Solo beats 835 in the GJW Direct SailJuice Winter Series
by Andy Rice, SailJuice 22 Feb 2014 13:46 GMT
22 February 2014
Michael Sims during the John Merricks Tiger Trophy © Tim Olin /
www.olinphoto.co.uk
A total of 835 boats from 95 different classes competed in this winter's wet and windy contest
Michael Sims prevailed in the GJW Direct SailJuice Winter Series, the Carsington sailor racing his Solo to the narrowest of victories over Datchet Water's Ben Schooling in his Musto Skiff. In total there 95 different types of boat competing in this handicap racing series.
The final of the eight events, the John Merricks Tiger Trophy, saw gusts of up to 35 knots which made life all but impossible for Schooling in his bid to regain his lead from earlier in the Series. The big winds played into the hands of the Fireballs, and if Nathan Batchelor had won the Tiger he would have just pipped Sims to the post. As it was, the Tynemouth sailor was 5th at the Tiger, crewed on this occasion by James Clark, which put Batchelor 3rd overall.
Just out of the top three were former winners of the SailJuice Winter Series, Peter Gray and Rachael Rhodes in their Scorpion followed by steady performer Craig Williamson in his Laser. Last year's Series victor in a Fireball, the world champion Tom Gillard, switched to a Solo this year and finished 6th overall. Not bad for a lightweight sailor in what has been a predominantly very windy series.
This was the fifth season of the GJW Direct SailJuice Winter Series which has become a focal point of handicap racing in the UK during the cold months. It has grown year on year. For this season, a total of 835 boats competed across the eight events which started with the Fernhurst Books Draycote Dash back in November. That represents a 15% rise on last year's entries, with 85% of boats entering online in advance via the SailRacer entry system.
The Series also introduced two brand new events, the Datchet Flyer which was won by Olympic silver medallist Luke Patience crewed in a Fireball by Richard Anderton, and the Oxford Blue which was won by Mike Lyons in a Blaze. SailRacer provided live GPS tracking and online commentary at four events and included the final Pursuit Race for the Tiger Trophy, where the fastest recorded boat was Olympic medallist Chris Draper who clocked up just over 22 knots on his International Moth. The tracked events typically saw over 2,500 online spectators. The website, SailJuiceSeries.com, attracted more than 50,000 visitors, up 85% on the previous year.
Thanks to the Great Lakes Group, who do the number crunching to develop a set of PY handicap numbers that produce such tight and fair racing for a wide range of classes. They now have more than 4,800 winter series race results to use for analysing the data. The eight organising clubs should be applauded for running such popular and well-managed events. The sheer number of competitors and different types of boat of such varying sizes and speeds makes for a very challenging scenario with plenty of scope for things to go wrong. So, thanks again to the volunteers and club staff that made this winter's Series possible.
Prizegiving
The prizegiving takes place at 1.30pm, Saturday 1 March at the Dinghy Show on the Main Stage. Series sponsor GJW Direct has provided a crystal trophy for the winner. Thanks to generous support from our Series sponsors, we have some great prizes for competitors, and also for spectators. For the sailors, of course the top three will get their rewards but we like to honour people from the top to the bottom of the results for having the sheer guts and perseverance to venture out into the depths of winter.
The same goes for spectators and volunteers who help run these events, so we're handing out prizes for the best media contributions, whether they be photos via Flickr, videos through YouTube, or tweeting or blogging through the Series Facebook page. Some classes have adopted the Series as their own class winter travellers' series, and we welcome and encourage this.
In addition to title sponsor GJW Direct Insurance, the UK's largest direct boat insurer, our silver-level sponsors are:
- Gul - Experts in Performance Apparel
- TridentUK - The Dinghy & Yacht Shop on the Web
- Overboard - The Leaders in Waterproof Bags & Cases
and we also have prizes from one of the Series' longest-standing supporters: Holt, renowned for their dinghy and catamaran marine hardware.
Overall Results from the Series can be found here.
What is the GJW Direct SailJuice Winter Series?
The Series incorporated eight big winter handicap racing events, with competitors counting their best four scores. For more information visit www.SailJuiceSeries.com