WINDY WEEKEND IN STORE FOR KING GEORGE

 

  Enter Now   Using the latest version of the Great Lakes handicap numbers, a variation of the RYA PY system, along with GPS-based Dynamic Handicapping developed by SailRacer, this event and others in the Challenge aims to create as fair a playing field as possible for a wide range of boats. The Saturday schedule is three back-to-back handicap races with a Fast and Slow start three minutes apart, while Sunday concludes the regatta with a Pursuit Race.

 

The strong forecast for Saturday could suit Tony Burton’s Contender from the home club, and also another trapeze singlehander, Michael Iszatt in his RS600. Jonathan Carter’s Vortex will enjoy the strong breeze too. The reigning RS600 National Champion Richard Smith might be wondering if he should have signed on in the singlehander, although he’s down to compete with his 21-year-old daughter Ellie in the RS800. “We’ve done a couple of RS800 Nationals together when Ellie was a teenager,” says Smith, “but she hasn’t sailed the boat in a few years so it could be quite a big outing. She’s made of tough stuff though, she’s up for a challenge.”

 

The National 18s have proven very potent on the Selden SailJuice Winter Series, and Jessica Berney from Blackwater Sailing Club will be at the helm of her powerful 18-footer this weekend.

 

After 13 years out of the boat, co-founder of the Great British Sailing Challenge, Andy Rice, has been coaxed out of 49er retirement by 19-year-old 29er sailor Ewan Gribbin who has recently bought a secondhand Olympic skiff. With a 31-year age gap, Rice and Gribbin easily qualify for one of the sub-series in the Great British Sailing Challenge called the ‘Generation Game’, which encourages sailors of different ages to sail together. “Ewan asked me to sail the 49er with him,” explained Rice, who usually sails a Musto Skiff out of Stokes Bay. “It was nice to be asked, but now the challenge is can I actually remember what to do at the back of a 49er? It will be fun to find out if any of the old muscle memory is still there, and we will have zero training time together so King George will be quite a baptism for the new partnership.”

 

To join in the fun, enter at: www.sailingchallenge.org

 

 

 

Online entry closes this evening at 1159pm, 13th March.

 

 

 

Entry is available on the day for an additional £10 on top of the advance online entry.

 

 

 

One of many aims of the GBSC is to encourage boats of similar type to race each other on handicap, and some of the early performers from the winter were rewarded at the prizegiving held at the RYA Dinghy Show earlier this month:

 

 

 

Overall and Fast Symmetric        Sam METTAM/Tim SAUNDERS       Fireball

 

Fast Asymmetric        Colin/Olly MURRAY        Norfolk Punt

 

Slow Asymmetric        Jonny/Sarah MCGOVERN        RS200

 

Slow Symmetric        Alistair GOODWIN        Laser

 

Youth        Jack LEWIS/Fraser HEMMINGS        420

 

19-55        Sam METTAM/Tim SAUNDERS        Fireball

 

Master        Neil MARSDEN        420/GP14

 

 

 

Generation Game (open to sailors in singlehanders or crewed boats with 18 years or more age gap)

 

Gareth Hyland and sons, Eden and Josh, all sailing Blazes from Chase Sailing Club

 

 

 

GBSC Calendar 2018/19 

 

 

 

Fernhurst Books Draycote Dash, Draycote Water Sailing Club

 

17 & 18 November 2018

 

 

 

Datchet Flyer, Datchet Water Sailing Club

 

8 & 9 December 2018

 

 

 

Brass Monkey, Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club

 

27 December 2018

 

 

 

John Merricks Tiger Trophy, Rutland Sailing Club 

 

2 & 3 February 2019

 

 

 

Oxford Blue, Oxford Sailing Club 

 

16 February 2019

 

 

 

King George Gallop, King George Sailing Club

 

16 & 17 March 2019

 

 

 

Weston Grand Slam

 

20 & 21 April 2019

 

 

 

Derwent Dambuster, Derwent Reservoir Sailing Club

 

11 & 12 May 2019

 

 

 

Wilsonian River Challenge, Wilsonian Sailing Club

 

1 & 2 June 2019

 

 

 

Bala Long Distance, Bala Sailing Club

 

22 & 23 June 2019

 

 

 

Mountbatten Centre, Plymouth

 

8 to 10 August 2019

 

 

 

Ullswater Ultimate, Ullswater Yacht Club

 

17 & 18 August 2019

 

 

 

Grand Finals, Rutland Water Sailing Club

 

28 & 29 September 2019

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How do I get to the Grand Finals?

 

The Grand Finals of the GBSC are designed to celebrate the best of everything in small-boat racing in Great Britain. So there are many ways to qualify....

 

 

 

Finish in the top 10 of the travellers’ series (based on your best three results)

 

Top qualifiers in a number of boat categories:

 

Fast Asymmetric

 

Fast Non-Asymmetric

 

Slow Asymmetric

 

Slow Non-Asymmetric

 

Multihull

 

Sportsboat

 

Best Improver

 

Most attended

 

Any boat valued at less than £1000

 

 

 

Top qualifiers in a number of age and other categories, for example:

 

Youth (Under 19)

 

Master (Over 60)

 

Female

 

Two Generations (two people sailing together, minimum age gap of 18 years - could be parent/child but not necessarily)

 

 

 

There will also be a number of ‘wild card’ invites available based on various criteria.

 

 

 

 

 

 Hang on, but what even IS the Great British Sailing Challenge?

 

 

 

It’s a series of handicap racing events that take place throughout the year, and it’s open to pretty much any sail-powered craft. The Challenge involve events throughout the whole year, running large regattas at a variety of inland and open water venues. Competing sailors will earn ranking points from each event they compete in, with the top 100 sailors invited to a winner-takes-all-final at Rutland Water in September, a celebration to bring together the best British sailors of the year. 

 

 

 

Who came up with the idea?

 

The idea comes from the organisers of the Seldén SailJuice Winter Series which has been one of the big success stories of the past decade. Organised by Andy Rice of SailJuice.com (sailing journalist and marketer) and Simon Lovesey of SailRacer (event organiser and GPS tracking expert) has completed its 10th season. 

 

 

 

 

www.sailingchallenge.org