The penultimate days racing at Regates Royales yesterday saw Irish Dargon Jaguar skppered by Martin Byrne battle it out with their nearest competitors at the top of the 59 boat Dragon fleet. A 6th for Jaguar, the one time regatta leader, in race 6 leaves them in fourth overall with just two points separating the top four boats with one race to sail.

A superb win by the Italian team in very light conditions in the Bay of Cannes jumps them into the top spot tied on points with Poul Rickard Ho Jenson.

A tenth for the Russian team drops them to third just one point ahead of Jaguar. The second race of the day was abandoned at the half way point due to a disappearing breeze. Jaguar were lying in sixth position at this time well ahead of all three of their rivals and a finish under these circumstances would have left them comfortably in the lead overall.

It is all to play for in today's final race where the four leading contenders will be keeping a very close eye on each other with a winner takes all scenario.

The Russians have bounced back at the Regatta Royales in Cannes today, knocking Dublin Skipper Martin Byrne off the top spot in the 58-boat Dragon fleet.  The Royal St. George Commodore sailing Jaguar had a disappointing second day but still lies third overall with it all to play for tomorrow.

A postponement kept the fleet ashore until 1pm waiting for the light to moderate breeze to fill in from the south. The Irish champions suffered the rath of an on the water Jury decision when they were deemed to have committed a foul after what seemed like a perfect start at the committe boat end of the line. The subsequent penalty turns were very costly and a 29th finish was disappointing.

Another good start in the second race of the day saw Jaguar lead the fleet for much of the first beat only to be undone by a 30 degree wind shift as they approached the the top mark. A 16th on that Race 5 sees them slip to third overall on 22 points narrowly behind the last years winner Russian Anotoly Loginov and Olympic and Dragon legend Poul Ricard Ho Jenson.

Day 2 marked the comeback of Longinov on Annapurna. With a twelfth and a second, the Russian skipper managed to keep his competitors at bay and jump on top of the provisional ranking with 36 points.

Ever consistent Hoj Jensen on Danish Blue, scoring a third and a 15th is now second on the overall scoreboard distanced by only one point.

Italian Giuseppe Duca on Cloud, with a second and a sixth, and having discarded a black flag disqualification he got yesterday, is now fourth and still close to the top trio. HRH Prince Heinrik of Denmark on White Lady is now fifth in the overall standing at 26 points and British Ivan Bradbury on Blue Haze sixth a 33 points.

The points are tight with three races remaining.

Dragon Edinburgh Cup winner Martin Byrne's impressive international form continues this week at the helm of Jaguar. The Dublin sailor leads HRH Prince Henrik of Denmark for overall honours at the Régates Royales in Cannes, on the south of France. Byrne, the Commodore of Dun Laoghaire's Royal St. George Yacht Club is counting a 1, 1 and 3 in the 58-boat fleet. 'We're off to a good start' Byrne, the Irish Dragon national champion, told Afloat.ie this morning. July's Edinburgh Cup winner is sailing with Brian Mathews and Portuguese sail maker Andrade Pedro.

Martin Byrne leads the 58-boat fleet

After the fleet could not go out on the water on Monday because of the strong, gusty typical Mistral breeze, the 58 boat strong Dragon fleet had three windward/leeward races on Tuesday starting in a 12 knots south-westerly, that progressively increased during the afternoon hours, topping 20 knots. Competition was strong as usual for the top positions and the class' champions imposed their supremacy. The first two races went both to Dublin's Byrne on Jaguar Bear who managed to get the better of reigning champion and class master Anatoly Longinov on Annapurna and on multiple class winner Danish Poul Richard on Antigua's flagged Danish Blue on the first one. A nearly clean score for the Irish skipper who was third in the last race of the day won by Ian Bradbury on Blue Haze. HRH Prince Heinrik of Denmark's had a very positive first day with a sixth, a second and a fourth. With five points, the Irish team is then securely on top of the provisional podium, in front of HRH Prince Henrik of Denmark (13 points) and the Russian crew skippered by Anatoly Loginov (16 points).

After three days of severe winds and mighty waves, the Derbigum Dragon Gold Cup Fleet went out early yesterday morning to sail two races. No Irish boats were racing in the 62-boat fleet.

After the first start, the fleet cut in two. The left side went towards the beach, the right side steered deeper into sea. But soon some drizzle limited the visibility, which meant that one more aspect was added to this race: sheer navigation. The right side looked better, where the current was weakening.

Markus Wieser (Bunker Queen - UKR 7) picks up the right wind, steers his dragon the right way between de cross waves and finishes first.

In the second race of this day, the wind veers even more and although the race officers keep adapting the course to the shifts and the weakening wind, the battle in the forefront of the fleet is severe.

The Nations Cup went to Russia.

Top ten final overall results:

1. Bunker Queen, Wieser, UKR, 31 points
2. African Queen, J. Schonherr, DEN, 33
3. Annapurna, A. Loginov, RUS, 34
4. Aimee, G. Bailey, GBR, 43
5. Bunker Prince, Y. Braslavetz, URK, 44
6. Bendira, M. Palsson, SWE, 50
7. Murka 12, M. Muratov, RUS, 50
8. Sunflower, V. Fogelson, RUS, 52
9. TIgger, T. Tavinor, GBR, 54
10. Clairvoyant, E. Sawyer, USA, 55

Galway's round the world yacht, the Volvo 70 Green Dragon, sailed from Galway Port this morning. Her first port of call is Kinsale and on Thursday she will sail for Rotterdam.

