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Displaying items by tag: Ger Owens

Seven Irish crews are on the entry list for the Delta Lloyd regatta starting on May 26, with representatives in six Olympic classes. Sisters Annalise and Claudine Murphy will compete in the Laser Radial class, with Ross Hamilton in the Finn the only other single-hander on the list.

Thomas Chaix and Barry McCartin continue their nascent 470 campaign, and Ireland is represented twice in the 49er class, with Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern facing a better-trained Ger Owens & Ross Killian wo emerge from several weeks' training in Palma for this event (see yesterday's podcast for more).

However, the eye-catching pairing is Peter O'Leary and David Burrows, who finally join forces for a Star regatta. Burrows steps in to replace Ballyholme sailor Stephen Milne to face a small but competitive Star fleet ahead of the European Championships in early June.

Published in Olympics 2012
Page 2 of 2

The Dragon was designed by Johan Anker in 1929 as an entry for a competition run by the Royal Yacht Club of Gothenburg, to find a small keel-boat that could be used for simple weekend cruising among the islands and fjords of the Scandinavian seaboard. The original design had two berths and was ideally suited for cruising in his home waters of Norway. The boat quickly attracted owners and within ten years it had spread all over Europe.

The Dragon's long keel and elegant metre-boat lines remain unchanged, but today Dragons are constructed using the latest technology to make the boat durable and easy to maintain. GRP is the most popular material, but both new and old wooden boats regularly win major competitions while looking as beautiful as any craft afloat. Exotic materials are banned throughout the boat, and strict rules are applied to all areas of construction to avoid sacrificing value for a fractional increase in speed.

The key to the Dragon's enduring appeal lies in the careful development of its rig. Its well-balanced sail plan makes boat handling easy for lightweights, while a controlled process of development has produced one of the most flexible and controllable rigs of any racing boat.