World Dragons On Fire

The International Dragon Class held the 2011 Prince Philip Cup followed by the World Championships out of Royal Brighton Yacht Club (RBYC) on Port Philip Bay in Melbourne in January  Eight crews from RFBYC made the journey across to the event which attracted 75 entries from 12 countries.

AUS 154 Merrum
AUS 147 Gilt Dragon II
AUS 144 Hotspur
AUS 170 Icefyre
AUS191 Puff
AUS 208 Puff-eu
AUS 210 Linnea
AUS 214 Scoundrel

This was no place for the faint hearted with some of the top skippers in the world with pedigrees listing Olympic Medals, America’s Cups and World Champions liberally sprinkled throughout.  The Australian contingent was not without chances including previous World Champion and 10-time Prince Philip Cup winner Nick Rogers from Tasmania, and a host of PPC winners from RFBYC that included multiple winner Richard Lynn, Olympian Willy Packer, and brother Ron from America’s Cup days.  The winner would hold the crown of World Champion for the coming two years.  The preliminaries for this bi-annual event had been superb, both on and off the water, and included two warm-up regattas at RBYC during 2010.

Worlds

The pre-series briefing emphasized the PFDs must be worn at all times. A German crew was subsequently DSQ in one of the Worlds heats for not complying. We were particularly asked to watch out for the co-tenants of RBYC, the Brighton Iceberg swimmers. This restricted departing the club under sail for fear of running over these intrepid souls, who apparently enjoy dipping in the winter cold when sea temperatures drop to 8°C, and include the Victorian Premier as a member – one assumed they must be mad, until we noticed some of our northern European competitors mulling over how nice those warm waters must be, compared to their’s in winter! It is all relative at the end of the day, one supposes....

9th of January 2011

Race 1:  16 – 18 knots 170°.  1630 hrs start.

We started at 1630 hours, and AUS 214 was beautifully positioned with plenty of speed for a fantastic start at the pin end when the gun went. Unfortunately, the right hand side of the course was the way to go on the first beat and all those who went left suffered badly. Ron Packer, John Longley and Ed Longley had a great race, jousting around the course with the top boats but were unable to upset the top three boats who traded positions amongst themselves. The race wound up with Alfie and Lawrie Smith at the helm finally greeting the gun from Out of Bounds with Jens Christensen, Kim Andersen and Anders Bagger on board, and Annapurna sailed by Anatoly Loginov, Andrey Kirilyuk and Alexander Shalagin in third place. Richard Lynn, Ian Olson and Ron Rosenberg in Puff-eu led the Australian challenge, coming in 4th, but the Europeans dominated with only three Australians in the top 20.

Our finishing order was AUS Puff-eu 5th, Icefyre 17th, Scoundrel 31st, Hotspur 44th, Puff 47th, Linnea 50th, Gilt Dragon II 55th, Merum 58th.

10th January 2011, two races today.

Race 2:
The race started in very light conditions with inconsistent pressure across the course. This led to huge changes in position, especially downwind. Some examples were Puff-eu going from 39th to 8th on the first run and then to 6th upwind. Karabos XI from 24th to 1st, Ming from 25th to 5th, all going to the right hand side down-wind. SWE 194 Galejan II, the Melbourne Olympic gold medal winner returning to her place of triumph, fantastically led the fleet at the first mark. She was supplanted by Wolf Breit in AUS 213 Shapes at the top mark second time around. Shapes held onto the lead until just before the finish when Willie Packer in Scoundrel snuck past to claim the win. As Willy approached the (shortened race) finish line, running on port, he saw an opportunity to pull off a great match-racing manoeuvre, went wide, gathered speed, then ducked the starboard boat's stern taking her wind for precious seconds but mainatining sufficient momentum to take the gun! It was really tough out there as exemplified by African Queen going from 2nd at the top mark first time to finish 14th overall, Puff going from 7th at the top mark to 38th at the finish, and Galejan II in the end finishing 40th!

Scoundrel 1st, Puff-eu 6th, Puff 38th, Icefyre 45th, Merum 50th, Gilt Dragon II 52nd, Hotspur 54th, Linnea 56th. Great news for WA at this stage was that Puff-eu was leading the regatta at the end of the day.

