With a light-wind forecast and 288 boats pre-entered, is 2014 the year the slow boats take their revenge at the Bloody Mary? Two years ago Jason Belben powered to victory on his foiling Moth and looked set to do so again last year, crossing the finish line in first place but subsequently was disqualified after fellow Moth sailor Rob Greenhalgh protested Belben for missing a mark of the course....

Mike Lyons ghosted to victory in his Blaze singlehander to win the inaugural Oxford Blue, the fourth event to take place in this season’s GJW Direct SailJuice Winter Series. For a first-time event, 115 entries was an impressive turnout. No doubt most competitors were fearing a windy outing, hoping for a less breezy gap in the storms that have been battering the UK in recent weeks. Well they got their wish, and then some....

The name was a bit of a giveaway. Victoire... talk about a campaign committed to winning the toughest race in sailing. Darryl Hodgkinson’s Cookson 50, Victoire, became the Overall Winner of the 69th edition of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. A vindication of a campaign that was run like a military operation, with every opportunity taken to maximise the boat's chance of victory....

A total of 188 entries competed on three different courses spread across the breadth of Grafham Water near Huntingdon. After all the crazy weather of recent times in the UK, the weather smiled on Grafham, with bright sunshine and a pleasant breeze of about 10 knots, and none of the nasty gusts that were predicted in the forecast.