Petticrows Celebrate In Style

09 October 2009

Champagne was on ice for a special double celebration in September 2009.
 
Firstly one of Petticrows staff John McVey completed 20 years of service for the company and during his time in the yard fitted out almost 600 Dragons. We thank John for his dedication over the years. 
 
Secondly Poul Richard returned from the World Championship clutching the magnificent trophy (pictured below right) that he last had in his grasp in 1989. The World Championship in 1989 was one of the first major successes for Petticrows (hull number 3 possibly fitted out by John McVey!). In the intervening 20 years we have supplied many other regatta winning Dragons which is testimony to our longstanding staff like John upholding the consistency and quality of our Dragons, and of course to Poul-Richard's dedication on the water in what is a highly competitive fleet.
 
The early part of the year was a little frustrating, most of the early season regattas suffered from light and inconsistent winds. Having invested a lot of time and effort working with our designer Ian Howlett to develop our 2009 model Dragon, the conditions made it very difficult to draw meaningful conclusions. However we were delighted that finally the Worlds in Medemblik offered a full range of sailing conditions. Poul, with his crew Theis Palm and Lars Jensen showed great boats speed and consistency to win the regatta. This cemented our belief that the 2009 alterations were totally worthwhile and a real step forward.
 
Poul informs us that his son Claus won the World Championship in 1999, so if you will be considering doing the Worlds in 2019 it could be worth having a Hoj-Jensen on board as there appears to be a trend emerging.
 
Cannes in September was back to light and inconsistent winds, but we were pleased to welcome some well known faces into the fleet. Laurie Smith, Ossie Stewart and Rob Cruickshank were trying out a Dragon at this regatta with a view to joining the fleet. Despite not having sailed a Dragon before they definitely showed their pedigree, we will be welcoming them back in the class for 2010.
 
On the technical side, the rope runners test has been progressing well. Favourable test reports will be presented to ISAF later in the year and we will await news from ISAF regarding their ratification of this technical change to the class.
 
Things are hotting up down under. Hosting a major championship is really wetting the appetites of local sailors to upgrade their Dragons in preparation for the 2011 World Championship in Melbourne; just over a year away. We are currently working on 3 new boat orders for Australia and also shipping 3 excellent used boats. The Australian sailors are really keen to make this a great regatta, so well worth considering going.
 
Just a reminder that as well as providing new Dragons, our service team is on hand over the winter for repairs and maintenance. A typical service takes between 9 and 15 hours and keeps the boat in great shape for racing, we would advise the cost on an individual basis prior to commencing work. We recommend that you book boats in as early as possible to ensure that everything is done for next season.
 
Lastly, our winter sails offer is now underway with discounts on both North and Hoj Jensen sails ordered by mid December. To take advantage of this please see  http://www.petticrows.co.uk/sails/ordering.shtml of contact Paul Neve on paul@petticrows.com
 
 
Tim Tavinor 
 
Petticrows
The Quay . Burnham on Crouch.
Essex .UK. CM0 8AX
0044 1621 782115
petticrows@petticrows.com

Fiona Brown
Press Officer
Fiona.Brown@fionabrown.com