Falmouth To Host 2009 Edinburgh Cup and South Western Championship

20 November 2008

The venue for next year's Edinburgh Cup is Falmouth, hosted by the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club. In addition the South Western Championship will take place immediately beforehand to provide a warm-up opportunity as well as a full week's sailing holiday in Cornwall.We have been generously sponsored by Aberdeen Asset Management, for which we are very grateful.

Falmouth is well known to many Dragon sailors. It has hosted the Edinburgh Cup twice in 1995 and 2002 as well as the Gold Cup in 2004. These three events all provided excellent racing in good conditions and it is the recollection of them that has encouraged us to return. For next year we have also included Carrick Roads as an official race area in order to ensure that we can still race when the gradient wind and sea breeze cancel one another out in the bay, the bane of the South Coast in summer.

           

Falmouth is a popular holiday resort with plenty of accommodation at all price levels. It is also a major centre for tourism in Cornwall and the site of the national Maritime Museum and close to many attractions such as the Eden Project and the Lost Gardens of Heligan. It has also become easier to reach. The A30 is now largely dual carriageway. Newquay airport has flights to a much wider range of places, including Dublin and Cork and the Roscoff to Plymouth ferry provides easy access from France.

We are innovating in the South Western Championship by scheduling many shorter races in a similar fashion to several Continental regattas. This format has proved attractive to many of our members at events such as La Baule and we are keen to experiment with it ourselves to gauge its attractiveness. Each race should last about one hour with rapid turn round between races.

Both events will have new prizes for boats sailed entirely by amateur crews and prizes for older boats, both wooden "classics" and the often neglected older GRP boats. This should mean that there is plenty to compete for even if overall victory is beyond your expectations.

On the social side we are planning a full programme including such venues as the National Maritime Museum as well as the chance to try out the unique Falmouth Working Boats. The aim is to make it a memorable week's holiday as well as a top class sailing event.

This is your reminder to COME to your Class Championship. It is THE opportunity for the British Dragon class to get together, try their strength and enjoy one another's company in one of the most beautiful sailing venues in the UK.

Owen Pay, BDA Chairman       Patrick Gifford, BDA Vice Chairman

Fiona Brown
Press Officer
Fiona.Brown@fionabrown.com