — ideal material for plenty of "bar karate" ashore. Gavia Wilkinson-Cox on GBR831 Jerboa edged into second, followed by Owen Pay's GBR777 Furious.

Race three looked marginal before the start, but a late fill-in and big right-hand shift changed the picture completely. Anarchy rounded the first mark with an unassailable lead, with Simon Barter's GBR763 Bertie in hot pursuit and Dave Ross on GBR748 Sanka holding third.

After a rewarding day for some and a frustrating one for others, the fleet returned ashore for daily prize-giving and a BBQ at the RTYC clubhouse.

Race 6 - Dragon South Coast Championship at Royal Thames YC - photo © BDA

Day Two: All to Play For

With the leaderboard still wide open, day two began with a familiar forecast and racing once again set near the Bramble Post. More gusts rolled down the course, adding to the tactical jeopardy and competitor stress levels.

In race four, Bluebottle put the afterburners on and won convincingly from Anarchy and Jerboa, with welcome visitor GBR830 Outlaw putting in a notable performance to take fourth.

Race five began with some over-enthusiasm on the line, leaving three boats OCS and facing a painful sail back against the tide. The breeze continued to rise and fall, but the pattern at the front held: Bluebottle took another win, Anarchy was second and Bertie third.

Going into the final race, Bluebottle still had to manage Anarchy, while the Corinthian battle was equally tight, with Bertie just ahead of Fit Chick.

Fittingly, both the championship and Corinthian trophies came down to the wire. The four key boats spent the race trying to control each other and, where possible, put daylight between themselves and their rivals. A late increase in breeze downwind crucially from the left for Fit Chick allowed them to push past Bluebottle and win the race, with Bertie third and Anarchy fourth.

Bluebottle relished the weekend's tricky conditions and did more than enough to retain the South Coast Championship title. Anarchy finished a very deserving second, while Fit Chick claimed third overall and first Corinthian, tied on points with Bertie but edging it on countback.

Prize-giving at the RTYC brought an excellent weekend to a close and provided a lively warm-up for a bumper month ahead for the Dragon fleet.

The fleet's thanks go to the Royal Thames Yacht Club and PRO Phil Hagen for delivering a full schedule of racing in very tiring and testing conditions.

Overall Results: