Please select your home edition
Edition
Maritimo 2023 S600 LEADERBOARD

Jura Scottish Series 2025 - Day 1

by Andi Robertson 23 May 14:13 PDT 23-26 May 2025
Jura Scottish Series 2025 Day 1 © PKC Media

Loch Fyne offers racers solid opening day sport

Race organisers at the Jura Scottish Series made the best of the beneficial wind and weather conditions on Loch Fyne to get the annual regatta under way on cue for all classes. Although the warm early sun slowly gave way to cloud and spots of rain, the southerly breezes stayed in - blowing from 8 to 13kts - to deliver a great set of opening races and the 84 crews returned to picturesque Tarbert Harbour wearing big smiles.

The hotly contested 18 boat Hunter 707 one design class is probably the division with the greatest depth of ability and experience. The small, equally matched nimble sports keelboat can be run on a modest budget and so very much appeals to many top former - and current - dinghy racers. After three races today it may seem like business as usual as last year's winners, Eddie Batchelor's Tsunami 2 which has established an early lead of one point over Kenny Watson's Monarch, but the Tsunami team have had some extra hurdles to deal with to get here. And after winning comfortably with a string of wins last time, clearly it is not going to be a walk in the park over the coming days.

According to the team, their original 2024 winning boat is trapped in a storage shed which was damaged last winter. That required them to source a replacement for the season from Leeds which after their first regatta of the season was subsequently sold by the owner... meaning another trip to Yorkshire to borrow a second substitute boat - grateful thanks to extended to More T Vicar.

And so the Tsunami 2 here is a borrowed hull with the winning rig and sails from last year, a combination which today seemed quick enough, to the visible relief of the crew which includes key members of the Scottish loft Saturn Sails.

"We made a very solid start, winning the first race, second race we got boxed in off the start line and were bounced about a bit and pulled back, it being quite reassuring to be able to get back from sixth to a second place. I think we kept finding the right pressure at the right time which was key." Explains trimmer Jaz Lamb.

"It is great racing in this class, on the third race there were just a few metres separating first and third." Adds tactician, sailmaker Nick Kirk. "We had a wee sail yesterday to make sure everything fitted and was OK, and so it's a relief that it all seems quick."

Elements of the team actually came together first on the Diva 39 Tsunami in the late 1980s and early 1990s augmented here by Saturn Sails' young Sam Sloss steering this week.

So far last year's Hunter 707 winners might not be dominating like they did last season but in the Etchells class it does seem like Allan Manuel and the Bounce Back crew are picking up where they left off same time, same place 12 months ago. They won two from three today to jump out to a three point lead over Peter Judd's Lock 'n' Load.

In IRC Class 1 it is the well sailed Dublin Bay J/109 of Brian Hall, Something Else, which leads thanks to a first and a third in the 10 boat class. Hall and his crew are long time devotees of the Scottish Series.

"It was marvellous today, plenty of breeze and great racing and we got good results which is gratifying. We have been coming over to Scottish Series for at least 25 or 30 years. I think in that time we have won our class three times. We have had this boat for 15 years and last one the class two years ago. We have good crew work, that made the difference today again, and we just keep the boat going fast, heads out watching to see what the breeze is going to do next." Owner Hall reports, "But we love it here, we love the village, we love the people here and most of all we love the 'craic."

IRC Class 2 sees Adam Ovington's half tonner Head Hunter top the standings after Day 1 thanks to a 1,3,2. Stephen Black's quarter-tonner won the second race and lies second overall.

Alan Dunnet and family team on the evergreen S&S Swan 36, Valhalla of Ashton - one of the absolute hardy annuals at each Scottish Series - lead the CYCA Class 1 with two race wins from two starts. Even under CYCA handicapping races are often being decided by seconds rather than minutes. That is the case in CYCA 2 where Finn Aitken's 2023 overall Scottish Series champions on the Impala 28 Arcade won the first contest by three seconds - an eyeblink - before winning the second contest by 54 seconds and sailing to second in their third race.

