Seldén SailJuice Winter Series King George Gallop
by Andy Rice 25 Jan 2022 00:36 NZDT
22 January 2022
Roger Gilbert & Ben McGrane win the sell-out King George Gallop, their second victory in this season's Seldén SailJuice Winter Series. This evening at 7pm is the online prize-giving via Facebook Live...
Roger Gilbert & Ben McGrane came out on top of a three-way tiebreak to win the King George Gallop on Saturday. The fourth event of this season's Seldén SailJuice Winter Series attracted a sell-out entry of 70 boats representing 30 different dinghy classes ranging in size and speed from the Topper singlehander to the 505 thoroughbred.
Their second victory of the Series, Gilbert & McGrane's 505 counted a 1st and 3rd from their best two of three races on a light wind day in North London. Luke Fisher's RS Vareo also counted a 1st and 3rd but finished second overall on tiebreak, pushing back Tom Gillard and Rachael Gray's Merlin Rocket to third overall, scoring two 2nds from the day.
Fireball and Solo supremo Vince Horey was principal race officer for King George Sailing Club. He made the best of a shifty SW to NW breeze of around 7 to 10 knots, managing some good zigzag courses across the reservoir to give something for every boat type to enjoy on the varied race track.
The SailRacer GPS trackers recorded the winning 505 as the fastest boat on the water with a sustained 8.44 knots, marginally faster than Steve Cockerill and Harry Kennedy in the RS400 who clocked up 8.33 knots. Under corrected handicap, highest sustained speed was achieved by Luke Fisher's Vareo, followed by Cockerill/Kennedy and Nigel Austin's D-Zero.
This was the first competitive outing for an RS Aero 6, with the highest place finisher being Sam Mettam in 26th place. There were eight different classes represented in the top 10 overall, and it's a mark of Gilbert and McGrane's performance in their Seldén-powered 505 that their class rivals and former double 505 World Champions Mark Upton-Brown and Ian Mitchell finished in 10th overall. Success at the Gallop was measured in seconds and inches, small margins making a big difference on the scoreboard.
King George SC did a great job of delivering round 4 of the Series with close observance of Covid safety. There was no prize-giving on site. Instead, tonight (24 January - 19:00) there will be a Facebook Live presentation, looking back at a great King George Gallop 22, including all the category rankings from Seldén SailJuice Winter Series Round 4.
Next event in two weeks' time is the JMST Tiger Trophy 5/6 Feb 22 at Rutland SC.
enter.sailracer.org/events/enter-series-mobile.asp?eventid=222049&templ=220051_register
To put your name down for the racing and the legendary Tiger Dinner on Saturday night, enter below. Entries are already building up nicely:
Enter the Tiger Trophy at www.sailjuiceseries.com
The Events
The following events are in the Seldén SailJuice Winter Series 2021/22:
- Fernhurst Books Draycote Dash, Draycote Water SC
20 & 21 November 2021
- Datchet Flyer, Datchet Water Sailing Club
11 & 12 December 2021
- CANCELLED - Yorkshire Dales Brass Monkey, Yorkshire Dales SC
27 December 2021
- Burghfield Breezer, Burghfield Sailing Club
27 December 2021
- CANCELLED - Grafham Grand Prix, Grafham Water Sailing Club
2 January 2022
- CANCELLED - GJW Direct Bloody Mary, Queen Mary Sailing Club
8 January 2022
- King George Gallop, King George Sailing Club
22 January 2022
- John Merricks Tiger Trophy, Rutland Sailing Club
5 & 6 February 2022
- Oxford Blue, Oxford Sailing Club
19 February 2022
You can find out more about the Series at www.SailJuiceSeries.com