Boats for All Ages for next season's Seldén Sailjuice Winter Series
by Andy Rice 17 Sep 2024 06:56 NZST
Nine events on the schedule for the 16th edition of the Seldén Sailjuice Winter Series © SailJuice
Entry opens in a few weeks' time for the 16th edition of the Seldén Sailjuice Winter Series. With almost every kind of monohull dinghy eligible to take part in all nine events across the winter, this Series has become established as one of the most popular and prestigious circuits on the British circuit.
While most of the events are well known to competitors, Chase Sailing Club near Walsall in the West Midlands is set to host a one-day event on 14 December, the Polar Chase. The Series will as usual begin with the Fernhurst Books Draycote Dash at Draycote Water Sailing Club in November, and conclude with the ninth event, the Oxford Blue at Oxford Sailing Club in February 2025.
Co-organisers Simon Lovesey and Andy Rice are introducing a number of innovations for the next Series, including:
New Life for Old Boats
There are plans to create handicaps for older versions of dinghy classes. Already a number of fleets have developed their own systems for creating competitive racing for same-class boats of different vintages and varying quality. "Working closely with the Great Lakes Handicap Group over the past decade we already have a well-proven set of handicap numbers for the 'best in class'," explains Simon. "We have been talking closely with a number of organisations over the summer, including the Great Lakes, to work with all interested parties to create a competitive playing field for sailors, often younger with minimal budget, to be able to compete on equal terms in older boats that cost a few hundred pounds rather than multiple thousands."
Andrew Craig, chairman of the Great Lakes, commented: "As part of the initiative to encourage more race participation, the newly formed Great Lakes Old Boats Group has been working on a methodology to provide an enhanced handicap for boats that are not representative of the latest specifications in their class, eg. a boat with an alloy rig and Dacron sails, where their class rules allow carbon rigs and film sails etc. The Great Lakes Old Boats Group was one of the outcomes of the Handicap Forum held last Spring." If you're interested in getting involved with this new group and finding out more, send an email to
New Ranking Categories
Many sailors compete representing the forces (ASA, RAFSA, RNSA) or their school, this winter there will be new extracted rankings for Forces and Schools.
Facebook Update
There will be an update on the Series - focusing on some new initiatives - coming up at 1900 hours on Tuesday 24 September - www.facebook.com/SeldenSailJuiceWinterSeries
The Events
The following events are in the Seldén SailJuice Winter Series 2024/25:
- Fernhurst Books Draycote Dash, Draycote Water Sailing Club
23 & 24 November 2024
- Datchet Flyer, Datchet Water Sailing Club
7 & 8 December 2024
- Polar Chase, Chase Sailing Club
14 December 2024
- Yorkshire Dales Brass Monkey, Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club
27 December 2024
- Grafham Grand Prix, Grafham Water Sailing Club
29 December 2024
- GJW Direct Bloody Mary, Queen Mary Sailing Club
11 January 2025
- King George Gallop, King George Sailing Club
18 January 2025
- John Merricks Tiger Trophy, Rutland Sailing Club
1 & 2 February 2025
- Oxford Blue, Oxford Sailing Club
15 February 2025
- Prizegiving at RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show, Farnborough
You can find out more about the Series here: www.SailJuiceSeries.com