A WINTER SERIES FOR THE SUMMER

So series co-organisers Andy Rice and Simon Lovesey have agreed with title sponsor  Seldén Masts to continue to the series through to a concluding event at Rutland Water, the rescheduled John Merricks Tiger Trophy on the last weekend of August.

“This is probably the first time a winter series will be taking place during the warm months of the year,” said Andy. “But the focus for me and Simon has always been to maximise participation in dinghy racing by whatever means we can. With so many summer regattas and national championships being cancelled already, and the ever-present problem of too many of the smaller classes trying to organise single-class open meetings where they can’t even guarantee a turnout of 20 boats, we’re looking to offer a more sustainable option with the multi-class handicap events throughout the spring and summer.

Simon has been spearheading the continuation of sailing wherever possible within Covid guidelines, via his non-for-profit organisation RestartSailing which he established during National Lockdown #1 in spring 2020. Simon said: “We are working with sailing clubs that are keen to make things happen wherever it is possible to do so in a safe, Covid-compliant manner. If any club or class wants us to help them put on a sustainable, profitable, fun and safe event, we’re ready to talk with them.”

So if you want to find out more, either as a competing sailor, class or sailing club, please contact Simon on: simon.lovesey@sailracer.co.uk

THE EVENTS

The following events are in the Seldén SailJuice Winter Series (Summer Edition!):

Alton Water, Suffolk, 27-28 March 2021

Paignton Open for Single Handers (P.O.S.H.), Paington SC, 8-9 May 2021

Grafham Belle, Grafham Water SC, 29-30 May 2021

Wilsonian River Challenge, Wilsonian SC, 26-27 June 2021

Bala Long Distance, Bala SC, 19-20 June 2021

Tiger Trophy, Rutland Water SC, 28-29 August 2021

You can find out more about the Series here: www.SailJuiceSeries.com

Meanwhile Simon and Andy have been busy hosting some informative and entertaining Facebook Live sessions looking at the history of dinghy sailing from a number of angles.

https://www.facebook.com/SeldenSailJuiceWinterSeries

To give you a flavour of these Facebook Live specials, here’s a list of the webinars hosted so far this winter:

THE FACEBOOK LIVE EVENTS HOSTED SO FAR…

Facebook Live – History of the Tiger Trophy

https://fb.watch/3CaKv8q3cz/

Facebook Live – Innovating for Better Racing

https://fb.watch/3Cd8SPHLbd/

Facebook Live – History of the Bloody Mary

https://fb.watch/3aWorFCHRv/

Facebook Live – Great Lakes Handicap System

https://fb.watch/2Ua5cxXeEn/

Facebook Live – Winter Winners, Past & Present

https://fb.watch/2Uak0QX6-p/

Facebook Live – History of the Draycote Dash

https://fb.watch/2UaefNdGJE/

Previous winners of the Seldén Sailjuice Winter Series

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)

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 Seldén unique XPS aluminium with CNC cut tapers, automated welding and heat treating resulting in the highest quality and most consistent dinghy spars available. Seldén also produces about 400 carbon masts per year for boats including high performance dinghies and race yachts using state of the art Mandrel Filament Moulding Technology.