Where Peter Barton had capsized his way around the Bloody Mary three weeks earlier, the more moderate conditions suited his T-foiled Cherub to a T, with Barton and crew David Ellis winning both races of the Asymmetric fleet. Mike Cooke from Bristol Corinthian foiled his International Moth to victory in both races of the 7-boat foiling fleet.
© www.chunkypics.co.uk: Andy Smith & Tim Needham at the Steve Nicholson Trophy 2010
In the Doublehanders, such was the lead set by the sole 505 of Andy Smith and Tim Needham that it looked as though the Bloody Mary winners from Staunton Harold would add the Steve Nicholson Trophy to their cabinet. However it was the Merlin Rocket fleet who dominated proceedings, sailing on level terms with the Fireballs through the water whilst enjoying a handicap of 1014 compared with the Fireballs on 982. Two Merlins finished on equal points from the two races, but a 1st place in the morning heat gave victory to Matt Biggs and Ben Hollis ahead of Ian Dobson and Matt Mee.
Just as the Merlins dominated the Doublehanders, the Phantoms smoked the Singlehanders. Andy Couch got two bullets and Simon Hawkes got two 2nds ahead of Steve Bolland's RS300 in third place.
The Steve Nicholson Memorial Trophy was the second event of the brand new series, the SailJuice Global Warm-Up. This new winter travellers' series brings four of the biggest winter handicap racing events into a unified series, to find out just who is tough enough to race their way through Britain's toughest winter in more than 20 years. There are more than £2,000 of prizes up for grabs, not only for the winners but for sailors throughout the fleet.
After two events, victory at the Bloody Mary plus their 3rd at the Steve Nicholson keeps Smith & Needham's 505 in pole position, although Barton's dominant Cherub performance at Northampton combined with a 4th at Queen Mary means the Lymington sailor sits just a point behind at the half way stage of the Series.
TOP 10 IN THE SAILJUICE GLOBAL WARM-UP AFTER TWO EVENTS
CLICK HERE for complete results for the SailJuice Global Warm-Up
With sub-zero temperatures, bone-chilling winds gusting over 25 knots, just 61 entrants and 29 finishers, this year's Bloody Mary must go down as one of the toughest in its 37 year history. This classic pursuit race throws up many different kinds of winners, and this year it was the turn of a 505, immaculately sailed by Staunton Harold's Andy Smith and Tim Needham, to lift the coveted trophy.
After a sub-zero Bloody Mary earlier this month, dinghy racers are getting ready for another cold battle this Saturday at the second event in the SailJuice Global Warm-Up, the Steve Nicholson Memorial Trophy at Northampton Sailing Club....
The basic facts on this brand new series:
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.
Olly Turner has won the SailJuice Global Warm-Up, the four-event winter travellers' series which concluded at the weekend with the Hoo Freezer. Turner's victory is particularly special because he sailed as crew in three events and as helm in the other, proving himself a versatile sailor at both ends of the Merlin Rocket that he competed in. Turner, crewing for Richard Whitworth at the Hoo Freezer in Kent this past weekend, finished 9th in Saturday's practice race, which was won by the International Canoe sailed by Simon Allen. At the time Turner can't have realised the significance of completing the practice race, but with winds gusting up to Force 7 across the Medway estuary on Sunday morning, Saturday's warm-up took on a new level of importance.
How Andy Rice & Nick Murphy won the 2003 Bloody Mary in the 49er. "We expected to have a fight on our hands with Dave Hall and Simon Hiscocks, but when their jib came separated from the forestay on the first tack, we had a clear jump on the rest of our fleet. This was a huge benefit for us, as now we could focus on looking forwards...."
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. 
One-design racing is the purest measure of sailing prowess, but if you spend most of your sailing doing club races, then doubtless you will be spending much of your time racing under handicap. So of course you want to know how to 'milk' the system! Indeed, some sailors even choose their boat according to its perceived performance under handicap. Now, that's what you call pot hunting...
"Looking at the heinous forecast, under normal circumstances there would have been no way that I would have bothered to get out of bed that Saturday morning. With sub-zero temperatures, and a wind chill from a strong northerly breeze threatening to make a freezing day feel Arctic, the prospect of competing in the Bloody Mary was not my idea of fun...." Andy Rice reports from a shattering experience competing in a Devoti D-1 at the Bloody Mary....
Some of the UK's top dinghy sailors are steeling themselves for a windy conclusion to the SailJuice Global Warm-Up Series at this weekend's Hoo Freezer in Kent. Hosted by the Hoo Ness Yacht Club with the assistance of nearby Wilsonian Sailing Club, this will be the 39th edition of this historic event. It's looking to be a windy one....
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....
