Nearly a hundred young sailors took part in Dragon Series traveller events across Wales during 2023 to practise and develop their racing skills.
Run by the RYA Cymru Wales regional committees and local clubs, three different Dragon Series – North, West and South – provided opportunities for all ages and abilities to compete at events relatively close to home.
Building on regional winter training, the series provides quality racing and training for everyone from novices travelling to their first events to experienced racers wanting to practise their boat handling and tactical know-how.
Top fleet sailors and parents also help those who are less experienced.
With 11 events taking place across Wales in total, for those attending three or more Dragon Series / OnBoard events there was the added bonus of a free T-shirt.
Sarah McGovern, Performance Manager Wales, said: “The aim for next year is to run something similar and we are hoping to have five events in each region with our OnBoard Festivals in early September as a grand finale and prize giving.
“From our perspective these are brilliant regional one-day events that give new sailors the opportunity to make the step to race at other clubs and meet new sailors. For more experienced sailors it is time on the water locally either honing their skills in their current class or having a go in different boat.
“A BIG thank you to the regional committees, host clubs and coaches for helping to organise and run the events. Thank you also to Tide and Trails for the amazing wooden medals!”
North Wales
The North Wales Dragon Series 2023 was able to run all three of its scheduled events at Port Dinorwic SC, Llyn Brenig SC and Shotwick Lake SC, with 19 sailors in total taking part, including seven regulars.
Top results for the North included: 1st overall Isla McKeown of Gresford SC (RS Tera); 2nd Evie Bennell of Shotwick Lake SC (RS Tera); and 3rd Amaya Taafe of Shropshire SC (RS Feva).
West Wales
This Dragon Series ran all five of its events and visited Fishguard Bay YC, Neyland YC, Pembrokeshire Performance Sailing Academy, Dale YC and Tenby SC.
There were 27 entries in total including 10 regulars. A ‘top achiever’ award went to Daniel Plant who came 1st overall in the Topper 5.3 fleet, while other notable performances included Anwen Sims (NYC) leading the Tera Training fleet and Keira Edwards (NYC) competing in a Tera Pro, IlCA4 and RS Feva.
South Wales
For the South Wales Dragon Series meanwhile there were three events at Llandegfedd SC, Tata SC, Cardiff Bay YC, with a further two unable to run due to adverse weather conditions. This series attracted 50 participants with more than half taking part in two or more opens.
Among the prizes were ‘top achiever’ awards for three sailors with 4 points total: Dan Powell (Topper 5.3), Kyle Bocking Rowlands (Topper 4.2) and Zelda Abney-Hastings (Optimist Training). It was also good to see three RS Fevas at two events.
Take part!
Find out more about the Dragon Series at our RYA Cymru Wales events hub and get set for next year’s events with our open training!
Keep up to date with all the latest announcements about events and opportunities by following @RYACymruWales on Facebook.
