Crewed by his father Sam (overall winner of the Series in his Musto Skiff two years ago) at 10 years old Ben Pascoe becomes the youngest winner of an event in the Series, as well as finishing runner-up in the overall standings behind this year’s winners, Tom Gillard and Rach Gray in their Merlin Rocket.
There were 66 entries representing 34 classes, ranging from Toppers, Challengers, sportsboats and full-on foilers. It was patchy weather for the Oxford Blue, with lots of wind holes across Farmoor Reservoir. It was good to see the Oxford Sailing Club Race team efficiently deliver three races before the wind fully shut down.
The lighter conditions favoured the slower boats which were able to perform closer to their Great Lakes handicap numbers. In the first race, Joe Jones and Charlie Howard from the host club sailed their RS200 to victory ahead of the Pascoes’ 2000, with the National 12 of Kevin Iles and Iolanthe Creasy in third.
In the next race, Grant Blake and Andrew Jarvis, also from Oxford SC, took their K6 keelboat to victory with Jones and Howard second and Chris Gould and Sophie Mackley’s Merlin Rocket in third place.
The Pascoes took the win in the third and final race, doing just enough to beat Jones and Howard’s RS200 on tiebreak and take the overall victory. Iles and Creasy finished third overall behind the RS200, while last year’s Oxford Blue winning Snipe, sailed by Matthew Wolstenholme and Eiichi Higuchi, took fourth overall ahead of Tim Platt’s Zenith in fifth.
A good number of the leading contenders in the Seldén Sailjuice Winter Series overall rankings and Magic Marine extracted rankings were competing in the final event, with many of the final positions only decided at the very end of the Series. Top ILCA 7 sailor from Spain, Michael Ten Bokum, was over visiting family in the UK and borrowed a boat to take part in the Series which he’d heard a lot about, even from overseas.
The prize-giving for the Seldén Sailjuice Winter Series takes place soon after doors open this Saturday at the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show in Farnborough.
Top Speeds (measured by SailRacer GPS trackers)
Sustained Top speeds, all in Race 1:
George BARKER (K6) 5.35 kts
Kevin ILES (N12) 4.38 kts
Benjamin PASCOE (2000) 4.66 kts
Top speeds, adjusted to handicap:
Michael Trueman (Streaker)
Jasper Barnham (GP14)
Benjamin Pascoe (2000)
Ben Pascoe, along with Tom Gillard and Rach Gray, is also one of the YJA Sailor of the Year nominees .
Results from Oxford Blue are below, and the Overall Results from the Series are also available.
Navigators and General Coaching debrief
Resident coach of the Seldén Sailjuice Winter Series, Simon Horsfield, has been 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.
On Wednesday 18 Feb at 8.30pm, Navigators & General Coach, Simon Horsfield, will be looking back at some of the key learning points from the Oxford Blue, highlighting the moments that made the difference on the water.
Join the video call: meet.google.com/ejh-gbiq-xee
Past Winners of the Seldén Sailjuice Winter Series
2025/26 Tom Gillard & Rachael Gray (Merlin Rocket)
2024/25 Tom Gillard & Rachael Gray (Scorpion)
2023/24 Sam Pascoe (Musto Skiff)
2022/23 Peter Gray & Geoff Edwards (Osprey)
2021/22 Roger Gilbert & Ben McGrane (505)
2020/21 Simon Horsfield & Katie Burridge/ Natalie Johnson (2000)
2019/20 Simon Horsfield & Katie Burridge (2000)
2018/19 Simon Horsfield & Katie Burridge (2000)
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)
The Events
The following events were in the Seldén SailJuice Winter Series 2025/26:
You can find out more about the Series at www.SailJuiceSeries.com
Oxford Blue Results:
Navigators & General SailJuice Winter Series, UK's premier winter handicap racing.
