The Bloody Mary is set to go ahead tomorrow, Saturday 9th January. The 37th edition of this winter dinghy pursuit race classic looks set to take place in a sunny but bone-chilling moderate north-easterly wind. It will deter some from coming, no doubt, but it won’t deter the toughest. Such is the pull of the Bloody Mary, many of Britain’s hardiest sailors will still do what it takes to get to the reservoir near Heathrow Airport.
Queen Mary Sailing Club said earlier this afternoon: “We have made the decision to proceed with holding the Bloody Mary Pursuit Race tomorrow Saturday 9th January . Competitors are reminded that it is due to be very cold and should ensure that they are adequately dressed for the conditions.”
For some still sitting on the fence about whether or not to go, there is the added incentive of the Bloody Mary being the first event of a brand new series, called the SailJuice Global Warm-Up. This new winter travellers’ series brings four of the biggest winter handicap racing events into a unified series, to find out just who is tough enough to race their way through Britain’s toughest winter in more than 15 years. With more than £2,000 of prizes up for grabs, not only for the winners but for sailors throughout the fleet, some sailors are going the extra mile to compete in this weekend’s Bloody Mary.
The four events of the Series are:
Prizes include a two-day ‘Learn to Fly’ sailing course in Spain. This is not just any sailing lesson, but an opportunity to learn how to sail a foiling Bladerider Moth at Pro-Vela’s spectacular Performance Sailing Tuition centre in Mar Menor, Spain. Rooster Sailing is supplying £300 from its technical sailing clothing range, and Holt is offering £300 of gear from its High Performance Hardware range. Hyde Sails is offering a voucher for £200 worth of sails or accessories. Yachts & Yachting is providing annual digital subscriptions to the UK’s leading performance sailing magazine, and SailJuice.com is giving annual subscriptions to its ‘How to Sail Faster’ website.
To find out more about the SailJuice Global Warm-Up, including the Notice of Series, How to Enter, and more about the prizes on offer, click here.
To find out more about this weekend’s Bloody Mary, go to Queen Mary Sailing Club’s website here.
