Guess who’s been sailing a Dragon in the sunshine again? 5 Dec 2017

The 2017 Turkish Dragon Championships took place from 2nd to 5th November in Bodrum, Southern Turkey. And guess which RCYC member was there? That's right, former IDA President, Rob Campbell, who sailed the Turkish Dragon Frenchie together with Kay Tavinor and John Greenwood.

Eight races were held over the four days in perfect sailing conditions, the wind varying between 12 and 20 knots. Rob and team finished 2nd overall and Rob commented  “What a wonderful venue, just outside Bodrum Marina. The sailing conditions were outstanding with good winds and relatively flat water due to the large islands protecting the course. Perfect for Dragons.”

The 2017 Dragon World Champions, Team Provezza, sailed by Andy Beadsworth, Ali Tezdiker and Simon Fry won, with a strong showing throughout the regatta. The final podium place went to Therapie sailed by Senkar Oztuzun and his team of Burcin Aytunc and Ali Cengis Gun.  Therapie had a brilliant final race, keeping their nerves under pressure, to raise her position from 5th to 3rd overall.

A full social programme supported the regatta, including a visit to a micro-brewery and a dinner which included traditional Turkish belly dancing. After the racing, the prize giving was held in the Yacht Club where the President of the Turkish Yachting Federation, Mrs Ozlem Akdurak, presented the prizes. Everyone clearly enjoyed the event and the visitors were unanimous in their praise for the beautiful warm and blue waters off the Aegean Sea just off Bodrum. Sounds nice, although clearly they hadn't experienced the Crouch in late November…