Jura Scottish Series 2025 - Overall
by Andi Robertson 26 May 2025 17:30 UTC
23-26 May 2025
Continuing Ireland's prolific record of winning the historical regatta's top overall award, the National Yacht Club, Dublin's J/109 Something Else owned and steered by Brian Hall today lifted the historic Scottish Series Trophy after counting a perfect scoreline of six first places from eight races over four days of racing in IRC Class 2.
For the delighted Hall, who has been racing on Loch Fyne at the annual event for 35 years at least, the success is attributed to strong, consistent team work - which was vital on the last two very breezy days of the regatta - incremental improvements in boat speed and a valuable contribution by Ireland's four times Olympian Mark Mansfield who sails as tactician.
Hall grinned, "It is wonderful, magic, I am in heaven. I am delighted for the crew, they are a fast crew and a fast crew makes for a fast boat. I am very happy. Everybody really pushed the boat this week. Now we have a lot of tired bodies and minds and that is the sign of a good event."
"I have been coming here since I was 18 and have had various boats over the years, a half tonner Eliminator before a Beneteau First 31.7 Thirty Something with which we won our class. And we have won our class here three years ago with this boat but nothing to this extent. We have made a lot of change to the boat, Mark Mansfield makes a huge difference, over the last two years we have had a full new Quantum Sails and we have worked hard on tuning the rig to get more speed." Enthused Hall
The winning crew is, on the bow Dave Egan, foredeck 2 is Zoe Hall, Fletcher Thomson, James Hall on the rail and doing various jobs, Paddy Madigan, Sheena Bowers in the pit, Dave Hofler and Alan Daly trimming in the cockpit and Mark Mansfield on mainsheet and tactics.
"We have so enjoyed the event the race organisation has been great, it gets better every year now, they have beefed up all the resources and put in a huge amount of effort to create a great event. They delivered big time." the winning skipper concluded.
After a blustery finale with winds gusting to over 25 knots Mansfield added, "It was a bit on the edge today but it is good to finish counting six firsts. My first time was on Moonduster in 1982 and I won here on Jump Juice in 2007. It was very shifty today and one boat went hard right and got a jump on us but we clawed them back in.
"For Brian to win here is great as he has been coming up here for some 40 years. It is great they have been coming so much and this a quality class. But for sure we have been fast all the time."
Something Else won her class by 10 points and also lifts the overall Scottish IRC Championship title sponsored by North Sails.
Perfect or close to it
Class winning boats which counted perfect scorelines of all first places were the Irish J/122 of Johnny Treanor, ValenTina which took four hard won victories to triumph in the relatively small but very competitive IRC Coastal class. This division of bigger IRC boats only raced coastal races.
And with a full 'picket fence' of firsts in the CYCA Two Handed class Neil Rosie and Dave Sinclair on the X-332 Madog won six from six. Friends since university days the duo enjoyed long and successful careers racing dinghies in Scotland and beyond,
"We have had a really excellent regatta with really varied weather, starting off light and shifty and then big winds at the end. Sailing with your best buddy really helps, we did naval architecture together and are still best friends sailing together. I was Dave's best man at his wedding and we have really hammered at it hard this weekend, the boat has done well - all credit to the designer Nils Jeppesen who must have designed the boat thirty years ago or so." Said Rosie.
Several classes went to tie break. CYCA 1 sees Ewan Mackay's Dehler 36 Daitas Air win on countback ahead of the Dunnet family's Swan 36 Valhalla of Ashton. Winning yesterday's breezy race was keey for Mackay and his crew,
"It was a great regatta with great racing against Valhalla of Ashton and Ceol Beag but having good races on the heavy days made a difference. We had the boat trimmed well and going nicely. Yesterday we had slightly deeper spinnaker runs which allowed us to stay upright whereas we had three broaches today!" smiled Mackay.
The Sigma 33 class also could not have been closer with three teams all finishing on the same 11 points aggregate, Alan Harper's Leaky Roof 2, James Miller's Mayrise and Griogair Whyte's Close Encounters. But despite winning the last race today the defending champions from 2024, Mayrise, were denied by Close Encounters only on tie break.
A final flourish?
Perhaps an ignominious capsize in the final race today and a resulting sixth place might have compromised the chances of the winners of hotly contested 18 strong Hunter 707 sportsboat class, Eddie Batchelor's Tsunami 2, challenging for the overall top prize but they had already secured victory. They won by six points ahead of the 2016 Scottish Series Trophy winning Sea Word of Dara O'Malley.