The IRC Coastal racers sailed a longer round-the-buoys course out to the south of Loch Fyne where the rugged peaks of the Isle of Arran proved a stunning backdrop. Ireland's Jonny Treanor's successful National Yacht Club J/122 ValenTina, a past Cork Week and Dublin Bay champion, won a big boat division which really enjoyed the chance to stretch their legs in the perfect conditions. They won by nearly eight minutes on corrected time ahead of Clyde ace Jonathan Anderson's Xaviera which has Murray Findlay driving.

Neil McDonald's Grand Soleil 39 Calisa is in first place overall in the CYCA Restricted Sail class whilst some of the best, closest sport in the corrected time classes was between the two-handed teams in CYCA where Neil Rosie's Madog remains unbeaten with three race wins.

Full results can he found here.

Event website: www.scottishseries.co.uk

Related Articles

World Sailing launches the World Sailing Academy
A new online learning platform for the global sailing community World Sailing officially launched the World Sailing Academy, an innovative new online learning platform designed to provide comprehensive educational resources and training to sailors, coaches, officials, administrators, and the global sailing community. Posted today at 5:13 pm
Sailing and the summer solstice
Celebrating sailing and the longest day of the year If you love long evenings and early mornings, this is one of the best times of the whole year, as the summer solstice (Friday, June 20) and the entire rich expanse of summer are about to burst into bloom. Posted today at 3:00 pm
Erica Lush Completes Bermuda 1-2 Regatta First Leg
While training for the Solitaire Du Figaro Rhode Island sailor Erica Lush completed the first leg of the Bermuda 1-2 regatta as the only woman skipper in the fleet. Lush sailed solo from Newport to Bermuda, handling a boat new to her, and rough sea state. Posted today at 1:30 pm
Susan Widmann Sinclair Women's Championship
Winning this year's event was a very accomplished skipper, Carmen Cowles and her team The biennial running of Noroton Yacht Club's Susan Widmann Sinclair Women's Championship, presented by Fairfield County Bank, just finished a second wild and wooly event, thanks again to Mother Nature. Posted today at 11:12 am
Video Review: The Amazing Cure 55
Composite Construction meets Cruising Convenience It was two years ago at the Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show that I talked to Dave Biggar about his ideas and plans for the Cure 55. At the 2025 show I got to step on board the yacht and see how his ideas became reality. Posted today at 4:39 am
2025 GL52 Big Red Regatta overall
Katana prevails, Wizard finished second The 2025 edition of the GL52 Big Red Regatta is now in the books. John Huhn's KATANA continued its winning ways on Day 3 to wrap-up first place overall with just 12 pts. Posted on 16 Jun
Conrads, Bell win 505 Pacific Coast Championship
A single point victory at Bellingham Yacht Club After three days and 11 races, AJ Conrads and Jon Bell captured the 505 Pacific Coast Championship by one point, narrowly besting former World Champion and Long Beach legend Howie Hamlin and crew Jeff Nelson. Posted on 16 Jun
Finn World Masters in Medemblik Day 1
Eight races over two course areas in four groups with four different winners Racing at the 2025 Finn World Masters began in Medemblik, The Netherlands, on Monday with eight races over two course areas in four groups. Posted on 16 Jun
The Ocean Race will return to Itajaí, Brazil
During the 2027 and 2031 around the world races The Ocean Race confirms Itajaí, in Santa Catarina state, in Brazil will once again host the world's most iconic around-the-world yacht race in April, 2027 and again in 2031, in a two-edition hosting partnership. Posted on 16 Jun
IRC UK National Championships overall
Adam Gosling's JPK 1080 Yes! crowned overall champion The final day of the 2025 IRC National Championships, part of the Royal Thames Yacht Club's 250th Anniversary Regatta, began on schedule, with a steady south-westerly breeze bringing yet another twist to the range of conditions experienced. Posted on 16 Jun
Lloyd Stevenson - AC Alinghi 1456x180px BOTTOMMackay Boats 728x90 BOTTOMSelden 2020 - FOOTER