Dragon Gold Cup
The Dragon Gold Cup is an annual sailing race for the Dragon class since 1937, organized by the International Dragon Association and the Clyde Yacht Clubs' Association.
The most successful sailor is Danish Aage Birch, with seven titles, followed by fellow Danish Ole Berntsen, with five titles. In total, Danish crews have won 32 titles.[1]
History
The International Dragon Cup was presented in 1937 by members of the Clyde Yacht's Conference with the intention of bringing together as many competitors of different nationalities as possible for yacht racing in Europe in a friendly spirit, in order to perpetuate the good feeling which existed at the first International Clyde Fortnight. The Clyde Yacht Clubs' Conference has been reconstituted as the Clyde Yacht Clubs' Association and the International Dragon Cup has become known as, and is now renamed, the 'Dragon Gold Cup'.
Members of the Clyde Yacht Clubs' Association created specific rules for this competition and donated a perpetual trophy made of pure gold for an annual international race. From the beginning, the Gold Cup was considered a family event for the Dragon sailors and could be raced by yachts of the International Dragon Class belonging to any country, and for this reason was a very well attended event.
Until 1965, the year of the first Official World Championship, the Gold Cup was considered the unofficial World Cup. The first rules created by the Clyde Yacht Clubs' Association established that the Cup should be sailed annually and that the Cup should be retained by the winner for one year only. It also established that the event should take place in rotation in the following countries: Scotland, France, Sweden, Germany, Holland and Denmark.
With the revision of the rules in 1997, the number of hosting countries was enlarged to eleven: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
The hosting country and the Organising Authority continue to be selected by the Clyde Yacht Clubs' Association in conjunction with the International Dragon Association and the number of participants was limited to 120.
Editions
| Year | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1937 Oslo |  SwedenRolf Billner |
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| 1938 Travemünde |  GermanyHerbert Döhler |
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| 1939 Gothenburg | Sweden Harald Gedda |
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| 1947 Clyde |  Great BritainW. H. Barnett |
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| 1948 Arendal |  NorwayThor Thorvaldsen |
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| 1949 Marstrand |  DenmarkOle Berntsen |
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| 1950 Vejle | Norway Thor Thorvaldsen |
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| 1951 Clyde | Denmark Thorkil Warrer |
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| 1952 Hankø | Norway Øivind Christensen |
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| 1953 Marstrand | West Germany Theodor Thomsen |
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| 1954 Skovshoved | Denmark Ole Berntsen |
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| 1955 Amsterdam | West Germany Theodor Thomsen |
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| 1956 Clyde | Denmark Thorkil Warrer |
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| 1957 Hankø | Denmark Ole Berntsen |
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| 1958 Marstrand |  ItalySergio Sorrentino |
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| 1959 Skovshoved | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} CanadaWalter Windeyer |
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| 1960 Amsterdam | Denmark Ole Berntsen |
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| 1961 Clyde | Great Britain Sir Gordon Smith |
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| 1962 Hankø | Denmark Ole Berntsen |
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| 1963 Marstrand | Denmark Aage Birch |
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| 1964 Travemünde | Denmark Aage Birch |
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| 1965 IJsselmeer | Denmark Henning Jensen |
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| 1966 Copenhagen | Denmark Aage Birch |
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| 1967 Clyde | Denmark Børge Børresen |
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| 1968 Hankø | Denmark Aage Birch |
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| 1969 Marstrand | Denmark Aage Birch |
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| 1970 Travemünde | Denmark Aage Birch |
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| 1971 Medemblik |  United StatesA. W. Henry |
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| 1972 Copenhagen | Denmark Aage Birch |
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| 1973 Clyde | Great Britain D. Young |
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| 1974 Le Havre | Great Britain N. Truman |
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| 1975 Marstrand | Denmark T. Krogh |
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| 1976 Travemünde | West Germany P. Stulcken |
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| 1977 Kinsale | West Germany P. Stulcken |
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| 1978 Ebeltoft | Sweden Bengt Palmquist |
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| 1979 Edinburgh | Sweden Bengt Palmquist |
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| 1980 Enkhuizen | West Germany Achim Ulrich |
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| 1981 Douarnenez | West Germany Alo Schaefer |
