Special boatDragons on the road to success

Fridtjof Gunkel

 · 25.05.2015

Special boat: Dragons on the road to successPhoto: YACHT/M. S. Kreplin
Dragons on the road to success
Modified hull, stiffer construction, more ergonomic cockpit design: PCT from Dubai has fundamentally revised the kite

Within the framework of the rules, which allow for some tolerances, the team of designers, hydrodynamics specialists and kite sailors Markus Wieser and Hendrik Witzmann found solutions that should have optimised the boat as a whole. The first prototypes were further developed in extensive tests in the Emirate and then shipped to Europe. The new kites from Premier Composite Technologies have been quite successful so far, winning every Grade 1 event they have taken part in. Witzmann won the Juan Carlos Trophy ( Results ) ahead of the kite stronghold of Cascais and ahead of Markus Wieser in the Grand Prix Guyader ( Results ) off Douarnenez in France.

YACHT accompanied the exciting project, report in issue 12 (from 27 May on newsstands)

yacht/M4311886Photo: YACHT/M. S. Kreplin
The mushroom-shaped design of the new boat allows...
Photo: YACHT/M. S. Kreplin
Fridtjof Gunkel

Fridtjof Gunkel

Deputy Chief Editor YACHT

Fridtjof Gunkel was born on Helgoland in 1962; he started his sailing career there in the Opti and quickly switched to keelboats. North Sea Week, Cowes Week and Kiel Week were early stops, followed by many years in the Admiral's Cup scene on the cuppers “Container” and “Rubin” World Championships and international regattas in the Starboat, with the mini-maxi “SiSiSi” and various tonner yachts as well as participation in the Whitbread Round the World Race were further formative stations, flanked by extensive cruising trips. Fridtjof Gunkel joined YACHT back in 1985 as part of a traineeship, where he later became Head of the Test & Technology department and then Deputy Editor-in-Chief around 25 years ago. He is also responsible for the regatta and sports section. Fridtjof Gunkel privately sails a performance/cruiser moored on the Baltic coast, his favorite areas are the eastern Swedish archipelago and Brittany.

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