The Bloody Mary

The Bloody Mary Pursuit Race is the largest inland dinghy race held in the UK. Open to all dinghy classes with a PY number equal to or lower that the International Topper, it takes the form of a Pursuit Race with the slowest boat starting first and the faster boats starting progressively later depending on a handicap rating which is set by the Race Committee.

This iconic event, which is in the Yachts and Yachting hall of fame as one of the Top 5 events in the world, draws competitors from all over the UK and the Continent

Bloody Mary 2012

The Bloody Mary Pursuit Race was run for the 39^th time on January 7th 2012 and appropriately in Olympic year it was started by double Olympic Gold Medallist and club member Sarah Ayton. This was also the second leg of the SailJuice Global Warm-Up series.

The race again took place in decent conditions with a good breeze and double digit temperatures following six days of gale force winds which meant the day before we were still putting the club back together again.  This attracted 302 entries in 63 classes from 104 clubs from as far afield as Rock.

31 Toppers went off the first start in a force 4-5 breeze and led the race for two hours.  Amongst the Toppers, the lead changed between Felix Crowther and Matthew Stephens with Matthew Stephens eventually pulling clear.

Lasers, Solos and Fevas were in hot pursuit mid race but it was a Fireball helmed by Sam Mettam and Richard Anderton that eventually overtook them followed by a National 12 and a Merlin Rocket.  Their lead did not last long since with 20 minutes to go the first foiling Moth shot past them all followed by three others and the International 14 of Sam Pascoe and Alex Knight was closing on the Fireball.  With the finish boat ribs at full throttle, the Moths extended their lead till the end of the race.

Overall winner and also winner of the Hyde Sails Foilers Trophy was Jason Belben from Stokes Bay in an International Moth. Mike Lennon, Ricky Tagg and Peter Barton followed him home also in their Moths.

Winner of the Ladies Helm was Vikki Payne from Emsworth SC in a 29er. The first Queen Mary Helm was Valentin Nadyelkov  in a Laser and first junior was Sam Barker in a Laser Radial from Castle Cove. Winner of the Grand Master prize was Jeremy Vines from Lymington in a National 18. Winner of the first Sailability helm was Margaret Foreman from QMSC in a 2.4m. There were 18 class prizes (for those fleets of 6 or more)

Prize winners walked away with a bag of goodies including vodka and tomato juice,  London Sailsports vouchers for the youngsters and free subscriptions to sailjuice.com.

The winners thanked the volunteers and staff of the Club who worked so hard to make the whole event from arrival through launching to racing such a success.

For full results go to www.thebloodymary.org.uk. Photos are available from fotoboat and there is a great video by silverline tv of the day on youtube

Sailboats.co.uk Bloody Mary 2011

The 37th Bloody Mary Pursuit Race took place on Saturday 9th January 2010 in freezing temperatures, snow flurries and gusting northerly 25 knot winds. Cited in Yachts and Yachting as one of the top sailing 5 events in the world, and despite the appalling conditions in the week leading up to the event and on the day itself, 61 boats entered.

In previous years, the only classes eligible to win the main Bloody Mary Pursuit Race Trophy have been those with an RYA published Portsmouth Yardstick Number. As of the 2010 Bloody Mary, all monohull dinghies, including foilers, and those keelboat classes accepted by Queen Mary Sailing Club were eligible to win the Bloody Mary Trophy.

The full range of dinghies entered from a Topper to an RS600 FF. The lead was progressively taken from the Topper by a Miracle, a Laser and a Merlin.

With 20 minutes to go a 505 sailed by Andy Smithy and Tim Needham took the lead and retained it until the end despite an RS800 snapping at their heels. Andy and Tim from Staunton Harold Sailing Club who had only just purchased the boat were the successful winners of this first ever fully open Bloody Mary.

Winner of the Ladies Helm was Sarah Allen from Royal Southern helming an RS200 with Mark Ampleford , the Hyde Sails Foilers Trophy was Geoff Carveth in an International Moth. The first Queen Mary Helm was James Boyce sailing with Sam Tozer in an RS200.

Class prizes were won by Jim Downer and John Price (RS400) of Royal Victoria and Andrew Hurst (Laser) from Queen Mary.

Prize winners walked away with a bag of goodies including vodka and tomato juice, tickets for the London Boat Show, fabulous watches from Nautica and free subscriptions to sailjuice.com.

The winners thanked the volunteers and staff of the Club who worked so hard to make this happen in such extreme weather conditions