Bringing the UK dinghy racing community together
The SailJuice Winter Series brings sailors from across the country together for some of the UK’s biggest and best-known winter handicap events.
Launched in 2009, the Series was created to unite a fragmented winter racing scene. Through collaboration, technology and a determination to make competitive sailing more accessible, it has grown into one of the most influential series in UK dinghy racing.
Today, the SailJuice Winter Series attracts around 1,000 sailors and 600 boats from nearly 100 different classes. The racing is open to everyone, from first-time winter competitors to national, world and Olympic-level sailors.
Racing for everyone
One of the strengths of the SailJuice Winter Series is the extraordinary variety of people and boats taking part.
Competitors range in age from eight to over 80, while the fleet includes everything from Toppers and traditional dinghies to multihulls, sportsboats, boards and high-performance foilers.
The Great Lakes handicap system helps these very different boats compete fairly. Developed through the Series, the system uses real race data to produce more representative handicaps and closer competition. It is now widely recognised for helping to create diverse leaderboards in which many different classes can succeed.
Alongside the overall Series results, dedicated rankings recognise achievement across a range of categories, including age groups, female sailors, clubs, classes, different boat types and older boats.
Innovation at the heart of the Series
Since its launch, SailJuice has introduced innovations that have helped shape grassroots sailing in the UK.
The Series was an early adopter of advance online entry through SailRacer, making it easier for competitors to enter events and helping host clubs plan with confidence.
Every event is also supported by GPS tracking. Spectators can follow the racing live, while competitors can replay races, analyse individual legs and compare their performance with other boats. The tracking data can also assist race teams when resolving scoring queries.
Photography, race reporting, video and personalised competitor communications keep the Series alive beyond the racecourse. Each winter generates extensive coverage across sailing websites, social media, class associations and clubs, helping sailors, supporters and the wider dinghy community follow the action.
Encouraging participation
Every SailJuice innovation has been driven by a simple ambition: to get more people racing.
That includes encouraging sailors to bring older but still competitive boats back onto the water. Thousands of serviceable dinghies remain unused in boat parks around the country, even though many could provide an affordable route into racing.
Dedicated handicaps and extracted rankings help recognise sailors who successfully campaign older boats. This has already encouraged competitors of all ages to restore, improve and race boats that might otherwise have remained ashore.
The Series also brings clubs, classes and other organisations together to discuss the future of the sport. Its stakeholder forums have explored participation, fair handicapping and greater collaboration across the UK sailing community.
A national celebration of winter racing
The SailJuice Winter Series is built around leading winter events hosted by clubs across the country. Together, they provide months of competitive, welcoming and varied racing.
Since 2014, the season has concluded with the Series prize-giving at the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show. Around 100 prizes are presented across the overall standings and the many individual ranking categories, celebrating achievement throughout the fleet.
Previous Series champions include leading names from across the sport, but SailJuice is about much more than the front of the results sheet. It is about sailors of different ages, backgrounds, abilities and ambitions sharing the same racecourse.
Meet the organisers
The SailJuice Winter Series is organised by Andy Rice and Simon Lovesey.
Andy is an accomplished dinghy sailor and sailing journalist who has competed successfully in classes including the 470, 49er and International 14. A former Bloody Mary winner, he has also worked at multiple Olympic Games and writes for leading marine and international publications.
Simon combines sailing, technology and marketing expertise. Through SailRacer, he has helped move grassroots sailing into the digital age with innovations including online entry, results databases and GPS race tracking.
Together, Andy and Simon work with host clubs, volunteers, classes, partners and competitors to deliver a Series that continues to move UK dinghy racing forward.
Join the SailJuice Winter Series
Whether you are campaigning a championship-winning boat, restoring an older dinghy, trying winter racing for the first time or simply looking for great competition, the SailJuice Winter Series offers a place on the start line.
Explore the events, enter the next race and become part of the UK’s most diverse winter racing community.
