Simon Horsfield and Katie Burridge put together another consistent performance in their 2000 dinghy to become the first ever double winners in the 11-year history of the Seldén SailJuice Winter Series.
The Series has become the de facto winter handicap championship of dinghy racing in the UK, and it caps off a stunning 12 months after Horsfield and Burridge won last year’s winter season, followed by victory at the inaugural Grand Final of the Great British Sailing Challenge last September at Rutland Water, and now a repeat Sailjuice victory.
Although there were eight events scheduled this year, Storm Dennis put paid to the final event - the Oxford Blue - last weekend. There could have been some further shuffling of the leaderboard although Horsfield and Burridge’s lead was already secure after a podium place at the phenomenally breezy Tiger Trophy at Rutland a few weeks ago.
Exactly 10 years ago, Peter Barton finished runner-up in the first ever edition of the series, then known as the Sailjuice Global Warm-up. On that occasion the Lymington was trapezing around the circuit in a Cherub doublehander. This time Barton took second place in an RS Aero 7, demonstrating his prowess in a range of dinghies. Last year’s runner-up was Pete Gray at the helm of a National 18. Gray - overall winner of the SailJuice Winter Series in 2012 at the helm of a Scorpion - switched to a GP14 which was a popular choice among many big names in the dinghy scene. Sailing with Richard Pepperdine, Gray emerged once again with a great score from this ever-challenging Series.
Horsfield and Burridge, who competed in all seven events, will be the stars of the show at the Seldén SailJuice Winter Series prizegiving, due to be held at the RYA Dinghy Show, Saturday 29 February, 1015am. Come along and celebrate all the winners, relive all the action this winter and learn about plans for next winter, as well as Season #2 of the Great British Sailing Challenge (GBSC). All the events in the Winter Series form part of the GBSC which moves on into the warmer half of the year with a brand new event at Bristol Corinthian Yacht Club, the Cheddar Ales Chase on 4/5 April.
The 11th edition of the Seldén Sailjuice Winter Series saw growing numbers, with nearly 700 entries, over 1,000 sailors from 94 different classes, representing over 350 clubs. With three events sold out in advance and others at near capacity, this winter has seen growing interest in big handicap events. There were more media activities such as live videos and interviews, with all events GPS tracked by SailRacer, all of which contributed to more people following the Series online, with unique site visitors up 27% to nearly 10,000.
Winner Simon Horsfield commented: “It’s been another great year for Katie and me, sailing our 2000, winning the Great British Sailing Challenge, and the 2000 Millennium Series. Sailing is a tough sport and whilst our National Championship campaign didn’t quite go to plan, disappointed but undeterred we set our sights on the Seldén Sailjuice Winter Series. Undoubtedly more focused as the reigning champions we said to ourselves - what if we could retain the title, just how amazing would that be?
“Perhaps that self-induced pressure had an effect on the first few events in the 19/20 series, where it’s fair to say we sailed pretty poorly. It was at the stunning Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club, on paper our worst event of the series, that in fact was the first time we felt we sailed well and regained our confidence. This was the turning point for us in the series, winning the Grafham Grand Prix a few days later.”
Katie Burridge added: “The 2019/20 Seldén Sailjuice Winter Series has created some seriously great memories for us that we will remember for a long time to come. The windiest Tiger Trophy we can remember which felt like sailing on the sea, alongside a fast and thrilling Bloody Mary with a huge turnout. That’s what we love most about the series and about sailing, and why we come back year after year. A huge thank you to all the sponsors and especially to Simon and Claire [Lovesey], Andy [Rice] and Tim [Olin] for their time and effort in creating another great series in 2019/20.”
There are many other category winners in the many Series within the Series, so please come along and support them at the prizegiving.
