The 2024 edition of the King George Gallop delivered one of the tightest finishes ever in the Seldén Sailjuice Winter Series.
So close were the points between the top three at the King George Gallop in north London, it took a while before it was confirmed that Ben McGrane and James Ross had sailed their Osprey to the narrowest of victories.
The breeze might have averaged around 12 knots but some gusts touched up to 20 knots and caused even the best to suffer a capsize here and there. Around the long, 4.5km lap course, mere seconds separated the top finishers across the three races.
Initially it looked like Vincent had done enough to continue the Musto Skiff’s stranglehold on this season’s events. His win in the final race looked sufficient to give the Stokes Bay sailor the tiebreak ahead of the Osprey and 420.
However, after a few scoring queries it was McGrane and Ross who were awarded the Gallop victory ahead of Wade and Valentine’s 420 with Vincent down to third overall.
Best of the non-trapeze boats was Pete Barton who hiked his RS Aero 7 to fourth overall ahead of Stuart Jones’s Contender.
With the variable conditions the Great Lakes Handicap numbers delivered very close racing for many different classes. There were 11 different classes represented in the top 12 overall.
The King George Gallop was the sixth event in the Seldén Sailjuice Winter Series and the sixth edition of the King George Gallop on King George Reservoir.
A total of 79 entries from 38 different classes took advantage of the slightly milder weather after a spell of sub-zero temperatures across the UK.
One of the great aspects of the Seldén Sailjuice Winter Series is if you’ve got a sailing dinghy, chances are you’ll get a handicap number to race off. It didn’t always used to be this way, when some events only permitted classes with a well-established RYA PY number.
But for example at the Gallop the lesser-spotted Snipe, raced by Bough Beech SC’s Peter Wolstenholme and Lloyd Robert, finished 8th overall. If you’ve got a boat and want to race it in some friendly competition, bring it to one of the remaining two events, the Tiger Trophy at Rutland SC and the Oxford Blue at Oxford SC.
King George Gallop – Overall Leaders (79 entries)
1st Osprey – Ben MCGRANE and James ROSS – Netley SC – – 3 pts
2nd 420 – Imogen WADE and Hugo VALENTINE – Draycote Water SC – – 3 pts
3rd Musto Skiff – Dan VINCENT – Stokes Bay SC – – 4 pts
4th RS Aero 7 – Peter BARTON – Lymington Town SC – – 6 pts
5th Contender – Stuart JONES – Datchet Water SC – – 8 pts
6th 505 – Roger GILBERT and Ian MITCHELL – Frensham Pond SC – – 9 pts
7th Fireball – Georgia BOOTH and Oliver DAVENPORT – HISC – – 13 pts
8th Snipe – Peter WOLSTENHOLME and Lloyd ROBERT – Bough Beech S.C. – – 13.5 pts
9th ILCA 7 – Peter EDEL – King George SC – – 16 pts
10th ILCA 7 – Jamie BLAKE – Great Moor SC – – 18 pts
11th ILCA 6 – Hugh ANDREWS – Blackwater SC – – 19.5 pts
12th National 18 – Oliver HOUSEMAN and Steve WATTON – CVLSC – – 22 pts
13th ILCA 6 – Finlay COCHRANE – Yorkshire Dales SC – – 23 pts
14th Graduate – Fresh ABENDSTERN and Jack KINHOFF – R.D.N.B.Y.C. – – 28 pts
15th Solo – David REEKIE – King George SC – – 29 pts
16th RS Vareo – Luke FISHER – Emberton Park SC – – 29 pts
Overall in the Series after six events a total of 406 boats have now achieved ranking points.
After the second discard, Sam Pascoe (Musto Skiff – Castle Cove SC), holds into top spot, with last winter’s runner up Ben Flower (ILCA 7 – Paignton) still second.
Dan Vincent (Musto Skiff – Stokes Bay/RNSA) moves up 5 to 3rd, Imogen Wade and Hugo Valentine (420 – Draycote) also up five to 4th overall.
Final 2 events are:
John Merricks Tiger Trophy, Rutland SC – 3 & 4 February 2024
Oxford Blue, Oxford SC – 17 February 2024
Prizegiving at RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show, Farnborough 24 February 2024
ENTER HERE: www.sailjuiceseries.com
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