Dinghy

GJW Direct Bloody Mary – Winners 29er pair Crossley and Fitzgerald

2023 Bloody Mary - 1st 29er Crossleyand Fitzgerald HISC

Two 17-year-old sailors, James Crossley and Noah Fitzgerald from Hayling Island SC, in a 29er, were the winners of the 47th Bloody Mary Open Pursuit Race.

Winning helm, James Crossley, said: “It was pretty pumpy at the start and died towards the end which was nice because we were struggling. It was windy. But we were confident we could catch the boats ahead of us and come in first.”

His crew, Noah Fitzgerald, said: “We’ve done quite a lot of training recently and we’ve been pushing a lot recently to keep the stick up and make it look it pretty.”

The pair are now looking to win the 29er World Championships later this year before moving into a 49er.

2023 Bloody Mary - 1st 29er Crossley and Fitzgerald — 2023 Bloody Mary – 1st overall sailing A 29er James Crossley and Noah Fitzgerald OF hisc

With nearly 150 entries, the sailors enjoyed some windy conditions with 99 finishing.

The Bloody Mary was also the 6th leg of the SailJuice Winter Series.

Martin Pue, race director, said: “The 47th GJW Direct Bloody Mary was a huge success with a great turnout, despite the challenging weather conditions. It was impressive to see nearly 30 youth helms, 16 Grand Masters and a whole range of ages in between.”

47th Bloody Mary – Final Overall Leaders

1st 29er James Crossley and Noah Fitzgerald – Hayling Island SC – – 1 pts
2nd Musto Skiff Sam PASCOE – Castle Cove Sailing Club – – 2 pts
3rd Fireball Dj EDWARDS and Vyv TOWNEND – Bough Beech SC – – 3 pts
4th 470 Paul BROTHERTON and Arran HOLMAN – Glossop – – 4 pts
5th 420 Joe WARWICKER and Hugo VALENTINE – Shoreham SC – – 5 pts
6th 420 Ollie Meadowcroft – Upper Thames SC – – 6 pts
7th Laser (ILCA 7) Ben FLOWER – Paignton SC – – 7 pts
8th 2000 Simon HORSFIELD and Katie HORSFIELD – Thorney Island SC – – 8 pts
9th RS Aero 7 Tim HIRE – LTSC/RLymYC – – 9 pts
10th N12 John Meadowcroft – Upper Thames – – 10 pts
11th Musto Skiff Fred CUDMORE – Datchet Water SC – – 11 pts
12th Musto Skiff Sam BARKER – Castle Cove SC – – 12 pts
13th RS800 Ben PALMER and Dicken MACLEAN – Hayling Island SC – – 13 pts
14th 2000 Jack LEWIS and Morgan SMITH – TBA SC – – 14 pts
15th RS400 Ollie GROVES and Martin PENTY – Beaver SC – – 15 pts
16th RS800 Peter BARTON and Chris FEIBUSCH – Lymington Town SC – – 16 pts
17th Merlin Rocket Jon Gorringe and Matt Currell – Parkstone YC – – 17 pts
18th RS Aero 6 Sam METTAM – Papercourt SC – – 18 pts
19th RS800 Robert GULLAN and Matt REID – Hayling Island SC – – 19 pts
20th RS Aero 5 Sam BLAKER – Thorpe Bay YC – – 20 pts