11th of January 2011

Two general recalls and a start under black flag finally saw racing under weigh at 3:45 pm. AUS 194 Lyla was over early and DSQ. The fleet split across the rhumb line to the left and right sides of the course, and fortune favoured those who stuck the short course down the middle. The top mark saw the most congested pack of the series to date, which led to a lot of "polite" discussions on rules and penalties (interpretations clearly vary from hemisphere to hemisphere - where is a jury boat when you need her...), which saw Puff-eu take a two-turn penalty dropping her 20 places! Tommy Muller in Sinewave was first at the top mark, from GBR 751 Alfie and UKR 9 Bunker Prince. Power was the order of the day to get through the light chop, as any loss of helm saw one stop dead in the Port Phillip Bay conditions. The race was eventually won by Bunker Prince, from GER 1070 Montana 2nd and Bunker Boys 3rd. Our finishing order was Two races were scheduled today to make up for lost time; however, the fleet had to be held ashore under AP until 2.30 pm due to lack of consistent breeze and, in the end, only one race could be managed (which was a great achievement by Principal Race Officer, Kevin Wilson and his team).

Race 3: 6 – 8 knots with intermittent rain. 150°

The racing finally got away at 3:45 pm and, after two general recalls, the start under black flag saw AUS 194 over and DSQ. The fleet split across the rhumb-line to the left and right sides of the course, and fortune favoured those who stuck the short course down the middle. The top mark saw the most congested pack of the series to date, which led to a lot of "polite" discussions on rules and penalties (interpretations clearly vary from hemisphere to hemisphere – where is a jury boat when you need her...), which saw Puff-eu take a two-turn penalty dropping her 20 places! Tommy Muller in Sinewave was first at the top mark, from GBR 751 Alfie and UKR 9 Bunker Prince. Power was the order of the day to get through the light chop, as any loss of helm saw one stop dead in the Port Phillip Bay conditions. The race was eventually won by Bunker Prince UKR 9, from Montana GER 1070 2nd and Bunker Boys 3rd UKR 7.

WA results: Scoundrel 10th, Puff-eu 20th, Puff 26th, Icefyre 29th, Hotspur 33rd, Gilt Dragon II 48th, Linnea 56th, Merum 63rd.
Leading into the lay day, the half-way point of the series, we had Bunker Queen on 20 points from SWE 341 Bendira on 28 pts, Bunker Prince on 28 pts, Alfie at 29 pts with Puff-eu dropping back to 5th on 30 pts. Scoundrel was also in the top 10 at this stage at 9th on 42 pts. Weather prospects looked poor for the rest of the week with light winds and rain forecast.

13th of January 2011

Two races were planned for today but very light winds and persistent rain (a great day for the wetsuit...) meant that there was another long wait for the AP to be lowered. The wind finally built up to a gentle and extremely variable breath, flopping around the clock like a drunken weathervane. We were all quite soaked from this constant drizzle leading into the (eventual) start.

Gilt Dragon II was banking on the old adage "first out, first back", first out on the course to tune to the prevailing conditions. Unfortunately gear failure before the start sent her quickly “first back” and sadly a DNC.

Race 4: 5–10 knots, 100°

Off the line, the boats at the pin went left and found stronger breeze with port tack lifts from the shore once they tacked. Tasmanians Nick Rogers, Leigh Behrens and Simon Burrows in Karabos IX got a fast start and crossed the fleet on the first tack only to see others, including My Way (DEN 266), Zenith (RUS 90) and Bunker Queen (UKR 7), go on a bit further to the left and absolutely street the fleet once they got onto a big port-tack lift towards the mark. The top four boats turned the corner and were greeted with beautiful pressure downwind as they sailed away from the rest of the fleet. Easing winds were all that awaited them... My Way had a good lead and was able to stay with the downwind pressure longer than the other leaders and continued to stretch her lead. This pressure gap saw the top four boats able to put an unassailable margin between them and the rest of the fleet at this part of the race.

Final placings at the top end of the fleet remained much the same with My Way 1st, Zenith 2nd, Karabos IX 3rd Bunker Queen 4th. Scoundrel worked her way through the fleet from 11th at the first top mark to 6th by the finish. Puff-eu incurred another two-turn penalty at that top mark when they were pinged from the jury boat (where were you when we really needed you...?).

