In the suburbs of the Portuguese capital, a favourite racing destination of many famous yachtsmen, the «Dragon»Class World Championship was held for the first time. In total 70 crews from 18 countries, including 7 Russian ones, were announced.
From the very first day the Portuguese winds declared themselves in full force, giving the participants almost all the days of a stable north/north-west breeze with a force of 20 knots or more. The race area was taken quite far and stretched along the picturesque coast with a distance of 2.5 miles, accompanied by a wave of two to three meters.
In 6 racing days it was possible to spend 8 races. Only once the races were canceled due to the doldrums in Portugal and the 40-degree heat.
The list of leaders was changing daily, but «Provezza»'s experienced yachtsman Andy Bedsworth, who has competed in offshore regattas and TP52 super-periods, was the most confident in all days of the championship, keeping the lead and, after earning a 10 point advantage the day before the final, won the final.
On Friday, because of a controversial clash Annapurna could not finish the second race, and on the final day the result of the only race did not allow to beat the leaders on points, despite the satisfaction of the judges protest of the team about the situation the day before.
The third was the team Alfie British «Sea Wolf», skipper of the Volvo Ocean Race back in the days of Whitbread Lowry Smith, who hoped to win over his countrymen and Russians. In fourth place is Henrik Witzman's Desert Eagle team, the winner of the 2013 World Cup.
The first days of the Championship were not easy for the guys, but they entered the top five and started to compete with the leaders.
Peter Hehereme, a member of the recent Vendee Globe singles circle and not a newcomer to the class, the ocean waves did not conquer every day. His team Troika showed the best result in the final race of the championship, finishing first, which allowed to improve the final position and finish the championship on the 6th line.
The eighth place went to the Cascais Drago Yacht Club team.
According to tradition, the championship resulted in the determination of the «best helmsman» (Lady Helm), it was German Nicola Friesen. The winners of the Corinth Division were also noted, and they were also the Germans from Rosie.
The next World Class Championship is planned to be held in 2019 in the Australian Fremantle near Perth, no less famous than Cascais, for its difficult conditions.
