Andrew Peake has closed the gap on series leaders in the SailJuice Global Warm-Up 2011, the Merlin Rocket of Matt Biggs and Ben Hollis. Peake scored two bullets in the asymmetric division at the Steve Nicholson Memorial Trophy at Northampton Sailing Club last Saturday. Two 3rd places gave Biggs and Hollis 4th overall in the doublehanders fleet, to add to their other consistent scores from the Grafham Grand Prix and Bloody Mary.
With all three events counting towards the series leaderboard at this stage, Biggs and Hollis lead with 29.08 points to Peake's 32.29. However when these two competitors discard the worst of their scores thus far, the Musto Skiff leads the Merlin by just over 4 points. In other words, there's nothing in it, and all to play for at the final of the four events this weekend, the John Merricks Tiger Trophy at Rutland Water.
© Chris Weston / SailJuice.com
Biggs and Hollis won last year's Tiger Trophy, so they know their way around Rutland Water, and Peake will have to be on top form to topple the Merlin. Then again, there are others are waiting in the wings when the discard kicks in, notably Simon Childs's Phantom and Tom Stewart/ Rachel Williamson's National 12, both of whom have the ability to displace the Merlin and the Musto from the top of the tree if they finish high up the Rutland rankings.
With a record 172 boats competing at last weekend's Steve Nicholson Trophy, the asymmetric and non-asymmetric divisions took it in turns to race on the confined waters of Pitsford Reservoir. It's for weekends like this and the Grafham Grand Prix that the scoring formula devised by SailRacer.co.uk comes into play, as SailRacer's Simon Lovesey explained: "Scores for each fleet are referenced and adjusted to the fleet that has the most number of entries across the whole Series, which up to this point was the Bloody Mary with 194 boats."
On the other hand, the Tiger Trophy pits all competitors against each other on the same leaderboard, with the whole fleet racing on Rutland Water at the same time. Looking at the long-range weather forecast, with big south-westerlies expected, the outcome of the SailJuice Global Warm-Up could yet be determined by who capsizes the least.
With the final prize-giving for the series set to take place at the RYA Volvo Dinghy Show at Alexandra Palace on the weekend of 5/6 March 2011, there are some great prizes being provided by: Rooster Sailing, Hyde Sails, Holt, RS Sailing, Laser Performance, YachtsandYachting.com and SailJuice.com
Provisional Top 10 Standings after three events
Pos Class HELM POINTS
1 Merlin Rocket Matt Biggs 29.08
2 Musto Skiff Andrew Peake 32.29
3 Phantom Andrew Wilde 103.46
4 Musto Skiff Ian Martin 124.16
5 Merlin Rocket Paul Hollis 135.45
6 Phantom Andrew Gregory 213.28
7 Phantom Simon Childs 213.61
8 National 12 Tom Stewart 217
9 Fireball Chips Howarth 236.02
10 Lark Stuart Hydon 236.15
For full results: www.sailracer.org/globalwarmup
Nick Craig is the early leader of the SailJuice Global Warm-up 2011 after winning the single-handed division of the Grafham Grand Prix on Sunday. Craig, from Frensham Pond Sailing Club, scored equal points with fellow Phantom sailor Simon Childs from Hayling Island. Childs won the first race, and was second in the next, while Craig scored his second and first the other way round, and won the singlehander division by virtue of winning the final race. The Phantom fleet dominated the division, taking the first five places overall.
Musto Skiff sailor Andy Peake has found himself as the new, unexpected and somewhat reluctant champion of the SailJuice Global Warm-Up 2011. Almost a fortnight since the final event of the UK dinghy winter travellers’ series concluded at a windy John Merricks Tiger Trophy at Rutland Water, controversial debate about the legality of their experimental sails has forced the winners, Merlin Rocket sailors Matt Biggs and Ben Hollis, to relinquish the title.
The SailJuice Global Warm-Up 2011 concluded in dramatic fashion at a very windy John Merricks Tiger Trophy last weekend. While the 505 of Andy Smith and Tim Needham swept all before them to win all three races on Saturday and a £1,000 cheque for their hat trick, the Merlin Rocket of Matt Biggs and Ben Hollis quietly went about its business to finish 3rd overall at Rutland Water.
Last year Matt Biggs and Ben Hollis won the Doublehanded division at the Steve Nicholson Memorial Trophy, and this year the Merlin Rocket sailors also find themselves at the top of the series leaderboard at the half way stage of the SailJuice Global Warm-Up. 
At the halfway stage of the SailJuice Global Warm-Up 2011, Matt Biggs and Ben Hollis have sailed their Merlin Rocket to the top of the leaderboard after notching up a useful 9th place from 238 entries in this weekend’s 
Matt Biggs and Ben Hollis sailed their Merlin Rocket to victory in the John Merricks Tiger Trophy at Rutland Water last weekend. Biggs and Hollis have now scored consecutive wins in the SailJuice Global Warm-Up, after winning the Doublehanded division of the Steve Nicholson Memorial Trophy the previous weekend.
After 13 years of trying, the £1,000 cheque to the first team to win all races at the John Merricks Tiger Trophy has gone to Andy Smith and Tim Needham, who conquered some fierce conditions in their 505 this weekend. Some competitors were surprised when race officer David Wilkins, an Olympic silver medallist, decided to send sailors out for the three handicap races on Saturday. "David reckons it's only 20 knots," muttered competitors grimly in the changing rooms, looking as though they were about to sent out to almost certain doom. 
Tom Jeffcoate and Tom Pygall won the John Merricks Tiger Trophy 2012 by the skin of their teeth. Competing in sub-zero conditions, the Scorpion National Champion equalled Merlin Rocket racers Matt Biggs and Ben Hollis from Blithfield with 20 points apiece from the four races. But on the tie-break the trophy went to the Scorpion sailors.
With the Steve Nicholson Memorial Trophy just completed, the SailJuice Global Warm-Up 2012 has passed the half-way stage, with a Fireball still sitting in pole position. It was a light wind regatta at Northampton last Saturday, but it could be a different story at the Tiger Trophy this weekend....
The third edition of the SailJuice Global Warm-up brings together five of the biggest winter handicap racing events into a unified series, to find out just who is tough enough to race their way through the brutal cold of a British winter. It kicks off with the Grafham Grand Prix on 2 January 2012.
