BIRDS SWOOP TO VICTORY AT BURGHFIELD BREEZER
Event #3 of the Seldén SailJuice Winter Series was a brand new event, the Burghfield Breezer, the first edition of which has been won by an Enterprise sailed by husband and wife team, Nigel and Andy Bird...
Nigel and Andy Bird raced their Enterprise to victory at the first ever Burghfield Breezer, the third event of this season’s Seldén SailJuice Winter Series.
Keen for the event to go ahead, the staff and volunteers at Burghfield Sailing Club near Reading were watching the news from Boris Johnson to see if restrictions would prevent the event from going ahead. With the British government imposing no further restrictions and everyone at the club remaining Covid-free, the Burghfield Breezer was able to go ahead.
It was also unseasonably temperate for the time of year, the mild conditions providing a warm welcome for the 66 boats entered for the one-day competition. The south-easterly breeze was pulsing between 7 and 14 knots, ready to offer a challenging but very sailable day.
As sailors arrived at the club, the drizzle had set in, but as race time approached, conditions improved. The fleet was split into three for the morning handicap race.
Conditions were a little tricky, with some big shifts and the odd gust coming down the lake.
In the fast fleet, the Osprey of Roger and James led the way hotly challenged by Tom Gillard and Rachael Gray in the Merlin Rocket. In the medium handicap, British Sailing Team member Sam Whaley in the RS Aero 7 led the way and overtook many slower fast boats.
In the slow fleet, the start was challenging with so many boats pushing for the best starts, but Jon Emmett in his ILCA 6 along with Nigel and Andy Bird in the Enterprise were setting the pace, followed by local OK sailor Deryck Lovegrove. After the results were calculated, Sam Whaley took the bullet.
The afternoon race was a 100-minute pursuit. The new timers (off and onshore) worked in sync to help those who had launched and those waiting. But it was a day of two halves. The wind shifted further south, and rather than building, the wind started to drop and was quite erratic in places. This suited the early starters, particularly the Enterprise with Nigel and Andy Bird holding a commanding lead over local Enterprise sailors Ann Jackson and Alan Skeens, with Chris Jennings in his Solo in third. The Merlin Rocket of Gillard and Gray was rapidly closing in, but not quite quick enough. For the rest of the fleet, it was almost as if someone had flipped the table with those securing good results in the first race having a challenging race two, and vice versa.
Overall, Nigel and Andy Bird took the top spot with a clear lead of 5 points over the Merlin of Gillard and Gray who handled the small lake well in one of the faster boats. In third was Sam Whaley in the RS Aero 7 and Chris Jennings’ Solo in fourth. There were eight different classes in the top 10 overall.
SailRacer GPS Tracking The SailRacer GPS trackers clocked the fastest sustained speed of 6.5 knots from Mike Lyons’ Blaze, while Ellie Craig’s RS Aero 7 notched the fastest speed when adjusted to handicap, with an adjusted speed of 6.03 knots.
Well done to the race team in getting the races off promptly, the caterers for keeping everyone fed and refreshed, and the safety teams for their selfless service.
Watch Jon Emmett's interview with the high-flying Birds:
With concerns about Covid causing the postponement of the Yorkshire Dales Brass Monkey and Grafham Grand Prix, the next event on the schedule is the GJW Direct Bloody Mary on 8 January 2022.
To enter the remaining events in the Series:
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
POSTPONED - Yorkshire Dales Brass Monkey, Yorkshire Dales SC
Burghfield Breezer, Burghfield Sailing Club
27 December 2021
POSTPONED - Grafham Grand Prix, Grafham Water Sailing Club
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
Photo Credits: Tim Olin
Notes to editors:
Previous winners of the Seldén Sailjuice Winter Series
2020/21 Simon Horsfield & Katie Burridge/ Natalie Johnson (2000)
2019/20 Simon Horsfield & Katie Burridge (2000)
2018/19 Simon Horsfield & Katie Burridge (2000)
2017/18 Alistair Goodwin (Laser)
2016/17 Matt Mee & Emma Norris (RS200)
2015/16 Ian Dobson & Andy Tunnicliffe (GP14)
2014/15 Nick Craig & various crews (Merlin Rocket)
2013/14 Michael Sims (Solo)
2012/13 Tom Gillard & Simon Potts (Fireball)
2011/12 Peter Gray & Rachael Rhodes (Scorpion)
2010/11 Andy Peake (Musto Skiff)
2009/10 Olly Turner & Richard Whitworth (Merlin Rocket)
SailJuice.com is the ‘how to sail and race faster’ website, with hundreds of articles and exclusive interviews with National, World and Olympic Champions. Professional sailing journalist and editor of SailJuice.com, Andy Rice, came up with the concept of the SailJuice Winter Series (originally known as the SailJuice Global Warm-Up) as a way of increasing participation levels in dinghy racing during the off-season in the UK.
SailRacer manages event websites and processes online entry for major National, International, Youth and training events, providing online scoring, analysis and advanced sports presentation including GPS tracking and live video.
Seldén Mast Ltd is the world leader in dinghy spars. More races are won by Seldén Spars than any other brand. Dinghy spars are made using Seldén unique XPS aluminium with CNC cut tapers, automated welding and heat treating resulting in the highest quality and most consistent dinghy spars available. Seldén also produces about 400 carbon masts per year for boats including high performance dinghies and race yachts using state of the art Mandrel Filament Moulding Technology.
28/12/2021 18:55
Photo © Tim Olin
| 20/21 Nov 21 | Draycote Dash | Draycote Water SC |
| 11/12 Dec 21 | Datchet Flyer | Datchet Water SC |
| 27 Dec 21 | Brass Monkey | Yorkshire Dales SC |
| 27 Dec 21 | Burghfield Breezer | Burghfield SC |
| 2 Jan 22 | Grafham GP | Grafham Water SC |
| 8 Jan 22 | Bloody Mary | Queen Mary SC |
| 22 Jan 22 | King George Gallop | King George SC |
| 5/6 Feb 22 | JMST Tiger Trophy | Rutland SC |
| 19 Feb 22 | Oxford Blue | Oxford SC |
