About the Class - History
The HELLENIC DRAGON CLASS ASSOCIATION (HDCA) was established in 2007 in order to
let the existing boat revived and older or new sailors to enjoy the sailing of
the Dragon.
The Class is mainly hosted and supported by the YACHT CLUB OF GREECE, the club with
the longest history with the Dragons.
Presently five (5) boats consist the active fleet of Dragons and four (4) more will follow as now they are undergoing repairs.
The board of directors is as follows:-
| name | surname | title | contact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antonis | Nicolaras | President | - |
| Themistocles | Lempesopoulos | Vice President | - |
| Ioannis | Tahtatzis | Secretary | tahtatzis@ath.forthnet.gr |
| Aristides | Dariotis | Treasurer | sailorco@ath.forthnet.gr |
| Dimitris | Gerontaris | Director | - |
| Antonis | Athanasiou | Director | - |
| Alexandros | Athanasiou | Director | - |
HDCA will shortly nominate a very experienced measurer of boats and sails and will further apply to IDA for approval and appointment, so all necessary measurements will be taken care locally.
History
The first Dragon in Greece was the TRIUMPH, built by the Italian TONORATICO, donated by the Greek Navy to the King Paul.
Later, 26 Borensen Dragons were active, owned by the Royal family, including the then prince of Spain, major shipowners (Goulandris, Niarchos, Goumas, etc) and a few of yacht clubs.
As a result of the said activity, Greece won the gold medal at the Rome Olympics in 1960 with the prince Constantine, Odysseus Eskintzoglou and George Zaimis.
This was the first golden medal of Greece at the Olympic sailing races and several others followed.
At the same time a race from Piraeus to Spetsae island, of about 50 miles, was established and was taking place every two years to honor King Paul. This race was in 1974 passed to the authority of IDA and takes place as the King Paul Trophy.
Athletes
In Greece there is a large number of athletes who now mainly race for open sea, that raced the dragons and have a good knowledge and experience.
HDCA has now brought the spirit of the Dragon very active and hopefully more boats will increase the fleet.
Several members of the class are ex Olympic winners, national and international champions and others successful juries in several Olympic classes, sail makers representing first class international sail brands .
The Greek Sailing Federation and the major yacht clubs of Greece have saluted and welcome the establishment of HDCA.
