Plym Yacht Club Plymouth Gin Spring Series 2026
by Plym Yacht Club 27 Apr 12:14 BST
Plym Yacht Club Plymouth Gin Spring Series 2026 © Paul Gibbins Photography
Cobwebs well and truly blown away as Tilted takes first blood in Plymouth
The Plymouth racing season kicked off this month with the Plymouth Gin Spring Series. 4 April Sundays with a variety of courses from the Plym Yacht Club line. 10 entries across IRC and YTC fleets with a myriad of boats, ranging from a Charisma 22 to a J/122e meant the racing was going to be pretty varied!
Week one was pleasing to see a selection of new owners in the top 3, with Nathan Hanley's Humphreys 30 Badabing and Anthony Godwin's Etchells Dire Straits rounding out the top 3, from the J/122e JuJu of Jonathan Hearth. The big J travelled to Plymouth every weekend from Salcombe for the racing, and we are looking forward to seeing her on the water for our coastal races throughout the year.
Week 2 was a breezier affair with gusts up to 25 knots, and some ballsy sail choices led to some interesting scenes, with Men Behaving Badly shredding an A5, and JuJu trawling for fish with their A2. No-one was hurt, but it paved the way for the first win of the season for Ann & Keith Whitfield's Tilted, not far ahead of Annie Haigh's Fire Fox.
For week 3, Plymouth Sound was shared with the J/24 Spring Cup, so water space was limited. RO Mike Pearson elected for a simple 2 leg course to keep the big boats away from the J's, but chaos ensued when a spot of colourblindness had JuJu go around the first mark the wrong way, leaving the rest of the fleet following suit. Coupled with a drop in the wind, several collisions took place, and as the boats tried to untangle themselves, the A35 sailed off into the distance.
The final week had 4 boats in contention for the win, and there were several nervous helms on the dock. With a shifty light easterly, Mike Pearson sent the fleet on a triangle to Queens Ground, Duke Rock and back to the start hut. JuJu excelled on the long legs, and took an impressive win of 7 and a half minutes. Nathan Hanley came in second, which wasn't enough to keep the J/92s from winning the series by a point, their crew work shining through to give them their second Gin series win. Each week winners won Plymouth Gin, and Series prizes will be awarded at the PYC annual prize-giving in November.
Now the fleet have shaken down, attention turns to the PYC Friday Series. Mixed courses for YTC and IRC yachts, the fleet currently stands at 22 boats, and is expected to be closer to 30 by the end of the year. With a weekly prize-giving, sponsor prizes, sailing supper and bar 'til late, it's the club night to do!
Full results can be found here.