Four Nations Compete in Sailing Round Robin on English Bay
Dragon Team Racing on English Bay
Photo by Dale Northey
Visiting teams from the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club and the Kansai Yacht Club battled it out recently on English Bay in the 2015 Pacific Dragon Interport, a Dragon Team Racing regatta hosted by the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club. Teams completed three round robins for a total of 18 matches over the first two days. Matches were raced on a short box course with teams rotating boats, which were provided by the Vancouver Dragon Fleet owners. The weather was perfect for Dragon sailing, with westerly winds between 10 and 15 knots, with occasional gusts up to 20 knots. Winds were much stronger on the third and last day (22-25 knots gusting up to 35 knots), so racing was abandoned. Congratulations to the Royal Vancouver on becoming the latest Pacific Dragon Interport Champions. Interestingly, two out of three helms on the Vancouver team were women. Well done ladies! Dragons have raced in a Pacific Interport since the early 80s. The next Interport will be held in Hong Kong in November 2016. The International Dragon is a technically demanding yacht combining classic lines with 21st century technology. A strong Class Association ensures competitive one-design racing for all ages of boat. Spars and sails have a wide range of adjustment during racing, allowing a skillful crew to optimize the boat for any conditions. Crew weight limits, and restrictions on hiking out allow the Dragon to be raced successfully by a range of ages and genders. The Dragon Class is active in 30 countries in 5 Continents and has 1420 registered boats. www.nadragons.org
