bamamick
12-22-2006, 10:33 PM
Many of you have expressed interest in the Dragon class over the past couple of years, and I thought that I would take this time to give you an update.
As some of you know I have been a sort of ambassador at large for those of us who are isolated from the three fleets in Vancouver, Toronto, and Cleveland. Through this and a couple of other forums I have been able to track down 25 Dragons over the years, all but three of them wood. The latest boat is a 70's era glass boat down in Miami. It is a wonderful feeling to come home from work and find an e-mail from someone who knows someone who has this old boat that may be a Dragon. Not all leads come through, but it seems that most of them do. It has been a very rewarding hobby for me.
My hobby has grown. Now we are networking, putting together people who have a boat to sell with prospective buyers. We have contacts in brokerages, sailmakers and spar manufacturers, restoration shops. The longer I do this the more help that I have been able to give to people who have contacted me.
Some news in general as per the class? Well, sadly it would seem that the boats in Cleveland and Toronto seem to be slipping away to other places. I would much prefer that these boats stay within those fleets, and these new owners bring in boats from other places, but that's just me. And if someone has a boat to sell they'll sell it to the first person who steps up. I understand it, I just hate to see our fleets weakened. On the other hand, Seattle is back, and looks strong for the immediate future. The newest news is that by my count there are now about six boats in the metro New York City area, with another guy looking for a boat right now. Could it be that we have our first east coast fleet forming in a long time? Sounds like it. I guess that I may be towing the red boat northeast some time soon.
There is news all over North America, really. A friend in Texas has restored one boat and will pick up another in January. There are several restorations ongoing in Ontario and around Halifax. We have people looking for restorable hulls and can't seem to fill that need. We have had discussions with a European brokerage about importing hulls from Europe (and this is what I would like to do in 2008).
I was asked to once again write up a report on the class in North America by the IDA for our annual news magazine. When I sent that in I received an e-mail from one of the class officers outlining a proposal that he is going to introduce to try and help increase awareness of the class here in North America. Pretty ambitious, involving the IDA working directly with a North American builder (Abbott would have been ideal for such a venture), sailmakers, and trying to involve some of the top sailors in the US and Canada (Dennis Connor was mentioned specifically). If you know what this class is in Europe none of this sounds farfetched at all, and honestly this is what I have been asking for for two years. It can happen, and it gives me hope, but it also worries me. An influx of $75,000 Dragons from Europe will make every hull we have here now obsolete. Not so bad for those of us with classics, as we can continue to race amongst ourselves, but it may affect the guys with 70's and 80's era glass boats. We will see.
As always, I am looking for people who own Dragons, people who want to buy a Dragon, or people who want to sell a Dragon. 2007 looks to be an interesting year and of course I will keep you updated on how things go. Old trophies pulled out of the closet. New trophies across the continent. Probably a few surprises here and there. I am always around if anyone wants to talk about any of this.
Merry Christmas.
Mickey Lake USA149 'Rune'
As some of you know I have been a sort of ambassador at large for those of us who are isolated from the three fleets in Vancouver, Toronto, and Cleveland. Through this and a couple of other forums I have been able to track down 25 Dragons over the years, all but three of them wood. The latest boat is a 70's era glass boat down in Miami. It is a wonderful feeling to come home from work and find an e-mail from someone who knows someone who has this old boat that may be a Dragon. Not all leads come through, but it seems that most of them do. It has been a very rewarding hobby for me.
My hobby has grown. Now we are networking, putting together people who have a boat to sell with prospective buyers. We have contacts in brokerages, sailmakers and spar manufacturers, restoration shops. The longer I do this the more help that I have been able to give to people who have contacted me.
Some news in general as per the class? Well, sadly it would seem that the boats in Cleveland and Toronto seem to be slipping away to other places. I would much prefer that these boats stay within those fleets, and these new owners bring in boats from other places, but that's just me. And if someone has a boat to sell they'll sell it to the first person who steps up. I understand it, I just hate to see our fleets weakened. On the other hand, Seattle is back, and looks strong for the immediate future. The newest news is that by my count there are now about six boats in the metro New York City area, with another guy looking for a boat right now. Could it be that we have our first east coast fleet forming in a long time? Sounds like it. I guess that I may be towing the red boat northeast some time soon.
There is news all over North America, really. A friend in Texas has restored one boat and will pick up another in January. There are several restorations ongoing in Ontario and around Halifax. We have people looking for restorable hulls and can't seem to fill that need. We have had discussions with a European brokerage about importing hulls from Europe (and this is what I would like to do in 2008).
I was asked to once again write up a report on the class in North America by the IDA for our annual news magazine. When I sent that in I received an e-mail from one of the class officers outlining a proposal that he is going to introduce to try and help increase awareness of the class here in North America. Pretty ambitious, involving the IDA working directly with a North American builder (Abbott would have been ideal for such a venture), sailmakers, and trying to involve some of the top sailors in the US and Canada (Dennis Connor was mentioned specifically). If you know what this class is in Europe none of this sounds farfetched at all, and honestly this is what I have been asking for for two years. It can happen, and it gives me hope, but it also worries me. An influx of $75,000 Dragons from Europe will make every hull we have here now obsolete. Not so bad for those of us with classics, as we can continue to race amongst ourselves, but it may affect the guys with 70's and 80's era glass boats. We will see.
As always, I am looking for people who own Dragons, people who want to buy a Dragon, or people who want to sell a Dragon. 2007 looks to be an interesting year and of course I will keep you updated on how things go. Old trophies pulled out of the closet. New trophies across the continent. Probably a few surprises here and there. I am always around if anyone wants to talk about any of this.
Merry Christmas.
Mickey Lake USA149 'Rune'