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| 1982 Travemünde | West Germany Dieter Krautgartner |
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| 1983 Marstrand | West Germany Klaus Oldendorff |
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| 1984 Skovshoved | Denmark Valdemar Bandolowski Erik Hermann Hansen Søren Hvalso |
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| 1985 Clyde | Denmark Børge Børresen |
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| 1986 Enkhuizen | Denmark Valdemar Bandolowski Erik Hermann Hansen Søren Hvalso |
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| 1987 Clyde |  NetherlandsA. F. G. Bakker Jan Bakker Steven Vis |
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| 1988 Le Havre | Joker (NED) Fred Imhoff Hay Winters Japie Ferwerda |
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| 1989 Travemünde | Joker (NED) Fred Imhoff Hay Winters Michiel Pals |
Denmark Lars Jensen Jan Møller Claus Møller Christensen |
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| 1990 Dublin | Denmark Poul Richard Høj Jensen |
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| 1991 Marstrand | Denmark Lars Jensen Peter Nielsen Claus Møller Christensen |
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| 1992 Ostend | Denmark Poul Richard Høj Jensen |
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| 1993 Medemblik | Joker (NED) Fred Imhoff Hay Winters Richard van Rij |
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| 1994 Rungsted | Denmark Poul Richard Høj Jensen |
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| 1995 Torquay | Germany Harm Müller-Spreer |
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| 1996 Douarnenez | Germany Vincent Hoesch |
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| 1997 Dublin | Denmark Poul Richard Høj Jensen |
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| 1998 Cascais | Denmark Lars Jensen Finn Leerbeck Claus Møller Christensen |
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| 1999 Horten | Denmark Lars Hendriksen |
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| 2000 Warnemünde | Germany Harm Müller-Spreer Fendt Vincent Hoesch |
Netherlands Pieter Heerema Caspar Harsberg Dolf Peet |
 FinlandHenrik Dahlman Theis Palm Magnus Borg |
| 2001 Ostende | Germany Harm Müller-Spreer |
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| 2002 Mariehamn | Sinwave (GER) Thomas Muller Mario Wagner Björn Oesterreich |
Danish Joker (NED) Fred Imhoff Richard van Rij Rudy den Outer |
Finland Fredrik Markelin Jari Bremer Patrick Lindeman |
| 2003 Medemblik | Denmark Jørgen Schönherr Axel Waltersdorph Anders Kaempe |
Denmark Frank Berg Søren Kæstel Maria Holm |
Netherlands Pieter van Reeuwijk Eric Bakker Thierry van Vierssen |
| 2004 Falmouth | Denmark Jørgen Schönherr Axel Waltersdorph Anders Kaempe |
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| 2005 Sandhamn[2] | African Queen (DEN) Jørgen Schönherr Axel Waltersdorph Anders Kaempe |
Nanoq (DEN) Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark Theis Palm Kasper Harsberg |
Roberto (GER) Phillip Ocker Florian Grosser Oliver Davis |
| 2006 Douarnenez | Germany Werner Fritz |
Denmark Jørgen Schönherr Axel Waltersdorph Anders Kaempe | |
| 2007 Palma de Mallorca | Denmark Lars Hendriksen Philipp Skafte-Holm Lars Stenfeldt |
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| 2008 Cascais | Danish Blue (DEN) Poul Richard Høj Jensen Theis Palm Andrew Norden |
Jerboa (GBR) Gavia Wilkinson-Cox Jon Mortimer Ron Rosenberg |
Quicksilver III (GBR) Robert Campbell Matt Walker Jonathan Hill |
| 2009 Skagen |  CCCP (UKR)Ruslana Taran Roman Sadchikov Vadim Statsenko |
Bunker Queen (UKR) Lars Hendriksen Sergei Pugatcher George Leontschuk |
 Annapurna (RUS)Anatoly Loginov Andrey Kirilyuk Alexander Shalagin |
| 2010 Marstrand | Annapurna (RUS) Anatoly Loginov Andrey Kirilyuk Alexander Shalagin |
Bunker Queen (UKR) Lars Hendriksen Igor Sidorov Georgiy Leonchuk |
 Xalet (POR)Filipe Silva Henrique Costa E. Silva Miguel Pinto |
| 2011 Ostende | Bunker Queen (UKR) Markus Wieser Sergey Pughchev Matti Paschen |
African Queen (DEN) Jørgen Schönherr Jan Eli Gravad Lars Wegner |
Annapurna (RUS) Anatoly Loginov Andrey Kirilyuk Alexander Shalagin |
| 2012 Kinsale | Sinewave (GER) Tommy Müller Vincent Hoesch Michael Lipp |
Alfie (GBR) Lawrie Smith Tim Tavinor Joost Houweling |
Strange Little Girl (RUS) Dmitry Samokhin Andrey Kirilyuk Aleksey Bushuev |
| 2013 Douarnenez | Bunker Queen (UKR) Markus Wieser Sergey Pughchev Georgiy Leonchuk |
Bunker Prince (UKR) Evgeny Braslavetz Igor Sidirov Sergiy Timokhov |
Troïka (NED) Pieter Heerema Theis Palm Hervé Connigham |
| 2014 Medemblik |  Bunker Queen (UAE)Markus Wieser Sergey Pughchev Georgiy Leonchuk |
Troïka (NED) Pieter Heerema Theis Palm Claus Olesen |
Bunker Prince (UAE) Yevgen Braslavets Igor Sidorov Sergiy Timokhov |
| 2015 Kühlungsborn | Lawrie Smith (GBR) Lawrie Smith Tim Tavinor Joost Houweling |
Strange Little Girl (RUS) Dmitry Samokhin Andrey Kirilyuk Aleksey Bushuev |
Sinewave (GER) Tommy Müller Vincent Hoesch Marc Pickel |
| 2016 Hornbæk |  Sophie Racing (SUI)Hugo Stenbeck Martin Westerdahl Bernardo Freitas |
Bunker Prince (UAE) Yevgen Braslavets Sergiy Timokhov Aleksander Mirchuk |
Nina (DEN) Nicklas Holm Mathias Thomsen Jonas Høgh |
| 2017 St. Tropez | Desert Holly (GER) Stephan Link Frank Butzmann Michael Lipp - |
Pow Wow (GER) Pedro Rebelo de Andrade Charles Nankin Lauren Fry Carolin Laetzsch |
Desert Eagle (UAE) Hendrik Wikmann Markus Koy Robert Stanjek |
| 2018 Helsinki | African Queen XI (DEN) Jørgen Schönherr Christian Videbaek Theis Palm |
Troika (NED) Pieter Heerema Lars Hendriksen George Leonchuk |
 Provezza Dragon (TUR)Andy Beadsworth Ali Tezdiker Simon Fry |