From there she will go on a low-loader for Frankfurt to become a static exhibit rather than a sailing craft. She is to appear at the world famous Frankfurt Motor Show where Galway owners say 'she will be put on display in a premier position' - fully rigged - promoting the Volvo Ocean Race 2011 - 2012 and the Race finish in Galway as part of a global village exhibtion showcasing Irish innovation, food and the marine.

The Green Dragon crew who are enroute for Rotterdam via Kinsale

"At this major global exhibition in Germany this will be a fantastic opportunity to showcase Irish Sailing and our plans for 2012 - and also to show our support for Team Sanya our Chinese Irish Volvo Ocean Race Team. A formal send off is planned from Dublin for Team Sanya on Monday 5th Sept", says Enda O'Coineen of Let's Do It Global, who is sailing on the first leg of the voyage to Frankfurt.

Sign up for this mornung's e-bulletin (see past editions here) for all the weekend's Irish sailing news, pics and results straight to your inbox.

This morning's edition includes photos and pics from Sunday's Figaro departure from Dun Laoghaire and the Rick Tomlinson's pics of the start of the Fastnet race from Cowes. Derry-Londonderry is on her way to Rio in the Clipper race. Regrettably there was no Gold, Silver or Bronze from Weymouth but we're in a strong position. See our video with Annalise here. Plus: The Topper Worlds at the National YC, John Lavery's win at the Flying fifteen South coast champs in Dunmore East, the J24 Nationals from Lough Erne, A local pair whitewashed the RS Feva Nationals in Cork Harbour, some great shots from Bob Bateman. The Oppy Nationals start in Howth and Afloat's Sailor of the Month for July Martin Byrne retained the Dragon Nationals in Kinsale. There's also the full weekend results from Dublin Bay SC.

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Martin Byrne retained his title as National Dragon Champion in Kinsale last weekend, adding to his Edinburgh Cup victory last month in Abersoch writes Tim Pearson.

Byrne, with crew Adam Winkelmann and Pedro Andrades, was pushed hard by Jay Bourke and Cameron Good throughout the four day event which saw a variety of testing conditions in a predominantly moderate to fresh southwesterly airflow.

On the Friday racing was conducted in a sea mist which reduced visibility at times to 200 metres and required the competitors to bring their navigational skills into play.

However, Race Officer Alan Crosbie, using the event as a dry run for the Gold Cup in September 2012, when around 80 Dragons are expected to compete in the waters off the Old Head, was master of the conditions and got the 7 race series off on time.

2012 will be a special year for Dragons in Ireland, and there is already much international interest in  a veritable grand prix circuit which will start with the Edinburgh Cup In early July, move to Dublin for the Nationals and culminate in Kinsale with the Gold Cup.

Irish Champions Martin Byrne, Adam Winklemann and Pedro Andrades

2011 Dragon Irish National Championships:

1. Martin Byrne
2. Jay Bourke
3. Cameron Good

Sign up for Monday's Afloat e-bulletin (see past editions here) for all this weekend's Irish sailing news, pics and results straight to your inbox.

Monday's edition includes photos and pics from Sunday's Figaro departure from Dun Laoghaire and the start of the Fastnet race from Cowes. Will it be Gold, Silver or Bronze from Weymouth? How will Peter, David and Annalise end up at the Pre-Olympics? Plus: The Topper Worlds at the National YC, Flying fifteen South coast champs in Dunmore East, the J24 Nationals from Lough Erne, Teens battle for the RS Feva Nationals in Cork Harbour,  the Cove People's Regatta, The Oppy Nationals at Howth and the Dragon Nationals from Kinsale. There's also the full results from Dublin Bay SC and Howth.

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Martin Byrne of Dun Laoghaire is the Irish Independent/Afloat.ie Sailor of the Month after his superb final race to clinch the Edinburgh Cup, one of the most significant events in the International Dragon Class' annual programme in Europe.

In a fleet of 44, including many of the world's top boats, he had already put together a solid series as the final day arrived in the excellent sailing waters off Abersoch in North Wales.

But whether or not he and his crew of Adam Winkelmann and Pedro Andrade came home with bronze, silver or gold, hinged entirely on that last race.

Sailing the immaculate Jaguar, he logged the kind of race that, for most skippers, is the stuff of dreams.

Jaguar emerged clear from the starting melee to such good effect that by mid-race she had a clear lead of 200 metres, a comfortable gap that enabled Byrne to keep effective cover on any challengers, such that the real race was for second place as Jaguar powered on to finish an extraordinary three minutes ahead.

It was textbook stuff. In his winner's speech, Martin Byrne said the secret of it all was the shoreside commander, his wife Triona, who looked after logistics and paperwork, and ensured everything ran smoothly all week.

Irish sailing needs more Trionas.

The Byrne win gives a boost towards 2012, which in Ireland will be the Year of the Dragon. The Edinburgh Cup will be on Belfast Lough from July 4-8, while the historic Gold Cup is in Kinsale from September 8-14.

Ireland has won a dozen Edinburgh Cups, the most prolific victor being Tony O'Gorman who won six times between 1975 and 1984.

But only once has the Gold Cup been brought home, in 1947, when it was won by Eric Strain of Belfast Lough. Robin Hennessy was in the frame in 1971 but didn't quite clinch it, so an Irish win is overdue.

And, with the Gold Cup scheduled for Ostende in September, maybe we won't have to wait until next year.

Martin Byrne's win in the Edinburgh Cup, Antix crew pipped for IRC honours, Flying fifteens stormbound in Hayling, Joie de Vie is West Coast Champ, Doran's tenth in Croatia, Arabella for Fastnet, Supernova's still winning on the bay. Lots more on the Afloat home page.