Tom Gillard and Rach Gray win again, this time at the Tiger Trophy - Seldén Sailjuice Winter Series

Tom Gillard and Rach Gray win the Tiger Trophy 2026 at Rutland © Tim Olin / www.olinphoto.co.uk

The 2026 edition of the John Merricks Tiger Trophy attracted nearly 100 entries from 49 different classes. With a star-studded cast, this was set to be the most competitive yet in this season's Seldén Sailjuice Winter Series. Yet somehow the ever consistent Tom Gillard and Rach Gray came through again to sail their Merlin Rocket to overall victory.

With representation from foilers, skiffs, keelboats, trimarans, sportsboats, singlehanders, doublehanders, hikers and trapeze boats, it was one of the most eclectic gatherings of the UK small-boat racing scene.

The fleet welcomed several new or rarely seen classes, the VX 2, VX Air, Switch and Ghost (a new build of an old class). There was a bias in numbers towards the faster boats, with Merlins Rockets unusually slipping into the slow fleet.

Tiger Trophy 2026 at Rutland - photo © Tim Olin / www.olinphoto.co.uk

Race 1

With the wind gusting close to 20 knots for the start of racing on Saturday, Alex Adams' Moth led the way ahead of fellow foiler Simon Hiscocks in the one-design Switch. Both the foilers completed five laps compared with most conventional boats which completed just two or three. It was a fast-boat benefit, with Jono Shelley's Musto Skiff third on corrected time ahead of two new designs from the Ovington Boats stable. The VX Air steered by Ben Whaley and crewed by top Musto Skiff sailor Rob Richardson was fourth ahead of the VX Two sailed by father and son team, Danny and Matthew Boatman.

Race 2

In lighter winds for the next race, 10-year-old Benjamin Pascoe and his dad Sam (2024 Musto Skiff World Champion and Seldén Sailjuice Winter Series Champion in the same year) were first across the line with their 2000 on corrected time ahead of the ever-consistent Tom Gillard and Rach Gray in the Merlin Rocket. It was an all-round better race for the slower boats, with top trapeze boat being Musto Skiff National Champion Eddie Bridle in ninth. The runaway foilers struggled in the softer breeze, with Alex Adams only 90th as he worked hard to keep his Moth flying.

Race 3

The third race started in a solid 8 knots but eased throughout. Principal race officer David Wilkins commented: "A key decision in this race was whether to send the fast fleet on a second lap or stop at the end of lap 1. We decided to stop as the leaders took 25 minutes to do one lap and probably for the fairness of the race was the best decision. The wind kept up at least 5 knots until all boats finished and the died as they were sailing back to the club.

"There was an interesting wind bend on the start line, only picked up by a few sailors. It was even at the starboard end, but at the port end there was a 5-10 degree favourable bias. I would describe it as a 'Lake Garda effect'. That is, to start at the port end but with the need to get across to the right side of the course as soon as possible. The majority of the fleet started near the starboard end in all three races, with the thought that there was more wind on the starboard side of the course."

Gillard and Gray took their first race win in the third race of the afternoon, finishing 40 seconds ahead of fellow Merlin sailors tom Ballantine and Maddy Anderson in second, with the Snipe of Matthew Wolstenholme and Eiichi Higuchi taking third.

Tiger Trophy 2026 at Rutland - photo © Tim Olin / www.olinphoto.co.uk

Tiger Dinner

The evening meal on Saturday was a departure from normal with the new Indian chef serving up one of his very tasty chicken curries and rice and amazing mango chutney. It was a great opportunity to share war stories from the day, and for sailors from different classes to look forward to the season to come.

Pursuit Race

Sunday started with a sunny but cold morning, and about 8 knots. In the pursuit race, Megan Pascoe's sit-in keelboat, the 2.4mR, managed to hold the lead for the first three-quarters of the race, before being overhauled by the local Firefly of Andrew McKee and Martin Penty's Streaker. In the 5-7 knots of breeze, and getting more and more patchy across Rutland Water, McKee enjoyed a good battle near the front along with the Pascoe son-and-father 2000. But with 10 minutes to the finish, once again it was the irrepressible Merlin of Gillard and Gray that came across the moving finish line in the lead. This sealed their fourth event victory of the season.

For some of the new classes it was a chance to check in on performance and see how they fared against a national-level fleet of sailors in established fleets. Rob Richardson, who works for Ovington Boats, enjoyed crewing the VX Air. "A great boat, it sails very well and is very fast," he said. "We already knew it was going to be very fast when it was windier like race one, but we were more impressed by how well it went when the wind died off; you were able to sail it more like a traditional dinghy rather then a skiff. I enjoyed it a lot, although obviously I'm biased," admitted the Ovi jockey.

Tiger Trophy 2026 at Rutland - photo © Tim Olin / www.olinphoto.co.uk

Top speeds (sustained over 20 secs):

Alex ADAMS, MOTH 490 - 23.95 kts
Simon HISCOCKS, Switch - 1126 22.78 kts
Ben WHALEY/ Rob RICHARDSON, VX Air 0 - 14.09 kts

The adjusted handicap speeds worked out to be the same top three as above.

Specific Prizes:

Youth U19 - ILCA 7, Ewan McNally
Junior U16 - 3000, Dylan Curts and Gabe Beatty
Lady - 2.4mR, Megan Pascoe
Club - Bough Beech

There was a very good turnout of 2000s and Snipes, plus 505, Merlins, Fireball, Osprey, Finn, Musto Skiff, Streaker. Surprisingly no 420s entered for the first time ever in the Tiger Trophy.

Everards Brewery again generously supported the event with Tiger Prizes for all the winners. David Wilkins commented: "We very much appreciate their continued support enabling the club to continue to donate entry income to a selected charity."

Tiger Trophy 2026 at Rutland - photo © Tim Olin / www.olinphoto.co.uk

Next up

Two more events in the Series follow in quick succession:
Grafham Grand Prix, Grafham Water Sailing Club, 8 February 2026 (rescheduled from original date)
Oxford Blue, Oxford Sailing Club, 14 February 2026

Enter at enter.sailracer.org/events/enter-series-mobile.asp?eventid=227303

Navigators and General Coaching debrief

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.

With his wife Katie, Simon helmed his 2000 to third overall in the Tiger Trophy. Join Simon for his debrief on Wednesday, 4 February, 8:00 - 9:00pm (Time zone: Europe/London)

Video call link: meet.google.com/mdo-ihbk-tej

Tiger Trophy 2026 at Rutland - photo © Tim Olin / www.olinphoto.co.uk

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
• GJW Direct Bloody Mary, Queen Mary Sailing Club - 10 January 2026
• John Merricks Tiger Trophy, Rutland Sailing Club - 31 January 2026 & 1 February 2026
• Grafham Grand Prix, Grafham Water Sailing Club - 8 February 2026 (rescheduled from original date)
• 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 at www.SailJuiceSeries.com

Tiger Trophy 2026 at Rutland - photo © Tim Olin / www.olinphoto.co.uk

Overall Results:

Tiger Trophy 2026 at Rutland - photo © Tim Olin / www.olinphoto.co.uk