Jessica leads

John Roberson on day two of the Dragon 75th anniversary regatta in St Tropez

The British scored an impressive two firsts and a second at the Dragon 75th Anniversary Regatta in St Tropez on Tuesday, with David Palmer's Princess Jalina winning one heat, Laurence Jacobsen taking the classics race in Meteor, while Mark Dicker steered Scorpio to second place in the other heat.

It was Swedish skipper Tom Loftstedt in Maria who spoilt the British clean sweep, with his crew of Martin Alsen and Martin Larsson he won the second heat for the modern boats.

Palmer, who is crewed by British America's Cup sailor Andy Beadsworth and Graham Wilkinson, heaped praise on his crew, "that was due to brilliant tactics from Andy Beadsworth, and huge hard work from everyone else. So it was a fantastic day, it's the second race I've had in the new boat, and I'm feeling quite emotional."

Mark Dicker is one of the youngest skippers in the event, just 24 years old, and putting in a good performance so far after a 12th place on Monday, he thought he had finished fourth, but found that two boats ahead of him has started prematurely.

A little bemused by his success, the young skipper explained his result, "we got a nice start and had a decent first beat, and just got ahead of the pack, and there were a lot of boats over the start line early."

His sister Selina who is crewing for him confessed to getting a big buzz out of seeing so many spinnaker behind them on the first down wind leg.

The winner of the Classics division was equally surprised to win a race, "it's a big surprise," said Laurence Jacobsen, "we're really delighted, I've got a very good crew and they make a huge difference.

However it is the Irish who now lead the regatta, with Ward Woods of Dunlaoghaire adding a second place on Tuesday, to Monday's win, to put him well clear of his nearest rivals. The understated Irish skipper commented, "it's quite a shock, I think we're somewhere close to the front of the fleet."

Talking about his past performances he said, "we won a couple of races in Cannes at the Regatta Royale, we ended up tenth, but we were coming second, we had a couple of good races in the Gold Cup in Medemblik, but this as good as it goes, so far!"

Russell Coutts is one of the more consistent performers, adding a 10th to his previous 5th.

The fleet enjoyed a stronger breeze than on the first day, with the wind around 10 to 12 knots, but very shifty.

Results:
Heat 1: blue & purple groups
1. GBR 700 David Palmer - Princess Jalina
2. IRL 181 Ward Woods - Jessica
3. NOR 275 Odd Lofterod - Odd Job
4. GER 963 Dr Peter-Alexander Wacker - Dumbo
5 DEN 319 Soren Pehrsson - Notorius
6. GER 996 Thomas Muller - Sinewave


Heat 2: green & yellow groups
1. SWE 321 Tom Lofstedt - Maria
2. GBR 586 Mark Dicker - Scorpio
3. RUS 1 Mikhail Apukhin - God Father
4. FRA 336 Antoine Leblanc - Viking
5. DEN 332 David Holm - Monick
6. FIN 79 Christian Borenius - Eminence

Race 1 - Classics:
1. GBR 402 Laurence Jacobsen - Meteor
2. IRL 34 John Finnegan - Jane
3. GER 170 Heinz-Werner Aping - Fuchur
4. IRL 40 Dan O'Connor - Leprechaun
5. GER 257 Dr Herbert Reich - Chaton
6. GBR 390 Brian Smith - Gem

Overall:
1. IRL 181 Ward Woods - Jessica
2. GBR 700 David Palmer - Princess Jalina
3. BEL 61 Robert Drontmann - Tenace
4. SWE 321 Tom Lofstedt - Maria
5. GER 996 Thomas Muller - Sinewave
6. GBR 586 Mark Dicker - Scorpio