Tsunami 2's trimmer Jaz Lamb explained, "We had a proper broach with the top of the mast in the water and sunk five foot under so that did not help our chances today and it is a bit disappointing to have a result like that today after having had such a good event. We sailed the boat well and we will feel happier in a while, once the overall result has sunk in. And this is the most competitive it has been in the class. The crew know how to sail the boat well, making the right decisions and just doing the basics right, get clean air and protect your lane."
Last year's overall Scottish Series Trophy winners Allan Manuel's Bounce Back could not be beaten for the class title even before today's one and only race. They won five races which were complemented by one second place. Bounce Back crew Stevie Rarity acknowledged, "It was definitely tighter this year. There were more people in contention despite maybe how the results look. It was more open this year. A lot of the success is down to Miles Stratton who makes a big difference on any boat, that helps and we have sailed together for 30 years and that helps too.
"The boat is as fast as the others, no faster, and when other boats were in front they held us off, we could not get past them, they had legs on us. This is my 41st year coming here and in fact I've had 41 birthdays all here!"
Head of the class
In IRC 2 it was the Ovington Boats half tonner from Tyneside, Head Hunter which retained their class title. The crew of the heavily optimised and updated 1984 Van de Stadt design led by co-owners Adam Ovington and Nathan Batchelor finished with a fourth first place in the breezy W'ly wind today.
Batchelor is a firm devotee of the regatta "We have had some strong winds these last two days and we have not sailed the boat in such strong winds until now, having only had her 18 months and so we maybe put her on her ear a couple of times but we did not break anything major. It was gusty today and we got around OK today. Today we were glad there were not too many boats around us as it was full on at times.
"The Race Officer really did do a brilliant job yesterday in conditions you would not have wanted to race windward-leewards in, and sending us on a distance race was clever. Today it was scary in the gusts. We hoped to win our class as we did so last time and the boat is well tricked up under IRC and we have top crew and we are sailing against more cruiser type boats, so we had hoped to win.
"But it is a brilliant regatta. I have been coming about 10 years and the village, the infrastructure the regatta organisers put on, it is a huge amount of work put in. And the pubs here are pleased to see us, a drink is £3.50 in Cowes it is more than twice that price and they don't want to see you. And credit too to Kip Marina these past few weeks they really help and all the marinas here are so helpful and friendly. All the prices are less than half of what you'll pay in the south, and another great thing here is seeing so many young faces, younger people enthused and competing."
CYCA Class 2 was in effect already won by the young team on the Impala 28 Arcade, led by co-owners Finn and Jack Aitken and in CYCA Restricted Sail it was Neil McDonald's Grand Soleil Calisa which took the title, racing much of today's race under headsail only to secure an important second place after breaking their boom.
Roddy Angus who leads the Clyde Cruising Club's organising team summed up, "It's been a 'game of two halves' this year, weather wise. Fantastic competitive racing in the sun on Friday and Saturday followed by two days of white-knuckle rides to finish off. The combination has given the media team some fantastic images and stories to tell.
"Shoreside the social in the event marquee has been lively and the local bars, food vans and restaurants have done a cracking job - I'm told the seafood has been superb. Sponsors and Regatta Crew have been so supportive this year and helped make Jura Scottish Series an event to remember. But we are nowhere without competitors...... such a good humoured crowd this year - thanks for your support and smiling through to the end.
"We are looking to 2026 already and I'll be happy to know it's in your diaries already!"
Full results: halsail-1e484.kxcdn.com/Result/Public/89362?EventID=5118
Additional Prizes:
- Crawford McInnes trophy (under 25 helm or crew) : Christine Wood (Sleipner)
- Causeway Cup (for best performance by boat from outside Scotland - other than overall winner) : ValenTina
- Valhalla of Ashton Trophy (outstanding Volunteer contribution) : Sam Merry
- The ICC Decanter (outstanding support boat) : Jonathan Black, Fairey Spearfisher
- Scottish IRC Championships sponsored by North Sails : 1st ValenTina, 2nd Head Hunter
- Bell Lawrie Trophy (best in Kylemark One Design Fleet) : Tsunami 2
- Tunnocks Trophy (best in Holland House CYCA fleet) : Arcade
- St George Trophy (best in James Watt Dock IRC fleet) : Something Else
- Vanora Trophy (White Sail Class) : Madog
- Anchor Hotel Trophy (best newcomer to event) : Lulotte
- Sinbad Trophy (best family crew) : Sleipner