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....
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.
Datchet Water’s Ben Schooling raced his Musto Skiff to victory in the 2013 Fernhurst Books Draycote Dash, the first event of the GJW Direct Sailjuice Winter Series. On being asked the secret to his success at Draycote, Ben Schooling offered five observations about his performance....
The GJW Direct SailJuice Winter Series gets under way on the weekend of 23rd and 24th November at the Fernhurst Books Draycote Dash, the first of eight major winter handicap events in this tough Series. Last year at Draycote, Pete Nelson’s RS600 prevailed over the Merlin Rocket sailed by Dave Hayes and Jonny Ratcliffe, with Andy Couch’s Phantom singlehander in 3rd overall. Who will win this time?
A month after the conclusion of the GJW Direct SailJuice Winter Series, the clocks have changed to British Summer Time, yet Great Britain continues to be ice-locked in a chill easterly wind from Scandinavia. Perhaps the Series should have carried on a while longer, although six big winter handicap events from November through to February seemed plenty at the time. Winners of the 2012/13 championship were Tom Gillard and Simon Potts in their Fireball.
Strong winds have been the theme of the 2012/13 season of the GJW Direct SailJuice Winter Series, and strong winds is what the current pre-entry of more than 160 boats are likely to experience this weekend at Rutland Water. It’s the 20th anniversary of the John Merricks Tiger Trophy, the annual winter handicap event held in memory of the Olympic silver medallist who won the inaugural event at his home club, and who was renowned as a speed demon in strong winds.... 
