Grand Prix Guyader - Dragons Take Center Stage

A tough job ahead - Although very fond of the Dragon, the participants confess that they all too often end up cursing this boat whose “devil is in the details.”“It’s a complicated boat which needs to be trimmed down to the last millimetre. It is exhausting, but I love it!” says Bruno Peyron, back once again to “suffer” in the Grand Prix Guyader. And it promises to set him an even more complicated task as he faces some of the real ‘heavy-weights’ in the series, starting with the most recent Grand Prix winner, Evgeny Braslavets, gold-medal holder in the Seoul and Los Angeles Olympic Games and the fleet leader of three Ukrainian boats currently cleaning up the circuit. 

However the ‘terrible trio’ from the Ukraine are due a hard battle ahead, up against some of the other Dragon ‘stars’ such as Thommy Muller, the 2010 winner, sailing alongside his formidable tactician Vincent Hoesh, and the Australian team led by Ron Rusemberg on tactics. The challenging line up also includes names such as the two British sailors Dragon world champion Laurie Smith, and the America’s Cup skipper, Andy Beadsworth, or Markus Wieser, helmsman of a German tp52 and the winner of several Gold Cups. Then there is the great Dragon specialist Valdemar Bandolowski, with two gold medals in Soling. Finally Mikhaïl Senatorov will step aside from his usual role as the Vice President of the Central Russian bank for a few days to race out on the bay in Douarnenez.

Among the French sailors Bruno Peyron will be accompanied by Gwen Chapalain, and see the noteworthy return of Babou Pasturaud (8 times French champion) as well as Luc Pillot and current French leader Rémy Arnaud.

For the sake of beauty
The series gathers together an impressive list of world champions and gold medal-holders but there is also room for those whose passion is in the ‘object’, a love of the class itself, the shape and design of the Dragon. So once again a number of bright Dragon amateurs are drawn back to experience the Grand Prix Guyader, with its unique location, magnificent bay and the really special atmosphere created by the close to 300 volunteers involved in the event organization..

These yachting lovers may not take part in the full circuit but for the first time this year will be able to participate in their own ‘amateur’ class. Another novelty for the 2012 edition of the Guyader Grand Prix is the creation of the group ‘France’, designed to organize a daily debriefing session after each race, going over questions of tactics, speed and boat handling. The fleet captain Fred Gourlaouen, from Douarnenez, will be running the sessions alongside fellow Douarneniste and outstanding Dragon sailor Tanguy Ravac'h.
Among the 15 nations registered for the Grand Prix, only the Russian and Ukrainians have to date been training with a coach.

The Prince and the royal yacht
His Royal Highness the Prince Consort Henrik of Denmark, and husband of Queen Margrethe II, will be making a return to Douarnenez. A true fan of the Grand Prix for many years and passionate Dragon sailor, Prince Henrik has not participated in the racing since 2009. The event organizers are naturally delighted to be welcoming back such a prestigious competitor. The Prince Consort will be sailing to Douarnenez and the port of Rosmeur in the royal yacht Dannebrog. This magnificent 78 metre-long yacht has a crew of 52 and has been used by the Danish Royal Family since 1932; celebrating this year its 80th anniversary.