As it’s name implies, the Bloody Mary can be a bruising affair. It’s normally blisteringly cold, sometimes below freezing. So if you fancy a crack at this winter classic, this Saturday is the time to head to west London while the weather is reasonably kind. Sponsored for the first time by GJW Direct, the classic pursuit race looks set for pretty mild conditions in moderate to fresh westerly breezes.
There is the usual roll-call of legends such as Roger Gilbert and Ben McGrane who won this race with about 20 minutes to spare in an International 14 a few years back. However, that was before the Great Lakes variation on the standard RYA handicap numbers were introduced, and this weekend should produce a much tighter battle for line honours, where the outcome will most likely remain in the balance until the dying minutes of the race.
There is a huge range of classes represented, with the Flying Dutchman making a rare appearance thanks to Ian Keely and John Matthews from Waveney and Oulton Broad Yacht Club. The biggest class by number is currently the RS Aero 7 singlehander, with Mr Selden himself, Steve Norbury, among the strong Aero line-up.
Queen Mary Sailing Club have posted an online briefing by
Charles Wand-Tetley here…
Meanwhile here’s an update on the Series so far…
Selden SailJuice Winter Series Overall Rankings
As we move into the second half of the series, the overall ranking are becoming very close, and it looks like there were will be several boats in contention for the top spot, particularly once discards start to come into play after this weekend. Currently 37 boats have three or more results, with four results needed to qualify and three events to go. Tom Gillard, 2012/13 Series Winner (Solo – Sheffield Viking SC), holds onto top spot, with Brass Monkey Winners, Colin and Olly Murray (Norfolk Punt, Royal Marines SC), up two places to second, and another father and son pairing, Ben and Simon Hawkes (Osprey – Castle Cove SC), completing the podium.
Trident Top Club
Hosts Grafham Water SC were top club at Selden SailJuice Winter Series #4. Previous winners Burghfield SC hold onto overall number 1 spot for the Trident Top Club rankings, with Chase SC in second and Staunton Harold SC up to third. Defending champion Rutland SC jump 3 places to fourth overall, looking to make a last minute dash to the top in the second half of the 2018/19 Selden SailJuice Winter Series.
GUL Top Lady
Previous winner Eleanor Craig (Radial – Draycote Water SC) moves to top spot in the GUL Top Lady Rankings after Selden SailJuice Winter Series #4, with Val Millward (Challenger – Rutland SC) and Lydia Barber (Radial – Blithfield SC) up to third.
Great British Sailing Challenge
Some of the events in the Selden SailJuice Winter Series also form part of the brand new year-round series, the Great British Sailing Challenge
The third GBSC qualifier was held at the Brass Monkey. After the extreme conditions of the Datchet Flyer, YDSC delivered a gentle breeze of around 8 kts, but with some random gusts that had a big impact on the results. Fleet C (hiking singlehanders) started first and enjoyed a nice gust peaking at 11 kts just after their start, with the other starts delayed due to recalls and the breeze falling back, Fleet C experienced a big advantage. With Dynamic Handicapping and GBSC Performance Index taking account of some of these variables, the playing field was levelled and a more even spread of classes seen. In the overall rankings, Sam Mettam, Fireball. is still on top after a stellar performance at Datchet, Colin and Olly Murray (Norfolk Punt), move up to second after their win at Yorkshire Dales.
SpeedSix Challenge
With a gentle breeze at the Brass Monkey, the SailRacer GPS trackers were still able to record sustained double figure speeds for the 49ers, with Ian Craven and Terry Pressdee topping the SpeedSix Challenge Speedwall at 11.81 kts. On corrected speeds local Vortex sailor David Smith was the fastest.
Sailing Chandlery Top Class
After a strong showing at the Grafham GP, defending champions the Solo Class had a big presence at Selden SailJuice Winter Series #4, posting some strong results across their three top boats in each race to jump four places to lead the Sailing Chandlery Top Class rankings. The Blazes who have enjoyed top spot since round 2, dropped to second and the Fireballs completing the podium. With only a 5% difference across the top 7 classes, things are very close as we head into the second half of the series.
THE EVENTS
The following events constitute the Seldén SailJuice Winter Series 2018/19:
Fernhurst Books Draycote Dash, Draycote Water Sailing Club
17 & 18 November 2018
Datchet Flyer, Datchet Water Sailing Club
8 & 9 December 2018
Brass Monkey, Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club
27 December 2018
Grafham Grand Prix, Grafham Water Sailing Club
30 December 2018
Bloody Mary, Queen Mary Sailing Club
12 January 2019
John Merricks Tiger Trophy, Rutland Sailing Club
2 & 3 February 2019
Oxford Blue, Oxford Sailing Club
16 February 2019
You can find out more about the Series here: www.SailJuiceSeries.com
Photo Credits: Tim Olin
Notes to editors:
Current and previous winners of the Seldén Sailjuice Winter Series
2017/18 Alistair Goodwin (Laser)
2016/17 Matt Mee & Emma Norris (RS200)
2015/16 Ian Dobson & Andy Tunnicliffe (GP14)
2014/15 Nick Craig & various crews (Merlin Rocket)
2013/14 Michael Sims (Solo)
2012/13 Tom Gillard & Simon Potts (Fireball)
2011/12 Peter Gray & Rachael Rhodes (Scorpion)
2010/11 Andy Peake (Musto Skiff)
2009/10 Olly Turner & Richard Whitworth (Merlin Rocket)
SailJuice.com is the ‘how to sail and race faster’ website, with hundreds of articles and exclusive interviews with National, World and Olympic Champions. Professional sailing journalist and editor of SailJuice.com, Andy Rice, came up with the concept of the SailJuice Winter Series (originally known as the SailJuice Global Warm-Up) as a way of increasing participation levels in dinghy racing during the off-season in the UK.
SailRacer manages event websites and processes online entry for major National, International, Youth and training events, providing online scoring, analysis and advanced sports presentation including GPS tracking and live video.
Seldén Mast Ltd is the world leader in dinghy spars. More races are won by Seldén Spars than any other brand. Dinghy spars are made using 6082T6 aluminium with CNC cut tapers, automated welding and heat treating resulting in the highest quality and most consistent dinghy spars available. Seldén produces about 400 carbon masts per year for boats including high performance dinghies and race yachts.
