Gill Grafham Grand Prix 2024

The Grafham Grand Prix, sponsored by Gill, was held on Sunday 29 December 2024. This was the 42nd running of the annual event; traditionally held on the weekend after Christmas. The Grand Prix is a part of the Selden Sailjuice Winter Series.

Overall entry, at 130, was similar to last year’s figure of 136; numbers being boosted by some late entries. The entry included some 39 boats from the home club. As usual racing was split over three fleets: Fast (25), Medium (46), and Slow (59), taking full advantage of Grafham Water’s 1600 acres. Format was three back-to-back handicap races.

Competitors arriving bright and early for an 1100 start were greeted by a mist covered lake and a faint zephyr breeze. However over the morning the mist lifted, the wind built to a gentle 8 to 10 knots, and the sun came out: ideal sailing conditions for this time of year.

The Fast Fleet sailed an upwind downwind course at the West end of the Lake, taking full advantage of the wide expanse of open water with beats of around 1km. The fleet contained a wide range of multi-hulls and asymmetric monohulls, including a VX One and a Norfolk Punt. Winner of the first race was Christian Mash in his single-handed Spitfire, followed by the VXOne of Andrew Wilde and Jon Swann. Christian Mash was also the winner of the second race, followed by fellow Grafham Water entrants, brother and sister team Will and Megan Smith, in their F18. In the third race Will and Megan finally came out winners; they were the leading boat in all three races but fell back on handicap adjustment in the first two. Christian’s two first places made him the overall winner, with Will and Megan in second (a one two for the home club) and Andrew and Jon third in the VX One.

The Medium Fleet sailed in the middle of the Lake offering great views to spectators watching from the top floor of the Clubhouse. Good discipline from the fleet (no general recalls and only 1 BFD all day) and slick race management ensured the schedule of three races was completed with no real delays, and all boats were finished by 1330. The fleet contained a wide range of single and double handers with a good number of “traditional” classes: 5 Fireballs, 5 Flying Fifteens and 6 Merlin Rockets. In the first race, Chris Gould and Sophie Mackley from Shoreham in their Merlin Rocket came out winners, from Tom Gillard and Rach Gray in their Scorpion with Peter Gray and Richard Pepperdine in third place in a Fireball. The first two places were the same in Race 2, with Caroline Gould and Livvy Bell third in another Merlin Rocket. In Race 3 Tom Gillard and Rach Gray finally took a first place, followed by Roger and Iain Blake in an Osprey and Jamie Mawson third in an RS600. Overall double handers took all of the prizes (down to 7th). Chris Gould and Sophie Mackley were the winners, followed by Tom Gillard and Rach Gray, with Roger and Iain Blake in third place.

In the Slow Fleet there was a strong contingent of ILCAs (7s and 6s) with a comprehensive mix of other classes. Toppers entered for the first time and there were 7 in total, six from the Grafham Topper Academy and one visitor. Racing was at the East end of the Lake, near the dam. Racing was close with different winners in each race. In Race 1, Ewin Birkin-Walls from Grafham Water came out the winner, followed by Sam Watson and Charlie Cotter in a GP14, with Dave Borrett from Beaver SC third in his Streaker. Dave Borrett came out the winner in Race 2 with another GP14, sailed by Jasper and Fergus Barnham from Snettisham Beach, second and Sam and Charlie third. Race 3 was won by Oliver Davenport in his OK, with Ben Flower second in an ILCA7 and Matthew Wolstenholme and Mike Warwicker third in a Snipe. Overall, the podium read Dave Borrett first (Streaker), Sam Watson and Charlie Cotter second (GP14) and Oliver Davenport third (OK). Toby Hailey from the Graham Topper Academy was first placed Topper.

Chris Gould and Sophie Mackley raced their Merlin Rocket to overall victory. While the fleet was distributed across three race areas for Fast, Medium and Slow Handicap, Simon Lovesey of Sailracer ran the performance analysis across the three race tracks to see who would come out on top in a combined ranking. Competing in the 46-boat Medium Fleet, Gould and Mackley sailed their Merlin very consistently in the light to medium airs of a fairly mild afternoon on Grafham Water. 

Thanks are due to the Race Officers Dave Williams (Medium), Eric Joyce (Fast), and Nigel Denchfield (Slow) for laying on some excellent racing, and also to the many others helping, both volunteers and staff (over 40 in total), without whom this event would not be possible. The full event results are available here

The next events in the series are the rescheduled Fernhurst Books Draycote Dash on 4/5th January 2025 and the GJW Direct Bloody Mary on Saturday, 11th January.

Report by John Aston. Photographs copyright Tim Olin

The post Gill Grafham Grand Prix 2024 first appeared on Grafham Water Sailing Club.