Scoundrel 6th, Icefyre 13th, Puff-eu 31st, Out of Bounds (DEN 399) 38th, Merum 43rd, Puff 50th, Linnea 55th, Hotspur 58th, Gilt Dragon II DNS.
Phillipa Packer, here to support Ron and crew in Icefyre, scored a skippering role on Out of Bounds (DEN 399) when skipper Jens Christensen was struck down with a bout of food poisoning. Her first race in a Dragon was in a world title heat and she finished mid-fleet at 38th!. Not only was this Philipa's first helm in a Dragon Worlds heat, it was her first racing helm in a Dragon! Her two Danish crew mates were delighted to have her on board, but insisted on speaking Danish all the way around the course; so to this day she is not sure whether they were discussing the race … or her! (By the way, she managed to “knock-off” the old-man in Heat 5 as well). One of the other Aussies, Robert Alpe in Shapes AUS 207 unfortunately was black flagged in the start that mattered after the obligatory general recalls.

Heat 5:  095°, 8 – 10 knots gusting to 15 knots.

 “Tower to Start – Gilt Dragon II is coming out to play” was the radio call A mad dash to the chandler on a push bike by Ian Malley (didn’t it seem like 10 km when we went in the vehicle?) saw a quick repair and back into the fray.

A very flat water start had the course fairly even which meant working the shifts in clear air to make gains. Boats from both the left and right sides of the course arrived at the top mark together with perhaps a small advantage to the left. My Way was first around closely followed by Ming, African Queen and Sinewave. These four boats fought it out for the rest of the race. A right hand shift up the second beat saw some big gains and losses in the middle of the fleet.Sinewave got to the front at the top mark the second time and stayed there, My Way 2nd, and Ming 3rd, African Queen 4th.

Not a good day for the WA boats: Puff-eu 14th, Scoundrel 19th, Out of Bounds (DEN 399) 31st, Gilt Dragon II 41st, Puff 44th, Hotspur 19th, Icefyre 53rd (after a penalty turn), Merum 56th, Linnea 59th.

14th of January 2011 heavy wind and rain followed by no wind!

No racing.

15th of January 2011. Last day of the regatta.

We started with a general recall and the black flag was up for the second start. Those in contention had to make the most of this final race, or wait until next time around. An all clear second start saw the pin end boats that went left favoured by both pressure and current. These included our Russian friends Mikhail Mouratov, Vladimir Krutskikh and Valentin Uvarkin in Murka 12 who were leading by the distance to the clearance mark from My Way and Karabos IX.

The other leading Aussies were having a hard day with Wolf Breit the next AUS sail number at 9th. Downwind Murka 12, My Way and Bunker Prince led the fleet with Karabos IX dropping a place back to fourth. Sandy sailing Linnea had a gentle touch on Tommy Muller in Sinewave at the bottom mark and a tow-turn penalty dropped her back from mid-20s to 58th. The top mark second time saw My Way get to the front from Bunker Prince, Murka 12 and Soren Pehrsson, Philipp Skafte-Holm and Rasmus Knude in Quicksilver 3. Laurie Smith in Alfie was now lurking at 7th. The series leader Markus Weiser in Bunker Queen was struggling at 21st. By the bottom mark My Way led although Alfie had worked up to 6th with Bunker Queen still 21st.

Today was scheduled to be the last day of the regatta and it was confirmed that only one race would be run today to ensure everyone would be able to make the presentation dinner that evening.

The AP greeted all with a wind forecast of 0 – 5 knots. By 1000 hours the breeze had filled in from the SE, and hooray, the final race was on. Devastating floods in north-east Australia over the past month sent the usually tranquil Yarra River into a frenzy, transforming Port Phillip Bay into a coffee brown colour with white foam and the occasional tree truck washing by. This ensured a strong current out into the bay and even the (very) early-morning Brighton Icebergs swimmers said they had never seen anything like it. Devastating floods in northeast Australia and close-by in Victoria over the past weeks sent the usually tranquil Yarra River into a frenzy, transforming Port Phillip Bay into a coffee brown colour with white foam and the occasional tree truck washing by. This ensured a strong current out into the bay and even the early-morning Brighton Icebergs swimmers said they had never seen anything like it. The early morning dive to clean the hull was a bit of an experience too.

