Gillard goes 3 in a row with Chase victory - Seldén Sailjuice Winter Series Event 3
by Andy Rice 16 Dec 2025 17:42 GMT
13-14 December 2025
Even with a different crew pulling the strings at the front of his Merlin Rocket, Tom Gillard proves unstoppable as he takes a third straight victory at the Robline Polar Chase, Event #3 of the Seldén Sailjuice Winter Series...
Tom Gillard and Arran Holman won both races of last Saturday's Robline UK Polar Chase, the third of eight events in this season's Seldén Sailjuice Winter Series.
Even with his regular crew Rachael Gray stepping out for the weekend and Holman moving into the front of the bright red Merlin Rocket, Gillard is proving invincible this winter. As the defending champion from last winter, Gillard and Gray/Holman look well on track to take the trophy in this 17th edition of the Seldén Sailjuice Winter Series.
This was the second year that Chase Sailing Club near Birmingham has hosted an event in the Series, and yet again the sailors in 56 assorted dinghy classes said how much they enjoyed and appreciated the friendly welcome. The sun was shining and the wind just about blew, although rarely above 10 knots.
Taxi! Just missed it...
In the pursuit race, initially a Topper took up the running before being overtaken by a Miracle. Later into the race it was Andy 'Taxi' Davis who looked like he might steer his OK dinghy to victory before being caught in the last minute by Gillard and Holman in the Merlin.
Gillard's impeccably sailed Merlin dominated the average-lap race, although more surprisingly it was the ageing Laser 3000 of local duo Emma Robertson and Bryn Abendstern who finished runners-up on corrected time. In third was Eden Hyland sailing one of the new singlehanded hiking dinghies from Hartley Boats, the Zenith.
So it was a dominant victory for Gillard and Holman, followed by two of the new Zeniths, with former Blaze champion Harland in second ahead of Sam Watson, a GP14 National Champion who won this event a year ago in his GP. In the top 20 overall finishers, 17 different classes were represented, another solid endorsement of the well-curated Great Lakes PY numbers.
Find the full Chase results here
To the Dales!
Now there's a brief respite in the winter action before the next event in the Series, the Yorkshire Dales Brass Monkey on 27 December, followed a week later by the Grafham Grand Prix on 4 January 2026.
Enter Today
Get your entries in to the upcoming events here.
Navigators & General Coaching with Simon Horsfield
Resident coach of the Seldén Sailjuice Winter Series, Simon Horsfield, is providing tips and advice throughout the eight events of the season. Supported by new sponsor, insurance company Navigators & General, Simon is a three-time winner of the series and well qualified to help sailors of all levels. He's doing the next of his online debriefs at 8pm, Wednesday 17 December. You can join here.
The Events
The following events are in the Seldén SailJuice Winter Series 2025/26:
- Fernhurst Books Draycote Dash, Draycote Water Sailing Club - 22 & 23 November 2025
- Sailing Chandlery Datchet Flyer, Datchet Water Sailing Club - 6 & 7 December 2025
- Robline UK Polar Chase, Chase Sailing Club - 13 December 2025
- Yorkshire Dales Brass Monkey, Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club - 27 December 2025
- Grafham Grand Prix, Grafham Water Sailing Club - 4 January 2026
- GJW Direct Bloody Mary, Queen Mary Sailing Club - 10 January 2026
- John Merricks Tiger Trophy, Rutland Sailing Club - 31 January 2026 & 1 February 2026
- Oxford Blue, Oxford Sailing Club - 14 February 2026
- Prizegiving at RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show, Farnborough - 21 February 2026
You can find out more about the Series here: www.SailJuiceSeries.com