D-Zeros at the GJW Direct Sailjuice Winter Series 2016/17
by D-Zero Class Association 8 Mar 2017 14:53 GMT
8 March 2017
Ian Morgan at the Grafham Grand Prix © Tim Olin /
www.olinphoto.co.uk
With the GJW Direct SailJuice Winter Series 2016/17 now concluded and the spray has settled down it is time to review the series and and reflect on another successful winter of sailing for the class stalwarts.
In the overall standings current National Champion Ian Morgan led the way coming home 14th overall. With some good placings at the Draycote Dash (7th) and the Datchet Flyer (8th) it seemed a place on the podium might be on the cards. Unfortunately the heavy traffic at the Grafham Grand Prix (21st) and a very light wind Bloody Mary (202nd) put paid to those hopes. Similar heavy traffic and light winds at the Oxford Blue (32nd) rounded off what had started out as a promising series for Ian. Still 14th overall in a field as competitive as this where the weather can play a large part in your results is a good achievement. Ian also, unsurprisingly, placed first in class ahead of Rob Lennox and Nigel Austin.
There are many other prize categories in the series as well, they are summarised below:
Dinghy Rope Top Class
The class placed 6th overall in this category. A great achievement and a testament to the sailor who are prepared to travel and get out on the water in the depths of winter even when the forecast does look dire. A better showing at the Brass Monkey could have seen the class up as high as second or third overall., Nigel Austin being he only D-Zero to make the trip.
Allen Most Improved
Nigel Austin placed equal second in this category showing improvement throughout the series with Rob Lennox coming 5th in this ranking. This shows how, even after a bad race, there is still something to play for in the Winter Series.
Gul Top Lady
Mandy Sweet placed 7th in this category despite only making it to 3 events this year. With a few more ladies making their way in to the class this year perhaps Mandy may face a bit more competition over the 2017 season.
SpeedSix Speed Wall
With 3 D-Zeros making it in to the top 10 and the only class to have multiple boats in the top 10 this shows that the boat is quick. Ian Morgan placing 3rd in this category, Tom Southwell 6th and Rob Campbell 8th.
With 56 entries over the series the D-Zero has once again proved that it is a very active class despite having been around for less than 3 years. With the class also hoping to achieve entry to to 50 club at their 2017 nationals the coming year is looking good.