Dragon Sailing Blog & Newsfeed
HARDCORE SAILING - The Inaugural DF95 National Championship, Oct 28-30 2016
Both veteran RC skippers and newcomers to the sport learned what hardcore sailing is all about at the inaugural DragonFlite 95 National Championship Regatta Oct 28-30, 2016 on Lake Ray Hubbard in Garland, TX.
43 Skippers sailed in the 3 day event which also had the distinction of being the largest RC sailing regatta in North America in 2016! Both the conditions and the competition were challenging as the winds ranged from 5 mph all the way up to 20 MPH and B rig conditions most of day 2, creating big chop, big waves, and big fun !!
The Bass Pro Shop venue features an open dock and great control area and allowed the Race Committee to set up square and fair courses throughout the event. Principal Race Officer Fred Rocha, kept a brisk pace with nearly 50 heats and 16 total races. 
The top 10 skippers were all National Champions in other radio sailing classes so the competition was tough all the way through the fleet! The lead changed hands several times, but in the end Mark Golison, from Long Beach CA edged Gary Boell to claim the inaugural DF95 USA Championship! We are looking forward to a big 2017 for the DragonFlite 95 and expect the class to expand into regional regattas all over the USA! Check out the highlight video below:
DragonFlite 95 is an official USA Class!
The American Model Yachting Association (AMYA) , the radio sailing authority for the USA, has officially recognized the DragonFlite 95 as a sanctioned class!
You can check out the AMYA at www.theamya.org and the DF95 USA Class Owners Association at www.dragonflite95.us
Here is the press release from AMYA President Ray Seta:
PRESS RELEASE: Newest AMYA Sanctioned Class
Attn - AMYA Members
I would like to take this opportunity to announce the latest Class to be recognized as an official "sanction" Class of the American Model Yachting Association(AMYA). With the help of the recently appointed Class Secretary Russ Gardner-AMYA # 17555, and two Directors At-Large Brian Mohs-AMYA # 16257 and Hap McGill-AMYA # 13236, their early dedication to this new Class and meeting all requirements set forth by the AMYA By-Laws, they were able to get all paperwork submitted and approved by the Executive Board of the AMYA under 45 days from when the first boat even hit the water here in the United States. They even exceeded the required 20 registered AMYA members to do so. I would personally like to Thank them for their dedication to the Class and the AMYA, and hope this will be the beginning of a positive relationship between the AMYA and the Dragon Flite 95 community. In the next few weeks the DF05 Class Secretary will be working with our dedicated staff here at the AMYA to get all information posted on the AMYA website. He will also be working with our "Model Yachting" staff on getting all information DragonFlite 95 listed in Model Yachting magazine, issue #185, for all to read. The DragonFlite 95 CS will also start to begin his communication to his members through Model Yachting magazine as a contributor for Class News & Tips. Dragon Flight specific regattas will now be listed in our AMYA calendar, not only in Model Yachting magazine but on the website also..... Again congratulations are in order to the DragonFlite 95 Class and it's members. Looking forward to reading and hearing about your Class as time moves forward!
I would like to recognize one person in the background of all this and has help the three mentioned above and the DragonFlite 95 Class and community make this a reality, and that is Chuck LeMahieu-AMYA #9450 for his vision of this Class and bring it current popularity and accessibility here in the United States.
Ray Seta - AMYA President