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?

Achieving fair racing across a range of different boats of varying size and speed is the holy grail of handicap racing. The Great Lakes group in the UK is attempting to achieve just that with some detailed and dynamic analysis of dinghy racing in the UK. Chairman of the Great Lakes, Andrew Craig, explains....

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.... 

Following a record advance entry the gusting winds and chilly conditions excited more to venture out and a monster 340 boats took to the water. Officially the Virtual Rigger 40th Bloody Mary Pursuit was the largest race since 2000.

What has been a windy start to the GJW Direct SailJuice Winter Series looks set to continue at this weekend’s Virtual Rigger 40th Bloody Mary in London. The forecast for the pursuit race classic is a moderate to strong easterly breeze, but that hasn’t stopped 256 boats entering in advance, with the prospect of many more entering on the day.

With a high-wind forecast, no one could have expected all 170 entries to follow through with the trip to today’s Grafham Grand Prix, but the 145 that got out of bed early to brave the conditions would be rewarded with a spectacular day’s handicap racing. The average wind strength might have been in the late teens to early 20s, but it was the severity of the gusts - up to 35 knots - that provided the real test. There were capsizes aplenty although, amazingly, no broken masts.

With the 2012 Brass Monkey at Yorkshire Dales SC being part of the GJW Direct Sailjuice Winter Series, a bumper entry was expected, and sure enough entries had to be closed as capacity was reached weeks before the event date.

With a forecast of sunshine and strong wind on 27 December, and entry already full, the Yorkshire Dales Brass Monkey looks set to be a humdinger of an event. The first time it has been included the GJW Direct SailJuice Winter Series, the Brass Monkey already has over 120 entries in 32 different dinghy classes. Event organiser Keith Escritt said: “It’s a pity we can’t make the lake bigger, but 120 is all we reckon can fit comfortably on the water and ashore. So we’re asking if anyone who has entered but reckons they won’t be able to make it on the day, to let us know in advance so we can pass their spot on to another boat.”