Race 6:  165°. At 7 – 8 knots.

We started with a general recall and the black flag was up for the second start. Those in contention had to make the most of this final race, or wait two years until next time around.  An all clear second start saw the pin-end boats that went left favoured by both pressure and current. These included our Russian friends Mikhail Mouratov, Vladimir Krutskikh and Valentin Uvarkin in Murka 12 who were leading by the distance to the clearance mark at the top mark from My Way and Karabos IX.  The other leading Aussies were having a hard day with Wolf Breit the next AUS sail number at 9th. Downwind Murka 12, My Way and Bunker Prince UKR 9 led the fleet with Karabos IX dropping a place back to fourth. Sandy, skippering Linnea, had a gentle touch with Sinewave at the bottom mark and the two-turn penalty dropped her back from mid-20s to 58th. The top mark second time saw My Way get to the front from Bunker Prince, Murka 12 and Soren Pehrsson, Philipp Skafte-Holm and Rasmus Knude in Quicksilver 3 DEN 394. Laurie Smith in Alfie was now lurking at 7th. The series leader Markus Weiser in Bunker Queen was struggling at 21st. By the bottom mark My Way led with no other change at the top other than Alfie who had got up to 6th with Bunker Queen still 21st.

At the finish, My Way 1st, Bunker Prince 2nd, Murka 12 3rd, Karabos IX 4th, Quicksilver 3 5th, Alfie 6th. Bunker Queen was 25th.
The overall result saw Alfie, Laurie Smith, Tim Tavinor, and Ossie Stewart, win on a count back from Bunker Queen, Marcus Weiser, Sergey Pugachev and Matti Paschen. Third was My Way who won the magnificent Corinthian Trophy for the first amateur crew. Bunker Prince was fourth followed by Bunker Boys.

WA boats: Scoundrel 8th, Puff-eu 10th, Icefyre 32nd, Puff 39th, Hotspur 49th, Gilt Dragon II 57th, Merum 58th, Linnea 63rd.
Overall, the series saw a lot of learning for the WA Dragoners. The races were very well run by RBYC, the PRO and his team. The races were very well run, the Europeans dominant, in the generally light conditions (quite a contrast to the PPC), absolutely beautiful Dragons, and the weather something we are not used to in the west.

The Presentation Gala Dinner included the opportunity for our visitors to see, hold and learn a little more about our native dingo, wombat, koala and kangaroo, to their absolute delight – they were so mesmerized we probably should have held the show at the start of the series in an attempt to distract their otherwise excellent on-course performances. A highlight of the presentations was the auctioning of the few Dragon Worlds flags with all the proceeds going to the Premier’s Queensland floods appear. We were all very proud that the WA and NSW Dragoners paid the top price for their flags.

The next Worlds are scheduled to be held at the 2012 Olympics' venue, in 2013 ... well we’ll see.  The Europeans want us there, boats are available for charter … well perhaps we’ll look a bit closer … as the Bond them goes “You Only Live Twice” and a Dragon Worlds shouldn’t be a once in a lifetime experience.

In conclusion, the WA contingent received at lot of support from other WA Dragoners, including several who turned up to watch the event. Whilst we were superbly looked after by our Melbourne hosts, one of these was Geoff Black, who we later discovered had an ulterior motive - to pick up a bargain on a near-new Fritz sail from one of the international competitors. After much effort he finally nailed down a really good deal and the crisp sail was placed in its sail bag to be brought back to WA by one of his "mates" inside one of the Dragons returning to RFBYC. Well, the unveiling of the new sail was not the occasion Blackie was expecting, when a well-used, 15 year old genoa came out of the bag! It took a while, especially when Blackie was goaded on how mistrustful one must be over "those Europeans … the real sail was most likely back in Germany somewhere!" After the salutary session at the bar, the cat was finally let out of the bag and Blackie has since been questioning the calibre of Dragon "mates". The E-word has even been mentioned. Why wouldn't you sail a Dragon when there are friends like this in the fleet?.