Seldén SailJuice Winter Series Prize Giving
RYA Dinghy Show (Sat 29 February - 10.15)
The official prizegiving takes place on Saturday 29 February at the West Hall Stage, near the entrance of the RYA Dinghy Show in Alexandra Palace, North London. Series organisers Andy Rice and Simon Lovesey will present the highlights from this Winter, with a vast array of prizes to be awarded across the numerous categories. Andy and Simon will be on the stand from 1000am on Saturday soon after the doors open, ready for the prizegiving which will start at 1015am. Book your RYA Dinghy Show tickets now.
https://www.rya.org.uk/dinghy-show/Pages/tickets.aspx
For more info on the Seldén SailJuice Winter Series, go to www.sailjuiceseries.com
Great British Sailing Challenge - The events in the Seldén SailJuice Winter Series were also part of the new Great British Sailing Challenge. The next GBSC event is the Cheddar Ales Chase at Bristol Corinthian Yacht Club on 4/5 April. Online entry is open, so book your spot now at: www.sailingchallenge.org
Top 10 Overall
Name Class Club
1 Simon Horsfield & Katie Burridge, 2000 ARMY SA
2 Peter Barton, RS Aero 7 LYMINGTON TOWN SC
3 Peter Gray & Richard Pepperdine, GP14 STAUNTON HAROLD
4 Tim Hire, RS Aero 7 LYMINGTON TOWNSC/ ROYAL LYMYC
5 Simon Hawkes, K1 WIMBLEBALL
6 Megan Ferguson & B. Harris, 420 FRENSHAM POND SAILING CLUB
7 Alastair Brown, Laser Radial GREAT MOOR SAILING CLUB
8 Tom Gillard & Rachael Rhodes, Scorpion SHEFFIELD VIKING SC
9 Ben Flower, Laser HISC
10 Garry Knott, Laser OGSTON SC
Sailing Chandlery Top Class
1. Laser
2. RS Aero 7
3. GP14
Trident Top Club
1. Lymington Town SC
2. Draycote Water SC
3. Burton SC
GBSC Youth
1 Tim HIRE RS Aero 7 Royal Lymington YC / Lymington Town SC
2 Megan FERGUSON 420
3 James CROSSLEY Topper Datchet Water SC
GBSC Junior
1 James CROSSLEY Topper Datchet Water SC
2 Dylan MCPHERSON 420 Rya
3 Abigail LARR RS Aero 5 Northampton SC
GBSC 19-30
1 Tom GILLARD Scorpion Sheffield Viking SC
2 Dan JOHNSON Fireball Weston SC
3 Isaac MARSH Fireball Dovestone SC
GBSC 31-60
1 Simon Horsfield, 2000 Army Sailing Association / TISC
2 Peter Gray & Rachael Rhodes, GP14 Staunton Harold SC
3 Steve & Sarah Cockerill, RS400 Stokes Bay SC
GBSC Masters
1 Philip Meakins, Osprey
2 Val MILLWARD Challenger
3 Jack ALDERDICE Challenger
GBSC Female
1 Megan FERGUSON 420
2 Val MILLWARD Challenger Rutland SC
3 Abigail LARR RS Aero 5 Northampton SC
GBSC Fast Asymmetric
1 Steve Cockerill, RS400
2 Mark Barnes B14
3 Robert GULLAN RS800
GBSC Fast Symmetric
1 Philip MEAKINS Osprey Warsash SC
2 Dan JOHNSON Fireball Weston SC
3 Richard SMITH RS600 Wilsonian SC
.
GBSC Slow Asymmetric
1 Simon HORSFIELD 2000
2 Luke FISHER RS Vareo Emberton Park SC
3 Matt FOWLER RS200
GBSC Slow Symmetric
1 Peter GRAY GP14 Staunton Harold SC
2 Tim HIRE RS Aero 7 Royal Lymington YC / Lymington Town SC
3 Thomas GILLARD Scorpion Sheffield Viking SC
THE EVENTS
The following events were in the Seldén SailJuice Winter Series 2019/20):
Fernhurst Books Draycote Dash, Draycote Water Sailing Club
23 & 24 November 2019
Datchet Flyer, Datchet Water Sailing Club
7 & 8 December 2019
Brass Monkey, Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club
27 December 2019
Grafham Grand Prix, Grafham Water Sailing Club
29 December 2019
Bloody Mary, Queen Mary Sailing Club
11 January 2020
King George Gallop, King George Sailing Club
26 January 2020
John Merricks Tiger Trophy, Rutland Sailing Club
1 & 2 February 2020
Oxford Blue, Oxford Sailing Club
15 February 2020
Prizegiving, RYA Dinghy Show, Alexandra Palace
1015am Saturday 29 February 2020
You can find out more about the Series here: www.SailJuiceSeries.com
