South American Dragons!

[bamamick]

Well, sort of anyway. The inaugural running of the J.Lauritzen South American Dragon Championship is underway in Punta del Estes, Uruguay right now.

This event was the dream of the late Dragon sailor Stig Holm and has been in the works for a couple of years now. 37 boats were shipped from a couple of different European ports, free of charge, to participate and perhaps try and grow the class in South America. Punta del Estes is supposed to be a great spot and from the looks of the fleet the idea attracted some top sailors, including Tommy Mueller of Germany, who is one of the very best in the world.

Two North American boats made the trip, both being shipped over from Europe with the rest of the group. Ian Orr from Toronto is sailing the boat he keeps in Europe, and my counterpart from Canada, Peter Jeffrey, is sailing the US flagged boat in the event owned by Tom Lajos. You can take a look at this event at www.sadragoncup.org.

Mickey Lake
AIDA National Secretary :)

[Noah]

Cool stuff. We were just down in Uruguay a couple of weeks ago. Very cool country, with some serious winds on the days that we were there. The regatta looks really well run.

[bamamick]

Regatta management is one of the real positives in this class. It's one of the reasons that the class has evolved into such an enterprise in Europe. They pay really big entry fees and expect professional management. It's kind of a problem for folks who live in places like, say, here, who aren't used to the expenses and can't understand the need. We are still silly enough to believe that dedicated volunteers from your club can run you a good windward/leeward, and that a keg is just as good after a race as is champagne :). BUT, I'd still love to give it a go and will one day.

Mickey Lake